Michael AccardiPhD Student
michael.accardi@mail.mcgill.ca
Michael Accardi received his Bachelor’s of Science (Hons.) from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) in 2008, with a specialization in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and a Minor in Chemistry. In 2010 under the supervision of Dr. Sean Forrester (UOIT), Michael successfully defended his Master’s thesis entitled ‘Molecular Characterization of Nematode GABAA Receptors’. It was during his graduate studies at UOIT that Michael became interested in molecular neuropharmacology, especially the intricacies of neurotransmission. It is from this passion that Michael has begun his PhD under the supervision of Dr. Derek Bowie (McGill University) where he is currently identifying whether the onset of idiopathic generalized epilepsy results from defects in GABAergic signalling during brain development.
Awards and Scholarships:
2014 |
Graduate Excellence Fellowship |
2014 |
Theodore Sourkes Award |
2014 |
McGill MedStar Award |
2014 |
GREAT Fellowship Award |
2014 |
Savoy Studentship, Savoy Foundation (Renewed) |
2013 |
First Place, Oral Presentation, 27th GEPROM Symposium |
2013 |
Graduate International Travel Award |
2013 |
Graduate Excellence Fellowship |
2013 |
Savoy Studentship, Savoy Foundation (Renewed) |
2013 |
GREAT Fellowship Award, McGill University |
2013 |
First Place – Oral Presentation, 9th Annual IGSR, McGill University |
2012 |
Gelder-Savoy Studentship, Savoy Foundation |
2012 |
Gelder-Savoy Award, Savoy Foundation |
2012 |
Graduate Excellence Fellowship Award, McGill University |
2011 |
Internal Studentship, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University |
2011 |
Faculty of Medicine Travel Award for Oxford collaboration |
2010 |
Max Stern Recruitment Fellowship, McGill University |
2010 |
Provost’s Graduate Fellowship, McGill University |
2009 |
Institutional Ontario Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology (OGSST), University of Ontario Institute of Technology |
2009 |
Graduate Studies Scholarship (Declined), University of Ontario Institute of Technology 2008 Graduate Assistantship, University of Ontario Institute of Technology |
2008 |
Graduate Entrance Scholarship, University of Ontario Institute of Technology |
2008 |
Graduate Admission Scholarship, University of Ontario Institute of Technology |
2004-2008 |
Dean's List/President’s List, University of Ontario Institute of Technology |
Publications:
1. Rao, VTS, Accardi, MV, Siddiqui, SZ, Beech, RN, Prichard, RK and Forrester, SG 2010. Characterization of a novel tyramine-gated chloride channel in Haemonchus contortus. Mol Biochem Parasitol, 173:64-68
2. Accardi, MV and Forrester, SG. 2011. The Haemonchus contortus UNC-49B subunit possesses the residues required for GABA sensitivity in homomeric and heteromeric channels. Mol Biochem Parasitol, 178:15-22
3. Accardi, M.V., Beech, R.N. and Forrester, S.G. 2012. Nematode cys-loop GABA receptors: biological function, pharmacology and sites of action for anthelmintics. Invertebrate Neuroscience, 12:3-12
4. Siddiqui SZ, Brown, DDR, Accardi, MV, Forrester, SG. 2012. Hco-LGC-38 is novel nematode cys-loop GABA receptor subunit. Mol Biochem Parasitol. 185:137– 144
5. Daniels, BA, Andrews, ED, Aurousseau, MRP, Accardi, MV and Bowie, D. 2013. Crosslinking the ligand-binding domain dimer interface locks kainate receptors out of the main open state. J. Physio, 591:3873-85
6. Accardi, MV, Daniels, BA, Brown, PMGE, Fritschy, JM, Tyagarajan, SK and Bowie, D. 2014. Mitochondrial reactive oxygen species regulate the strength of inhibitory GABA-mediated synaptic transmission. Nat. Commun. 5:3168 doi: 10.1038/ncomms4168.
7. Accardi MV, Brown PMGE, Miraucourt LS, Orser BA, Bowie D. 2015. α6-Containing GABAA Receptors Are the Principal Mediators of Inhibitory Synapse Strengthening by Insulin in Cerebellar Granule Cells. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 35:9676-9688.