Home Translational Research Preclinical Development People Selena Bartlett, Ph.D.
Selena Bartlett, Ph.D. PDF Print E-mail
Selena5.jpgDirector of Preclinical Development Group

NARSAD Sidney R. Baer, Jr. Foundation Investigator

Contact Information:
Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center
University of California San Francisco
5858 Horton St, Suite 200
Emeryville CA94608
Phone 510 985 3133
Fax 510 985 3101
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Dr Bartlett has established and directs a laboratory focused on the translation of basic research  discoveries into drugable targets and new treatments for neurological diseases such as addiction, pain, stress, anxiety and depression. She is a trained Pharmacist and completed her PhD in neuropharmacology in 1995 in the School of Pharmacy, Brisbane, Australia and then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Neuroscience at the John Curtin School of Medical Research, Canberra, Australia in 1998. Dr Bartlett was a Principal Investigator on an Australian NH&MRC project from 1999-2001 before joining the Gallo Center at UCSF in December 2001. Dr Bartlett has organized and chaired symposia and has been an advisor to scientific and funding organizations. She has been awarded a number of grants to fund this research, has authored 30 scientific papers and has 3 patent applications in neuroscience therapeutics.

Goals: To develop new therapies from molecular neuroscience discoveries

Most current therapies are based on counselling and behavioral modification. These approaches help and are successful for some. To date, the FDA has approved only a handful of medications for the treatment of alcohol abuse, and the effectiveness of these medications is limited. However, the potential value of new treatments for alcoholism is now being recognized. In June 2005 a deal to share 50% of the profits of a pharmaceutical treatment for alcohol dependence (not yet approved by the FDA) was valued at up to $480 million. Several companies have recently shifted course and are now aggressively pursuing treatments to help those who wish to abstain from alcohol or control their drinking.

We have established a therapeutics development pipeline for the prevention and management of addiction, pain, anxiety and related neurologic disorders. These therapeutics are being either internally developed or by licensing and/or partnering. We have established a unique model for translating research discoveries in molecular neuroscience into drugable targets and new treatments. Please see the list of the individual projects.

Research Publications:

Book Chapters:

Bartlett, S. E. (2001) Identifying novel proteins in nervous tissue using microsequencing techniques. Methods Mol Biol.;169:43-50.

Bartlett, S. E. and Whistler, J.L. (2004) G-Protein Coupled Receptors: Signaling, Dimerization, and Neuropharmacology. Receptor Oligomerization and trafficking in Contemporary Clinical Neuroscience (series editors Ralph Lydic and Helen Baghdoyan).

Journal Papers:

Nielsen, C.K. Simms, J.A., Pierson, H.B., Li, R., Saini, S.K., Ananthan, S., Bartlett, S.E. A novel delta opioid receptor antagonist, SoRI-9409, produces a selective and long-lasting decrease in ethanol consumption in heavy drinking rats. Biological Psychiatry (in press).

Simms, J.A., Steensland, P., Medina, B., Abernathy, K., Chandler, L.J., Wise, R.A., and Bartlett, S.E. (2008) Intermittent-Access to 20% Ethanol induces high ethanol consumption in Long-Evans and Wistar rats. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 32:1-8.

Richards, J.K., Simms, J.A.and Bartlett, S.E. Conditioned cues and yohimbine induce reinstatement of beer and near beer seeking in Long-Evans rats. Addiction Biology (in press).

Kim J.A., Bartlett S., He L., Nielsen C.K., Chang A.M., Kharazia V., Waldhoer M., Ou C.J., Taylor S., Ferwerda M., Cado D., Whistler J.L. 2008 Morphine-Induced Receptor Endocytsis in a Novel Knockin Mouse Reduced Tolerance and Dependence. Curr Biol. 2008 Jan 17;18(2):129-135 [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 18207746 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Steensland, P., Simms, J.A., Holgate, J., Richards, J.K., and Bartlett, S.E. 2007 Varenicline, an a4b2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonist, selectively decreases ethanol consumption and seeking. PNAS published July 11, 2007, 10.1073/pnas.0705368104.

Bartlett, S.E., Enquist, J, Hopf, F.W. Lee, J.L. Gladher, F., Kharazia, V., Mailliard, W.S. Waldhoer, M., Armstrong,. R, Bonci. A, and Whistler, J.L. 2005 Functional Recovery of Mesolimbic Dopamine Receptor Responses by Inhibition of D2 Receptor Degradation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005 Aug 9;102(32):11521-6.

Waldhoer, M, Bartlett, S.E., Whistler, J.L., (2004) Opioid receptors. Annu Rev Biochem. 73:953-90.

Leck, K. J., Bartlett, S.E., Smith, M.T., Megirian, D., Holgate, J., Powell, K.l., Matthaei, K.I., Hendry, I.A. (2004) Deletion of guanine nucleotide binding protein alpha z subunit in mice induces a gene dose dependent tolerance to morphine. Neuropharmacology. 46(6):836-46.

Bartlett S.E. and Whistler, J.L. (2002) The near death experience of delta opioid receptors results in new drug targets. Molecular Intervention.2 (3) 134-136.

Bartlett SE, Reynolds AJ, Weible M 2nd, Hendry IA. (2002) Phosphatidylinositol kinase enzymes regulate the retrograde axonal transport of NT-3 and NT-4 in sympathetic and sensory neurons. J Neurosci Res, 68, 169-75.

Reynolds, A.J., Hendry, I.A., Bartlett, S.E. (2001) Anterograde and retrograde transport of active extracellular signal-related kinase 1 (ERK1) in the ligated rat sciatic nerve. Neuroscience. 105(3):761-71.

Bartlett, S.E., Banks, G.B., Reynolds, A.J., Waters, M.J, Hendry, I.A. and Noakes, P. G. (2001) Alterations in ciliary neurotrophic factor signaling in rapsyn deficient mice.
J Neurosci Res.;64 (6):575-81.

Bartlett, S.E., Reynolds, A.J., Weible, M., Noakes, P. G. and Hendry, I.A. (2001) Transport of endosomal early antigen 1 in the rat sciatic nerve and location in cultured neurons. Neuroreport 12 (2):281-4.

Reynolds, A.J., Bartlett, S.E., Morgans, C. (2001) The distribution of neuronal calcium sensor-1 protein in the developing and adult rat retina. Neuroreport. 26;12(4):725-8.

Weible M., Bartlett, S. E., Reynolds, A. J., Hendry, I. A. (2001) Prolonged recycling of internalized neurotrophins in the nerve terminal. Cytometry. 1;43(3):182-8.

Banks, G.B. Bartlett, S.E. and Noakes, P.G. (2000) Altered motoneuron cell death in the rapsyn deficient mouse. J.Comp. Neurol. 429(1):156-165.

Reynolds, A.J., Hendry, I.A., Bartlett, S.E. (2000) Axonal transport of neuronal calcium sensor-1 and phosphatidylinositol 4-kinaseb in the adult rat sciatic nerve. Neuroreport 11 (7) 1453-57.

Bartlett, S.E., Reynolds, A.J., Weible, M., Jeromin, A., Roder, J. and Hendry, I.A. (2000). PtdIns 4-kinasebeta and neuronal calcium sensor-1 co-localize but may not directly associate in mammalian neurons. J Neurosci Res. 62(2):216-24.

Reynolds, A.J., Bartlett, S.E., Hendry, I.A. (2000) Molecular mechanisms regulating the axonal transport of neurotrophins in vivo. Brain Res Brain Res Rev. 33(2-3):169-178.

Bartlett, S. E., Singala, R., Hashikawa, A. and Hendry, I. A. (2000) Characterization of antibodies to CuZn Superoxide dismutase: differences between the human and mouse proteins. J. Neurosci Methods 98 (1) 63-67.

Sandow, S., Heydon, K, Weible MWII, Reynolds, A.J., Bartlett, S.E., Hendry, I.A. (2000) Signalling organelle for retrograde axonal transport of internalised neurotrophins from the nerve terminal. Immunology and Cell Biology 78, 430-435.

Hendry, I. A., Kelleher, K.L., Bartlett, S. E., Leck, K., Mellick, A., Reynolds, A. J., Newcombe, V., Megirian, D., Matthaei, K.I. (2000) Hypertolerance to morphine in Gz-alpha deficient mice. Brain Research 870, 10-19.