Dr. Lombroso was trained in psychiatry and molecular biology, and is currently a professor at Yale University. His primary interest is in translational neuroscience and has focused over the past 20 years on characterizing a protein whose expression patterns are disrupted in several neuropsychiatric disorders. This protein is elevated in Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, fragile X syndrome and Alzheimer's disease. High levels of this protein disrupt synaptic (sites of neuron communication) function through its effect on glutamate (chemical messenger) receptor subunits, as well as kinases (protein regulators) that are required for synaptic strengthening. The mechanism for the increase in this protein is either a decrease in its degradation (break down) through disruption of the ubiquitin pathway (as occurs in Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and schizophrenia) or an increase in its translation (as occurs in fragile X syndrome).