Neuroscience  http://www.gbs.uab.edu  http://www.uab.edu/graduate  Back to Main

Faculty Detail    
Name TALENE ALENE YACOUBIAN
  
Campus Address CIRC 560D Zip 0021
Phone  (205) 996-7543
E-mail  tyacoub@uab.edu
Other websites http://labs.uab.edu/tyacoub/
     

Education
Undergraduate  Harvard College    1993  A.B. in Biochemical Sciences 
Medical School  Duke University School of Medicine    2001  MD 
Graduate  Duke University    2001  PhD in Neurobiology 
Residency  Partners Neurology Residency Program at Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s Hospitals    2005  Neurology Residency 
Fellowship  Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s Hospitals     2006  Fellowship in Movement Disorders 
Fellowship  University of Alabama at Birmingham    2007  Fellowship in Movement Disorders 


Faculty Appointment(s)
Appointment Type Department Division Rank
Primary  Neurology Chair Office  Neurology Chair Office Professor
Secondary  Neurobiology  Neurobiology Assistant Professor
Center  Alzheimer's Disease Center  Alzheimer's Disease Center Professor
Center  Civitan International Research Center  Civitan International Research Center Professor
Center  Comprehensive Neuroscience Center  Comprehensive Neuroscience Center Professor
Center  Ctr Neurodegeneration & Exp Ther (CNET)  Ctr Neurodegeneration & Exp Ther (CNET) Professor
Center  Multiple Sclerosis Center  Multiple Sclerosis Center Professor

Graduate Biomedical Sciences Affiliations
Cellular and Molecular Biology Program 
Medical Scientist Training Program 
Neuroscience 
Pathobiology and Molecular Medicine 

Biographical Sketch 
Dr. Talene Yacoubian, MD, PhD, joined the Department of Neurology in July of 2006, and is currently an Assistant Professor. Dr. Yacoubian received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University, and her MD/PhD from Duke University in 2001. She completed a one year internship at Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston and a 3 year Residency in Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital/Brigham & Women's Hospital. She finished a two year Fellowship in Movement Disorders in July of 2007. She is an Assistant Professor in the Center for Neurodegeneration and Experimental Therapeutics and the Parkinson's Association of Alabama Scholar. She currently divides her time between patient care and laboratory research focused on Parkinson’s disease.

Society Memberships
Organization Name Position Held Org Link
Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Society  Member   
American Academy of Neurology  Member   
Movement Disorders Society  Member   
Society for Neuroscience  Member   
 



Research/Clinical Interest
Title
Role of 14-3-3 proteins in Parkinson’s disease
Description
The Yacoubian Lab is focused on understanding the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease with the long-term goal of developing neuroprotective therapies. The main focus of the lab is the family of 14-3-3 proteins and their role in Parkinson's disease. We have demonstrated disruption of 14-3-3 expression and function in Parkinson's disease models and shown that these proteins can reduce toxicity in several PD models. We are currently investigating how 14-3-3 proteins can regulate alpha-synuclein and LRRK2, two key genes implicated in PD. We employ a variety of cellular, molecular, and in vivo techniques.

Selected Publications 
Publication PUBMEDID
Lee YJ, Wang S, Slone SR, Yacoubian TA, Witt SN. Defects in Very Long Chain Fatty Acid Synthesis Affect Alpha-Synuclein Trafficking and Aging in a Yeast Model of Parkinson's Disease, PLoS One, 2011;6(1):e15946.   21264320 
Yacoubian TA, Slone SR, Harrington AJ, Hamamichi S, Schieltz JM, Caldwell KA, Caldwell GA, Standaert DG. Differential neuroprotective effects of 14-3-3 proteins in PD models. Cell Death Dis 1: e2; doi:10.1038/cddis.2009.4  21152247  
Steidinger T, Standaert DG, Yacoubian TA. A neuroprotective role for angiogenin in models of Parkinson’s Disease, J Neurochem 2011;116(3):334-41.  21091473 
Standaert DG, Yacoubian T. Target Validation: the Parkinson Disease Perspective. Dis Model Mech. 2010; 3(5-6):259-62.  20427553 
Yacoubian TA, Howard G, Kissela B, Sands CD, Standaert DG. Racial Differences in Parkinson's Disease Medication Use in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke Cohort: A Cross-Sectional Study. Neuroepidemiology. 2009;33(4):329-334. Epub 2009 Nov 4.  19887838 
Qiao L, Hamamichi S, Caldwell KA, Caldwell GA, Yacoubian T, Wilson S, Xie Z-L, Speake L, Parks R, Crabtree D, Crimmins S, Schneider L, Uchiyama Y, Iwatsubo T, Zhou Y, Peng L, Lu Y, Standaert D, Walls KC, Shacka JJ, Roth KA, Zhang J. Lysosomal enzyme cathepsin D protects against neuronal alpha-synuclein aggregation and toxicity. Molecular Brain. 2008;1(1):17.   19021916 
Yacoubian TA, Standaert DG. Targets for neuroprotection in Parkinson’s disease. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2009 Jul;1792(7):676-87. Epub 2008 Oct 1.  18930814 
Yacoubian TA, Cantuti-Castelvetri I, Bouzou B, Asteris A, McLean PJ, Hyman BT, Standaert DG. Transcriptional dysregulation in a transgenic model of Parkinson’s disease. Neurobiol Dis. 2008 Mar;29 (3): 515-28.   18191405 
Yacoubian TA, Lo DC. Truncated and full-length TrkB receptors regulate distinct modes of dendritic growth. Nature Neurosci. 2000; 3:342-349.   10925923 
Kryl D, Yacoubian T, Haapasalo A, Castren E, Lo D, Barker PA. Subcellular localization of full-length and truncated Trk receptor isoforms in polarized neurons and epithelial cells. J Neurosci. 1999; 19:5823-5833   10407023 
Slone SR, Lesort M, Yacoubian TA. 14-3-3theta protects against neurotoxicity in a cellular Parkinson’s disease model through inhibition of the apoptotic factor Bax, PLoS One, in press.   
 

Keywords
Parkinsons disease; Neurobiology; Molecular Genetics & Disease