Noah Benson, Ph. D.
Depts. of Psychology & Neurology
University of Pennsylvania
Research
My research is focused on examining the neural correlates of vision and how these relate to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). I am currently running experiments both on the macular sensitivity of drusen in AMD patients and on the retinotopic organization of V1 in AMD patients.
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Retinotopic Organization of V1 Area V1, the primary visual cortext, is the earliest cortical visual area. Retinotopy of normal individuals creates a smoothly-varying map of neurons that respond to the polar angle and eccentricity of various stimuli. We are studying universal features of V1 as well as methods for accurate mapping of V1, especially in subjects who respond poorly to traditional mapping techniques. |
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Benson NC, Butt OH, Datta R, Brainard DH, Aguirre GK (2011) A Universal Retinotopic Mapping of V1 with Respect to Anatomy. In Preparation.
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Drusen Sensitivity in Macular Degeneration The research on the sensitivity of hard drusen in early age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is split by evidence that they both are and are not less sensitive to stimuli displayed over their portion of the retina. We are working to shed light on this by analyzing both the sensitivity of drusen in AMD patients and genetic factors which may contribute to their relative sensitivity. |
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My graduate research focused on explaining and characterizing the dynamics of proteins. I analyzed proteins in our Dynameomics database to examine dynamics of all proteins broadly using wavelet analysis, flexibility analysis, and graph theory. I additionally examined a smaller number of methyltransferase proteins with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to examine how mutations affect protein dynamics.
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Wavelet Analysis of Protein Motion The motion of proteins is often difficult to interpret, and events of interest in a protein simulation can be difficult to locate. We have used wavelet analysis as a means of quickly scanning simulations for rearrangements and subtle changes in a protein that have physical significance. |
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Benson NC, Rutherford K, Daggett V (2011) Using wavelet analysis to characterize the dynamic effects of polymorphisms in four methyltransferase proteins. In Preparation. Benson NC, Daggett V (2011) Wavelet analysis of protein motion. Protein Eng. Des. Sel. Submitted.
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Chemical Environments: Protein Graphs Much research has already found applications of rudimentary graph representations of proteins. By representing similar chemical regions of a protein as nodes in a graph, I hope to simplify the observation of chemical changes over time. |
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Benson NC, Daggett V (2011) A graph theoretic approach to event detection in molecular dynamics simulations. In Preparation.
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Protein Flexibility Using principal component analysis, we can determine the a primary direction and magnitude of an atom's flexibility. By mining the entire Dynameomics database, we have discovered several interesting things about how proteins move and the relation of those movements to protein chemistry. |
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Benson NC, Daggett V (2008) Dynameomics: large-scale assessment of native protein flexibility. Protein Sci. 17(12): 2038-50. |
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Suite 328C
3401 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Phone: 215-898-7300
Fax: 215-898-7301
email: nbe@sas.upenn.edu
