Q&A: Dr. Brian Muntean on Brain Signaling, KCTD Proteins and the Future of Neuroscience
The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine’s Brian Muntean, Ph.D., discusses how his laboratory studies KCTD proteins, visualizes signaling inside neurons and explores new ways to understand the molecular control of brain communication.
Key Takeaways
- Neuronal signaling allows brain cells to communicate and coordinate brain function.
- The Miller School of Medicine’s Dr. Brian Muntean’s laboratory studies how KCTD proteins fine-tune signaling inside neurons.
- The laboratory uses real-time imaging approaches to examine signaling associated with receptors such as dopamine receptors.
- Researchers are investigating whether KCTD proteins could eventually provide a way to adjust neuronal signaling pharmacologically.
Understanding how brain cells communicate is one of the central challenges in modern neuroscience. Every thought, movement, emotion and behavior depends on coordinated signaling between neurons, yet many of the molecular processes that make this communication possible remain poorly understood. Uncovering those mechanisms could help researchers identify new approaches to movement disorders, addiction, depression and other neurological conditions.
Brian Muntean, Ph.D., an associate professor of physiology and biophysics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, has built his research career around this challenge. His work focuses on how neurons relay information with precision and how molecular signaling pathways shape brain function. During his postdoctoral training, he developed an experimental model that allows scientists to visualize signaling activity inside neurons in real time. The technology created new opportunities to study how neurotransmitters such as dopamine influence communication within brain cells.
Today, Dr. Muntean’s laboratory investigates a family of understudied proteins known as potassium channel tetramerization domain-containing proteins, or KCTD proteins. His team is working to determine how these proteins fine-tune neuronal signaling and whether targeting them pharmacologically could eventually help adjust that signaling. This research contributes to a broader scientific effort to understand the molecular foundations of brain function and neurological disease.
In this Q&A, Dr. Muntean reflects on the discoveries that have defined his career, his approach to research and the importance of teaching and mentoring future scientists.
If you had to identify one or two discoveries that best define your research career so far, which would you choose and why?
My research centers on the fundamentals of how neurons communicate and relay information in the brain with high fidelity. Therefore, it is essential to visualize signal transduction in real time.
This began during my postdoctoral training, when my major project was the development of a model that enabled direct visualization of signaling downstream from receptors. We focused on a shared signaling molecule called cAMP, that represents the convergence of hundreds of receptors, such as dopamine. The model was therefore named CAMPER, or cAMP Reporter.
I then developed strategies using a microscope to study how neurotransmitters shape signal transduction in neurons. This technology has been the foundation of my research as a postdoc and continued when I started my independent laboratory in December 2020.
Now, my lab is using this approach and others to uncover the molecular mechanisms that determine neuronal signaling from receptors such as dopamine. We focus on an understudied family of proteins called potassium channel tetramerization domain-containing proteins, or KCTD proteins. There are 25 KCTDs, and we keep finding new ways that they shape biological processes.
Ultimately, strategies to study neuromodulation and defining the roles of KCTD proteins best define my work.
Your work has explored signaling mechanisms involved in movement disorders, addiction, depression and neurological diseases. Which findings have the greatest potential to improve patient care in the future?
Leveraging the therapeutic potential of the accessory role of KCTD proteins in shaping neurotransmission. For instance, targeting KCTD proteins pharmacologically could adjust neuronal signaling.
Your current NIH-funded research investigates the role of KCTD proteins in striatal signaling. What are the most exciting unanswered questions you’re pursuing today?
The precise molecular mechanisms that endow KCTD proteins with the ability to fine-tune neuronal signaling.
Several of your papers have been highlighted by journals and editors. How do you determine which research questions are worth pursuing in such a competitive scientific landscape?
Every answered question, large or small, importantly adds to our knowledge and can be built upon. I want to stay focused on KCTDs and their role in neuronal signaling. As long as we pursue those research questions comprehensively and with passion, they are worth pursuing.
Securing NIH R01 funding is a major accomplishment for any investigator. What did receiving your first R01 mean for your lab and research program?
The first R01 means you are on the right path, as the science is reviewed by experts in the field. This provided the confidence to aggressively move forward with research that breaks new ground.
Among your many honors, including poster awards, fellowship support and teaching recognition, which award was most unexpected or personally meaningful?
Teaching recognition was unexpected. The majority of my effort has always been devoted to research, and I lacked the teaching experience of my peers. It has been satisfying to be able to convey information in an understandable way to students.
Your trainees have earned notable research awards and distinctions. What do you consider the most rewarding aspect of mentoring students and postdoctoral researchers?
It is meaningful to see others grow and do well. I enjoy observing the progress of trainees and seeing them move on to professional career tracks. This is particularly important because we want every successive generation to improve and make even more innovative advances.
What advice would you give early-career scientists seeking to build successful independent research programs?
Find the niche that you enjoy. Do not worry about publishing or funding. The number one priority is quality science. As long as you do great work, the papers and funding are likely to follow.
Looking ahead, what scientific challenges are you most excited to tackle during the next phase of your career?
I want to expand the limits of what we can accomplish through collaboration, growing our research group and incorporating new technology into our approaches.
When people look back on your career 20 years from now, what do you hope will be considered your most important contribution to neuroscience and biomedical research?
I am hopeful that we uncover new biology about KCTD proteins that can lead to either breakthroughs in therapy or a new understanding of neuronal signaling in general.
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Tags: brain health, Department of Physiology & Biophysics, depression, Dr. Brian Muntean, movement disorders, neuroscience, opioid addiction