Dr. William C. Mobley
Dr. William C. Mobley is Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences as well as the Director of the Center for Research and Treatment of Down Syndrome at Stanford University. Dr. Mobley received both his M.D. and PhD. from Stanford University. After completing a residency and fellowship in neurology at Johns Hopkins University Hospital, he joined the faculty of the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine. In 1997, he returned to Stanford University. Dr. Mobley’s laboratory studies the signaling biology of neurotrophic factors in the normal brain and in animal models of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Down syndrome.
Neurotrophic factors are proteins that play an important role in maintaining synapses and circuits. Released at the synapse, neurotrophic factors send signals to ensure normal synapse function. In pioneering studies, Dr. Mobley and his colleagues defined the mechanisms by which neurotrophic factor signals are moved within a cell. He is widely acknowledged as having been the first to isolate the cellular organelle responsible. The Mobley laboratory has recently discovered that neurotrophic signals are not normally trafficked in mouse models of Down syndrome. This abnormal trafficking leads to structural and functional changes at synapses. A brain region that is particularly affected in Down syndrome is the hippocampus, which plays and important role in learning and memory. Current research is focusing on identifying the gene(s) that may be responsible for structural and functional changes at the synapse. Once the gene(s) are found, the goal is to understand the underlying mechanisms, so that effective treatments can be found.
