About SBU

Mitchell, Nicholas

Name:
Nicholas Mitchell photo
Nicholas Mitchell, Ph.D.

Academic School:
School of Arts and Sciences

Academic Department:
Biology

Titles/Responsibilities:
Assistant Professor, Biology

Contact Information:
Phone: (716) 410-2335
Email: nmitchel@sbu.edu 

Office Location/Hours:
De La Roche 220 A 

Courses Taught:

Academic Degrees:
  • Ph.D., Albany Medical College; Neurophysiology and Pharmacology: 2007
  • M.Sc., Albany Medical College; Biomedical Science: 2003
  • B.A., State University of New York at Potsdam; Biology: 2001 

Other Education:
Postdoctoral Fellow with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute on Aging (NIA): 2008-2010.

Professional Background:
  • Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology at Lynchburg College, VA: 2007-2008.
  • Adjunct Professor of Biology at Hudson Valley Community College, NY: 2003-2006.

Accomplishments:

Publications: 

  • Mitchell N.A., Petralia R., Yao P., Kim A., Mattson M.P. (2012) Sonic Hedgehog regulates presynaptic terminal size, ultrastructure and function in hippocampal neurons. Journal of Cell Science. 2012 May 28 (in press). 
  • Chadwick W., Mitchell N., Martin B, Maudsley S., (2012) Therapeutic targeting of the endoplasmic reticulum in Alzheimer’s disease. Current Alzheimer Research. 2012 Jan 1;9(1):110-9.
  • Wayne Chadwick; Nicholas Mitchell; Jenna Caroll; Yu Zhou; Sung-Soo Park; Liyun Wang; Kevin G Becker; Yongqing Zhang; Elin Lehrmann; William Wood III; Bronwen Martin; Stuart Russell Maudsley (2011) Amitriptyline-mediated cognitive enhancement in aged 3xTg Alzheimer's disease mice is associated with neurogenesis and neurotrophic activity. PLoS One. 2011;6(6):e21660. 
  • Wayne Chadwick, Yu Zhou, Sung-Soo Park, Liyun Wang, Nicholas Mitchell, Matthew D. Stone, Kevin G. Becker, Bronwen Martin, Stuart Maudsley. Minimal Peroxide Exposure of Neuronal Cells Induces Multifaceted Adaptive Responses. PLoS One. 2010 Dec 17;5(12):e14352. 
  • Mitchell N.A. and Fleck, M.W. (2007) Targeting AMPA receptor gating processes with allosteric modulators and mutations. Biophys J. 2007 Apr 1;92(7):2392-402.
  • Mah S.J., Cornell E., Mitchell N.A., Fleck M.W. (2005) Glutamate Receptor Trafficking: Endoplasmic Reticulum Quality Control Involves Ligand Binding and Receptor Function. J. Neuroscience, March 2; 25(9):2215-2225.
  • Chang-Fong J., Addo J., Dukat M., Smith C., Mitchell N.A., Herrick-Davis K., Teitler M., Glennon R.A. (2002) Evaluation of Isotryptamine Derivatives at 5-HT(2) Serotonin Receptors. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. Jan 21; 12(2):155-158.

 

Invited Speaking Engagements (location, title, event): 

  • Biocareers Webinar, “Careers in Liberal Arts Education”, Biocareer’s job summit 2012.
  • National Institute of Health (NIH), “Careers in Academe”, OITE Career Symposium 2012.
  • Harvard Graduate School, “The Academic Job Search”, Professional Development 2011.
  • National Institute on Aging (NIA), “Neurogenesis in an Aging Brain”, PostBac Research Day 2010.

 

Awards: 

  • Curriculum Development Grant ($12,500), St. Bonaventure University, 2011.
  • NIH NRSA Postdoctoral Fellowship Award, 2008.
  • Richard H. Miller Alumni Prize for Outstanding Biomedical Research, Albany Medical College, 2006.
  • Dean’s Certificate and Prize in Recognition of Excellence in Research, Albany Medical College, 2006.
  • Travel Award, Albany Medical College Alumni Association, 2005.

 

Memberships: 

  • Society for Neuroscience
  • Society for Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Tri-Beta

Teaching Philosophy:

Scientific educators are typified by their fervid passion for the content they deliver to students. I am no different. However, students–for the most part–only transiently retain content they are coerced into learning. One might argue that their short-lived retention of information is a consequence of ineffective learning practices, ineffective teaching practices, too much television, too many video games, text messaging, or simply the consequence of learning information not immediately relevant to the brain. Regardless of the reason, content does not stay with students. And, if we as educators focus only on content mastery, our students will be ill equipped to face the challenges of the world they inhabit.

 

My solution to this is an educational philosophy based on intellectual fitness training. This is not to say that content is irrelevant, for it provides the framework, the arena, the weights for cognitive training. The training programs instituted in my courses seek to develop the capacity for logical reasoning, creative problem solving, and self-guided discovery. Why? Because, such outcomes represent advanced cognitive processing. Processing that does not evaporate a week after the exam. It is for this reason that my teaching philosophy has been founded on building mental fortitude. In computer lingo, I believe that our role as educators is to build faster Pentium chips– not test the storage limits of the hard drive.  

Current Research Interests/Projects:

Dr. Mitchell’s current research interests span the fields of stem cell biology and cellular and molecular neuroscience. His lab currently pursues two research questions: 1) what role does cell excitability play in neural stem cell fate determination, and 2) do adult born neurons originating from the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the hippocampus contribute to learning and memory in mammals.

 

Students are invited to meet with Dr. Mitchell to learn more about these research aims and determine if or how they might contribute to the lab’s mission.

 

Previously Mentored Students: 

  • Rebecca Hartnett (2012); Completing M.Ed. at SBU
  • Neil Batta (2012): Completing M.D. at George Washington University
  • Amit Singal (2012); Completing M.D. at George Washington University
  • Francisco Nieves (2012); Completing D.D.S. at Baylor College of Dentistry
  • Alvin Kim (2012); Completing M.D. at George Washington University

Other Interests/Community Involvement:

Service 

  • SBU Curriculum Committee (2010-2012)
  • SBU Biology Department Curriculum Committee Chair (2011-2012)
  • SBU Women’s Soccer Assistant Coach (2011)
  • SBU IACUC Science Representative (2010-2012)

 

Activities 

Mountain biking, fitness training, downhill skiing, soccer, basketball, tennis