Education:
B.S., Chemistry/Food Science: Rutgers University
M.S., Physiology: North Carolina State University
Ph.D., Physiology: North Carolina State University
Post-doctoral, Drug metabolism: North Carolina State University
Post-doctoral, Neurobiology: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Summary Statement:
Dr. Mailman’s laboratory is interested in the neuropharmacology of dopamine neurotransmission, with a specific focus on molecular drug design for dopamine receptors. Dopamine receptors are encoded by five different genes that produce receptors divided into two major families (called D1 and D2). The main goals of the Mailman group are to understand the structural features that affect drug-receptor binding and activation.
Using molecular and computational approaches, Dr. Mailman and his collaborators have been world leaders in the design of dopamine D1 full agonists. Their drugs have been critical research tools that have helped define new directions for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, memory and cognition, and aspects of schizophrenia. The group is focused on understanding the mechanisms of multiple signaling through a single receptor, and the design of new drugs with improved properties over existing compounds.

Representative Publications:
1. Mottola, DM, Lawler CP, Jones SR, Einhorn L, Booth RG, Wightman M, Nichols DE and Mailman RB: Functional selectivity of dopamine D2 receptors. I. Novel postsynaptic functional selectivity of dihydrexidine and its analogs in the rat central nervous system. J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 301: 1166-1178, 2002.

2. Kilts JD, Smith H, Lawler CP, Oxford G, Nichols DE, O’Malley KL, Todd R, and Mailman RB: Functional selectivity of dopamine D2 receptors. II. D2 mediated functional selectivity of dihydrexidine and its analogs in model systems. J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 301: 1179-1189 2002.

3. Andersson C, Hamer R, Lawler CP, Mailman RB, and Lieberman JA: Striatal Volume Changes in the Rat Following Long-Term Administration of Typical and Atypical Antipsychotic Drugs Neuropsychopharmacology 27: 143-151, 2002

4. Huang X, Lawler CP, Nichols DE, Lewis MM, and Mailman RB: Dopamine D1 Receptors. International Review of Neurobiology 48: 66-138, 2001.

5. Shapiro DA, Renock S, Arrington E, Sibley DR, Chiodo LA, Roth BL, and Mailman RB: Aripiprazole, a novel atypical antipsychotic drug with a unique and robust pharmacology. Neuropsychopharmacology (in press).