Diana M. Bautista is an American

neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist who has specialised knowledge in neuroscience, a branch of biology that deals with the physiology, biochemistry, psychology, anatomy and molecular biology of neurons, neural circuits, and glial ...

known for her work on the molecular mechanisms underlying itch, touch and pain. She is a full professor of

cell Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life Cell may also refer to: Locations * Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery ...

and developmental biology in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and is affiliated with the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

Education and Scientific Career

Bautista was raised in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and was the first member of her family to graduate high school. While taking a break from pursuing a fine arts degree, she worked for an environmental group in Chicago, which sparked her interest in the intersection of chemistry, the environment and human disease. This lead her to the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

to study environmental science. While working in the laboratory of Peter O'Day, she became interested in cell signaling and the nervous system. Dr. O'Day encouraged her apply for graduate school where she eventually chose to join the laboratory of Richard Lewis at Stanford University. For her graduate studies, Dr. Bautista used

electrophysiology Electrophysiology (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ''ēlektron'', "amber" ee the Electron#Etymology, etymology of "electron" , ''physis'', "nature, origin"; and , ''-logy, -logia'') is the branch of physiology that studies the electrical propertie ...

and

calcium imaging Calcium imaging is a microscopy technique to optically measure the calcium (Ca2+) status of an isolated cell, tissue or medium. Calcium imaging takes advantage of calcium indicators, fluorescent molecules that respond to the binding of Ca2+ ions ...

to characterize how plasma-membrane calcium-ATPase ( PMCA) and Ca(2+) release-activated Ca(2+) (CRAC) channels regulate

calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar t ...

levels in

T-cells A T cell is a type of lymphocyte. T cells are one of the important white blood cells of the immune system and play a central role in the adaptive immune response. T cells can be distinguished from other lymphocytes by the presence of a T-cell r ...

. As a post-doctoral fellow in

David Julius David Jay Julius (born November 4, 1955) is an American physiologist and Nobel Prize laureate known for his work on molecular mechanisms of pain sensation and heat, including the characterization of the TRPV1 and TRPM8 receptors that detect ca ...

's lab, she characterized the response profiles of

TRPA1 Transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily A, member 1, also known as transient receptor potential ankyrin 1, TRPA1, or The Wasabi Receptor, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''TRPA1'' (and in mice and rats by the ''Trpa1' ...

and

TRPM8 Transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily M (melastatin) member 8 (TRPM8), also known as the cold and menthol receptor 1 (CMR1), is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''TRPM8'' gene. The TRPM8 channel is the primary molecular ...

and the molecular target of Sichuan peppers. Previously, Dr. Bautista helped show that

allyl isothiocyanate Allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) is an organosulfur compound (formula CH2CHCH2NCS). This colorless oil is responsible for the pungent taste of mustard, radish, horseradish, and wasabi. This pungency and the lachrymatory effect of AITC are mediated thr ...

, a pungent chemical found in

wasabi Wasabi ( Japanese: , , or , ; ''Eutrema japonicum'' or ''Wasabia japonica'') or Japanese horseradish is a plant of the family Brassicaceae, which also includes horseradish and mustard in other genera. The plant is native to Japan and the Russi ...

and other mustard plants, potently activates

. In a subsequent study, she demonstrated that compounds found in garlic plants,

allicin Allicin is an organosulfur compound obtained from garlic, a species in the family Alliaceae. It was first isolated and studied in the laboratory by Chester J. Cavallito and John Hays Bailey in 1944. When fresh garlic is chopped or crushed, th ...

and DADs, also activate

. Interestingly, both

, DADs and

share structurally similar motifs, suggesting that

Allium ''Allium'' is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants that includes hundreds of species, including the cultivated onion, garlic, scallion, shallot, leek, and chives. The generic name ''Allium'' is the Latin word for garlic,Gledhill, D ...

and

Brassica ''Brassica'' () is a genus of plants in the cabbage and mustard family ( Brassicaceae). The members of the genus are informally known as cruciferous vegetables, cabbages, or mustard plants. Crops from this genus are sometimes called ''cole c ...

plants independently derived chemical mechanisms to activate

to deter potential predators.

is also targeted by environmental irritants like acrolein, which is found in

tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ...

and vehicle exhaust. Using TRPA1-deficient mice, she showed that TRPA1 is activated by acrolein, allicin and allyl isothiocyanate, which in turn depolarizes

nociceptor A nociceptor ("pain receptor" from Latin ''nocere'' 'to harm or hurt') is a sensory neuron that responds to damaging or potentially damaging stimuli by sending "possible threat" signals to the spinal cord and the brain. The brain creates the sens ...

s and elicits inflammatory pain. Dr. Bautista also developed TRPM8-deficient mice to demonstrate, using

and behavioral studies, that

is the target of cold and menthol stimuli. In 2008, Bautista started her own lab at University of California, Berkeley and is a Rita Allen Scholar.

Awards and honours

* 2005-2010 Burroughs Welcome Fund Career Award in Biomedical Sciences * 2008-2009 Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship * 2009-2010 Hellman Family Faculty Fund Award * 2009-2011 McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience Scholar Award * 2009-2013 Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences * 2010-2012 Rita Allen Foundation Pain Scholar * 2010 Diana along with fellow UC Berkeley faculty member
Amy Herr
received New Innovator Award by the National Institutes of Health. * 2010-2012 Rita Allen Foundation Pain Scholar * 2012 UC Berkeley Prytanean Faculty Award for outstanding research, teaching & outreach * 2013 International Forum for the Study of Itch, Handwerker Prize for Research * 2014 Along with

Feng Zhang Feng Zhang (; born October 22, 1981) is a Chinese-American biochemist. Zhang currently holds the James and Patricia Poitras Professorship in Neuroscience at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research and in the departments of Brain and Cognitive ...

, an assistant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, The Young Investigator award was given by The Society for Neuroscience today * 2016 HHMI Scholar 2016 UC Berkeley Class of 1949 Endowed Chair

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bautista, Diana American women neuroscientists American neuroscientists University of California, Berkeley faculty Living people University of Oregon alumni Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women