Helen Scharfman, Ph.D.

Bio

Dr. Scharfman graduated from Vassar College , completed doctoral training in the Dept. of Pharmacology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (Bethesda, MD), and postdoctoral study in the Dept. of Neurological Surgery at the University of Washington (Seattle, WA).  She was then a Research Associate in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at the State University of Stony Brook (Stony Brook, NY) before starting her own laboratory at Helen Hayes Hospital/Columbia University in 1991. 

At Helen Hayes Hospital , Dr. Scharfman became Director of the Center for Neural Recovery and Rehabilitation Research, a center devoted translational research focused on neurological sciences.  In her own research, Dr. Scharfman has provided fundamental insight into the basic structure and function of cortical circuits using in vivo and in vitro approaches.  As a graduate student she established differential dendritic and somatic responses to the inhibitory transmitter GABA in rat visual cortical neurons.  As a postdoctoral fellow she was the first to functionally characterize mossy cells in the hilus of the dentate gyrus, neurons that are thought to contribute to diverse conditions, from learning and memory to autism, Alzheimer’s disease, and epilepsy.  The laboratory then expanded studies of vulnerable neurons to the entorhinal cortical pyramidal cells of layer III, and began experiments that contributed to the now widely-accepted appreciation for the role of the neurotrophin BDNF in hippocampus.  Recent efforts have built upon several novel findings, such as the discovery of abnormal activity in newly-born granule cells that migrate incorrectly, providing a new perspective on the potential for neurogenesis to influence brain function.  Other recent endeavors include the influence of gonadal steroids in plasticity and in diseases such as epilepsy.  

Dr. Scharfman has contributed broadly in basic and translational neuroscience.  She has served on the Professional Advisory Board of the Epilepsy Foundation, the Scientific Advisory Board of CURE, committees of the American Epilepsy Society and Epilepsy Foundation, and served as a reviewer for numerous national and international journals and funding organizations, as well as editorial boards of Epilepsia, Epilepsy Research, and Epilepsy and Behavior.  She was named the New York State Department of Health Employee of the Year in 2005 for establishing a research center at Helen Hayes Hospital to promote translational research.  She has published extensively, including 4 books.  She has been funded by the NIH since starting her own laboratory.

Research Interests: Mechanisms underlying neuronal excitability and neuronal plasticity, neuroendocrinology/gender differences; hippocampus and parahippocampal cortex; neurological and psychiatric disorders. Grant support: R01 NS 37562 (PI) BDNF and Hippocampal Hyperexcitability; R01 NS16102 (Co-I) Kynurenines, Glia and Epilepsy; R01 NS41490 (Co-I) Ectopic Granule cells and Synaptic Restructuring after Seizures; NYS SCIRB (PI) Aquaporins and Spinal Cord Injury; Binational Science Foundation (Co-I) KCNQ Channels in Hippocampal Neurons.

Relevant Experience: Editorships and Editorial Boards - Epilepsia, Epilepsy Research, Epilepsy Currents, Epilepsy and Behavior; Peer Review - NIH NINDS/NIMH Study Section member and co-chair, NTRC; Ad Hoc member NST, CNNT; LAM; NSF Dev. Neurobiology, Neuronal and Glial Mechanisms, Beh. Neuroscience; VA Merit Review; Wellcome Trust; Alzheimer’s Association Review; Epilepsy Foundation; Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE). National Committees - Council, Organization for the Study of Sex Differences; Epilepsy Foundation Professional Advisory Board; CURE Scientific Advisory Board; American Epilepsy Society: Chair, Publications committee; Investigator’s Workshop Committee; Scientific Program Committee; Continuing Medical Education Committee; Awards Committee; Basic Science committee.