Team | Pamenter Lab

Supervisor

Matthew Pamenter, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Biology

I received my Ph.D. from the University of Toronto (2003-2008), where I studied neural mechanisms of anoxia-tolerance in turtle brain in the Buck lab. I then travelled to California to undertake a postdoctoral fellowship in the Haddad lab at UCSD (2008-2012), where I studied mechanisms of ischemic cell death in mammalian stroke models. In 2012, I began a second postdoctoral fellowship, split between the Powell lab at UCSD and the Milsom lab at UBC (2012-2015), studying neural plasticity in the hypoxic ventilatory response of rodents, including the naked mole-rat.

I am broadly interested in how hypoxia-tolerant animals have evolved to survive in low-oxygen environments. My primary focus is discovering cellular and physiological mechanisms of hypoxia-tolerance, with a specific interest in how brain cells survive with little to no oxygen and how neural networks control physiological responses to hypoxia.

Lab Members

Mo Ojaghi

Ph.D. Student (2019- )

Liam Eaton

Ph.D. Student (2018- )

Publications: Eaton L, Welch I, Halal AK, Bengtsson J and Pamenter ME (2023). Apocynin reduces dihydroethidium fluorescence in naked mole-rat cortex independently of NADPH oxidase. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A.

Eaton L, Wang T, Roy M, and Pamenter ME (2023). Naked mole-rat cortex maintains reactive oxygen species homeostasis during in vitro hypoxia or ischemia and reperfusion. Current Neuropharmacology.

Eaton L and Pamenter ME (2022). Is NADPH critical to maintain redox homeostasis in hypoxia-tolerant naked mole-rat brain? Reactive Oxygen Species.

Hadj-Moussa H, Eaton L, Cheng H, Pamenter ME and Storey KB (2022). Naked mole-rats resist the accumulation of hypoxia-induced oxidative damage. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A.

Eaton L and Pamenter ME (2022). What to do with low O2: redox adaptations in vertebrates native to hypoxic environments. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A.

D’Alessio S, Cheng H, Eaton L, Kraev I, Pamenter ME and Lange S (2022). Acute hypoxia alters extracellular vesicle signatures and the brain citrusllinome of naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber). International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

Ingelson-Filpula WA, Cheng H, Eaton L, Pamenter ME and Storey KB (2022). Small RNA sequencing in hypoxic naked mole-rat hearts suggests microRNA regulation of RNA- and translation-related processes. FEBS Letters.

Hadj-Moussa H, Chiasson S, Cheng H, Eaton L, Storey KB and Pamenter ME (2021). MicroRNA-mediated inhibition of AMPK coordinates tissue-specific downregulation of skeletal muscle metabolism in hypoxic naked mole-rats. Journal of Experimental Biology.

Wang TH, Eaton L, and Pamenter ME (2020). Nitric oxide homeostasis is maintained during acute in vitro hypoxia and following reoxygenation in naked mole-rat but not mouse cortical neurons. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A.

Karen Kadamani

Honours B.Sc. Student (2019-2020); Ph.D. Student (2020- )

Publications: Kadamani KL, Logan SM and Pamenter ME (2024). Does hypoxia constrain innate pathogen defence? Acta Physiologica.

Maiah Devereaux

Honours B.Sc. Student (2018-2019); M.Sc. Student (2019- )

Publications: Devereaux MEM and Pamenter ME (2023). Adenosine and gamma-aminobutyric acid partially regulate metabolic and ventilatory responses of Damaraland mole-rats to acute hypoxia. Journal of Experimental Biology.

Devereaux MEM, Chaisson S, Brennan KF and Pamenter ME (2023). The glutamatergic drive to breath is reduced in severe but not moderate hypoxia in Damaraland mole-rats. Journal of Experimental Biology.

Devereaux MEM, Silva Rubio C, Van Breukelen F and Pamenter ME (2023). Physiological responses to hypoxia are constrained by environmental temperature in heterothermic tenrecs. Journal of Experimental Biology.

Farhat E, Devereaux MEM, Cheng H, Weber J-M and Pamenter ME (2021). Na+/K+-ATPase activity is regionally regulated by acute hypoxia in naked mole-rat brain. Neuroscience Letters.

Devereaux MEM, Campbell KL, Munro D, Blier PU and Pamenter ME (2021). Burrowing star-nosed moles (Condylura cristata) are not hypoxia-tolerant. Journal of Experimental Biology.

Clayson M, Devereaux MEM, and Pamenter ME (2020). Neurokinin-1 receptor activation is sufficient to restore the hypercapnic ventilatory response in the Substance P-deficient naked mole-rat. American Journal of Physiology.

Devereaux MEM and Pamenter ME (2020). Fossorial Giant Zambian mole-rats have blunted ventilatory responses to environmental hypoxia and hypercapnia. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A.

Farhat E, Devereaux MEM, ME, and Weber JM (2020). Naked mole-rats suppress energy metabolism and modulate membrane cholesterol in chronic hypoxia. American Journal of Physiology.

Abdul Karim Halal

B.Sc. Student Volunteer, UROP awardee (2022- )

John Bengtsson

NSERC USRA Awardee, Honours B.Sc. Student (2022- )

Claire Della Torre

B.Sc. Student Volunteer (2023- )

Gloria Lamontagne

Honours B.Sc. Student (2023- )

George Otell

Honours B.Sc. Student (2023- )

Amar Bhandari

B.Sc. Student (2023- )

Lab Alumni

Nathalie Marks de Chabris

Honours B.Sc. Student (2022-2023)

Publications: Marks de Chabris NC, Sabir S, Perkins G, Cheng H, Ellisman MH and Pamenter ME (2023). Acute hypoxia does not alter mitochondrial abundance in naked mole-rats. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A.

Bogdan Tirca

Honours B.Sc. Student (2022-2023)

Michael Qi

B.Sc. Student Volunteer (2022-2023)

Hang Cheng

Ph.D. Student (2018-2023)

Publications: Cheng H, Perkins GA, Ju S, Kim K, Ellisman MH and Pamenter ME (2023). Enhanced mitochondrial buffering prevents Ca2+ overload in naked mole-rat brain. Journal of Physiology.

Hart DW, Bennett NC, Best C, van Jaarsveld B, Cheng H, Ivy CM, Kirby AM, Munro D, Sprenger RJ, Storey KB, Milsom WK and Pamenter ME (2023). The relationship between hypoxia exposure and circulating cortisol levels in social and solitary African mole-rats. General and Comparative Endocrinology.

Marks de Chabris NC, Sabir S, Perkins G, Cheng H, Ellisman MH and Pamenter ME (2023). Acute hypoxia does not alter mitochondrial abundance in naked mole-rats. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A.

Cheng H, Qin Y, Dhillon R, Dowell J, Denu JM and Pamenter ME (2022). Metabolomic analysis of carbohydrate and amino acid changes induced by hypoxia in naked mole-rat brain and liver. Metabolites.

Hadj-Moussa H, Eaton L, Cheng H, Pamenter ME and Storey KB (2022). Naked mole-rats resist the accumulation of hypoxia-induced oxidative damage. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A.

Thoral E, Farhat E, Roussel D, Cheng H, Guillard L, Pamenter ME, Weber J-M and Teulier L (2022). Different patterns of chronic hypoxia lead to hierarchical adaptative mechanisms in goldfish metabolism. Journal of Experimental Biology.

Cheng H and Pamenter (2022). Supermole-rat to the rescue: does the naked mole-rat offer a panacea for all that ails us? Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A.

Cheng H, Sebaa R, Malholtra N, Lacoste B, El Hankouri Z, Kirby A, Bennett NC, van Jaarseld B, Hart DW, Tattersall GJ, Harper ME and Pamenter ME (2021). Naked mole-rat brown fat thermogenesis is diminished during hypoxia through a rapid decrease in UCP1. Nature Communications.

Cheng H and Pamenter ME (2021). Naked mole-rat brain mitochondria tolerate in vitro ischemia. Journal of Physiology.

Cheng H, Munro D, Huynh K and Pamenter ME (2021). Naked mole-rat skeletal muscle mitochondria exhibit minimal functional plasticity in acute or chronic hypoxia. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology B.

Farhat E, Devereaux MEM, Cheng H, Weber J-M and Pamenter ME (2021). Na+/K+-ATPase activity is regionally regulated by acute hypoxia in naked mole-rat brain. Neuroscience Letters.

Farhat E, Cheng H, Romestaing C, Pamenter M, and Weber JM (2021). Goldfish response to chronic hypoxia: Mitochondrial respiration, fuel preference and energy metabolism. Metabolites. 11(3):187.

Cheng H, Munro D and Pamenter ME (2021). Dynamic calculation of ATP/O ratios measured using Magnesium Green (MgGr)™. MethodsX.

Sidney Abar

Honours B.Sc. Student (2021-2022)

Isabella Welch

Honours B.Sc. Student (2021-2022)

Jaina Patel

B.Sc. Student (2021-2022)

Bizav Jaffer

Honours B.Sc. Student (2021-2022)

Soulene Sabir

UROP awardee (2021-2022)

Katia Hughes

NSERC USRA awardee (2021)

Kenny Huynh

UROP awardee; NSERC USRA awardee; Honours B.Sc. Student (2018-2021)

Publications: Huynh K, Sabir S, Cheng H and Pamenter ME (2022). Acute pH alterations do not impact cardiac mitochondrial respiration in naked mole-rats or mice. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A.

Huynh K and Pamenter ME (2022). Lactate inhibits naked mole-rat cardiac mitochondrial respiration. Journal of Comparative Physiology B.

Pamenter ME, Usyal-Onganer P, Huynh K, Kraev I, and Lange S (2021). Post-translational deimination of immunological and metabolic protein markers in plasma and extracellular vesicles of naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber). International Journal of Molecular Science

Kate Brennan

Honours B.Sc. Student (2020-2021)

Project title: Effects of glutamate receptor antagonists on the hypoxic ventilatory response of Damaraland mole-rats.

Publications: Devereaux MEM, Chaisson S, Brennan KF and Pamenter ME (2023). The glutamatergic drive to breath is reduced in severe but not moderate hypoxia in Damaraland mole-rats. Journal of Experimental Biology.

Maria Roy

Honours B.Sc. Student (2019-2020)

Project title: Hypoxia-mediated changes in n-methyl-d-aspartate-evoked calcium flux in naked mole-rat cortex.

Publications: Eaton L, Wang T, Roy M, and Pamenter ME (2023). Naked mole-rat cortex maintains reactive oxygen species homeostasis during in vitro hypoxia or ischemia and reperfusion. Current Neuropharmacology.

Sarah Chiasson

Honours B.Sc. Student (2019-2020)

Project title: Glutamatergic receptors modulate the ventilatory but not metabolic response to acute hypoxia.

Daniel Munro, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow (2017-2019)

Publications: Hart DW, Bennett NC, Best C, van Jaarsveld B, Cheng H, Ivy CM, Kirby AM, Munro D, Sprenger RJ, Storey KB, Milsom WK and Pamenter ME (2023). The relationship between hypoxia exposure and circulating cortisol levels in social and solitary African mole-rats. General and Comparative Endocrinology.

Devereaux MEM, Campbell KL, Munro D, Blier PU and Pamenter ME (2021). Burrowing star-nosed moles (Condylura cristata) are not hypoxia-tolerant. Journal of Experimental Biology.

Cheng H, Munro D and Pamenter ME (2021). Dynamic calculation of ATP/O ratios measured using Magnesium Green (MgGr)™. MethodsX.

Munro D, Baldy C, Pamenter ME, and Treberg JR (2019). The exceptional longevity of the naked mole-rat may be explained by exceptional mitochondrial antioxidant defenses. Aging Cell.

Munro D and Pamenter ME (2019). Comparative studies of mitochondrial ROS in animal models: pitfalls and possibilities. Aging Cell.

Pamenter ME and Munro D (2019), Longevity or hypoxia: who’s driving? Aging-US

Chau Nguyen

NSERC USRA awardee; Co-op work placement; Honours B.Sc. Student (2016-2019)

Project title: Exploring the contribution of heat shock protein to the hypoxia-tolerance of the naked mole-rat

Publications: Al-attar R, Childers CL, Nguyen VC, Pamenter ME and Storey KB (2020). Differential protein phosphorylation is responsible for hypoxia-induced regulation of the Akt/mTOR pathway in naked mole-rats. Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry.

Nguyen VC, Deck CA and Pamenter ME (2019). Naked mole-rats reduce the expression of ATP-dependent but not ATP-independent heat shock proteins in acute hypoxia. Journal of Experimental Biology.

Hawkins LJ, Hadj-Moussa H, Nguyen VC, Pamenter ME and Storey KB (2019). Naked mole-rats activate neuroprotective proteins during hypoxia. Journal of Experimental Zoology A.

Samantha Torne

Honours B.Sc. Student (2018-2019)

Tina Wang

Honours B.Sc. Student (2018-2019)

Project title: Naked mole-rat neurons control reactive nitrogen species production during reperfusion following hypoxia or ischemia.

Salome Cadrin-Aubin

Honours B.Sc. Student (2018-2019)

Project title: Vascular adaptations in muscle to exercise / work in hypoxia in 6 species
of African mole rats.

Lisa Borecky

M.Sc. Student (2015-2018)

Project title: Hypoxia inducible factor and the control of hypoxic ventilatory and metabolic responses in Mus Musculus and heterocephalus glaber.

Publications: Dzal, Seow, Borecky, Chung, Gill, Milsom and Pamenter (2019). Glutamatergic receptors modulate normoxic but not hypoxic ventilation and metabolism in naked mole rats. Frontiers in Physiology

Borecky LG and Pamenter ME (2017). Oxygen sensing and transcriptional regulation of adaptive hypoxic responses. In: Chemosensory sensors and systems: evolutionary significance biological effects, and new insights. New York, USA: Nova Science (M. Brandt, ed.).

Cécile Baldy, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow (2017-2018)

Publications: Munro D, Baldy C, Pamenter ME, and Treberg JR (2019). The exceptional longevity of the naked mole-rat may be explained by exceptional mitochondrial antioxidant defenses. Aging Cell

Pamenter ME and Baldy C. (2017). Chronic intermittent hypoxia contributes to sleep-disordered breathing in infants and adults. Berlin, GER: Avid Science. (S. Ravini, ed.).