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Professor MacDonald James Christie

Professor of Pharmacology
Brain & Mind Research Institute, School of Medical Sciences

M02 - Mallet Street Campus
The University of Sydney
NSW 2006 Australia

T:+61 2 9351 0899
F:+61 2 9114 4015
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W:Related website

Biographical details

Professor Christie completed a PhD at The University of Sydney in 1983. He was an Australian Postdoctoral Fellow in 1985 (NH&MRC), a Fogarty International Fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1985-1987 and then Senior Research Associate at the Vollum Institute in Oregon, USA from 1987-1990. He was appointed as a tenured academic in the Department of Pharmacology, The University of Sydney in June 1990, where he was Head of Department from 1998-2000, full professor (personal chair) from 1999 and Medical Foundation Senior Principal Research Fellow from 1998-2002. He has been a NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow since 2003. He has served as Director of Basic Research at the Pain Management Research Institute (2003-2008) and Brain & Mind Research Institute (2009-2011) University of Sydney was appointed as Professor of Pharmacology in June 2011. [More...]

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Research interests

Molecular, cellular, synaptic and behavioural mechanisms of opioid addiction and persistent pain states

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Current national competitive grants*

2011

Action-related learning and plasticity in the cortico-striatal network
Balleine B, Christie M
Australian Research Council Discovery Project ($360,000 over 3 years)

2010

Venom peptide modulators of pain pathways
Lewis R, Alewood P, Adams D, Christie M
NHMRC Program Grant/Shared Research Support ($1,510,500 over 5 years)

2008

Career Awards: Research Fellowship
Christie M
NHMRC Research Fellowships ($736,250 over 5 years)

* Grants administered through the University of Sydney

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Keywords

Pain; Neurophysiology; Substance abuse and addiction; Cells and cell physiology; Neuropharmacology

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Publications

2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006

2011

  
  • Bagley, E., Hacker, J., Chefer, V., Mallet, C., McNally, G., Chieng, B., Perroud, J., Shippenberg, T., Christie, M. Drug-induced GABA transporter currents enhance GABA release to induce opioid withdrawal behaviors. Nature neuroscience. 2011; 14:1548-54. [Abstract]
  • Morgan, M., Christie, M. Analysis of Opioid Efficacy, Tolerance, Addiction, and Dependence from Cell Culture to Human. British journal of pharmacology. 2011; 164:1322-34. [Abstract]
  • Pedersen, N., Vaughan, C., Christie, M. Opioid receptor modulation of GABAergic and serotonergic spinally-projecting neurons of the rostral ventromedial medulla in mice. Journal of neurophysiology. 2011; 106:731-40. [Abstract]
  • Chieng, B., Azriel, Y., Mohammadi, S., Christie, M. Distinct cellular properties of identified dopaminergic and GABAergic neurons in the mouse ventral tegmental area. The Journal of physiology. 2011; 589:3775-87. [Abstract]
  • Kawahara, H., Drew, G., Christie, M., Vaughan, C. Inhibition of fatty acid amide hydrolase unmasks CB(1) receptor and TRPV1 channel-mediated modulation of glutamatergic synaptic transmission in midbrain periaqueductal grey. British journal of pharmacology. 2011; 163:1214-22. [Abstract]
  • Dang, V., Chieng, B., Azriel, Y., Christie, M. Cellular Morphine Tolerance Produced by {beta}Arrestin-2-Dependent Impairment of Opioid Receptor Resensitization. The Journal of Neuroscience. 2011; 31:7122-7130. [Abstract]
  • Christie, M., Vaughan, C. Receptors: Cannabis medicine without a high. Nature Chemical Biology. 2011; 7:249-250. [Abstract]
  • Klimis, H., Adams, D., Callaghan, B., Nevin, S., Alewood, P., Vaughan, C., Mozar, C., Christie, M. A novel mechanism of inhibition of high-voltage activated calcium channels by α-conotoxins contributes to relief of nerve injury-induced neuropathic pain. Pain. 2011; 152:259-66. [Abstract]

2010

  
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  • Chieng, B., Christie, M. Somatostatin and nociceptin inhibit neurons in the central nucleus of amygdala that project to the periaqueductal grey. Neuropharmacology. 2010; 59:425-30. [Abstract]
  • Morales, R., Daly, N., Vetter, I., Mobli, M., Napier, I., Craik, D., Lewis, R., Christie, M., King, G., Alewood, P., Durek, T. Chemical synthesis and structure of the prokineticin Bv8. Chembiochem. 2010; 11:1882-1888. [Abstract]
  • Ittner, L., Ke, Y., Delerue, F., Bi, M., Gladbach, A., van Eersel, J., Wölfing, H., Chieng, B., Christie, M., Napier, I., Eckert, A., Staufenbiel, M., Hardeman, E., Götz, J. Dendritic Function of Tau Mediates Amyloid-beta Toxicity in Alzheimer's Disease Mouse Models. Cell. 2010; 142:387-97. [Abstract]
  • Berecki, G., Motin, L., Haythornthwaite, A., Vink, S., Bansal, P., Drinkwater, R., Wang, C., Moretta, M., Lewis, R., Alewood, P., Christie, M., Adams, D. Analgesic omega-Conotoxins CVIE and CVIF Selectively and Voltage-Dependently Block Recombinant and Native N-Type Calcium Channels. Molecular Pharmacology. 2010; 77:139-148. [Abstract]

2009

  
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  • Chieng, B., Christie, M. Chronic morphine treatment induces functional delta-opioid receptors in amygdala neurons that project to periaqueductal grey. Neuropharmacology. 2009; 57:430-7. [Abstract]
  • Dang, V., Napier, I., Christie, M. Two distinct mechanisms mediate acute mu-opioid receptor desensitization in native neurons. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience. 2009; 29:3322-3327. [Abstract]
  • Christie, M., Mallet, C. Endocannabinoids can open the pain gate. Science Signaling. 2009; 2:pe57. [Abstract]
  • Morgan, M., Ashley, M., Ingram, S., Christie, M. Behavioral Consequences of Delta-Opioid Receptor Activation in the Periaqueductal Gray of Morphine Tolerant Rats. Neural Plasticity. 2009; 2009:516328. [Abstract]

2008

  
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  • Chieng, B., Lee, D., Du, Y., Osborne, P., Christie, M., Massotte, D. Functional coupling of mu-receptor-Galphai-tethered proteins in AtT20 cells. Neuroreport. 2008; 19:1793-6. [Abstract]
  • Christie, M. Cellular neuroadaptations to chronic opioids: tolerance, withdrawal and addiction. British Journal of pharmacology. 2008; 154:384-396. [Abstract]
  • Vikman, K., Rycroft, B., Christie, M. Switch to Ca2+ permeable AMPA and reduced NR2B NMDA receptor mediated neurotransmission at dorsal horn nociceptive synapses during inflammatory pain in the rat. The Journal of physiology. 2008; 586:515-27. [Abstract]

2007

  
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  • Rycroft, B., Vikman, K., Christie, M. Inflammation reduces the contribution of N-type calcium channels to primary afferent synaptic transmission onto NK1 receptor-positive lamina I neurons in the rat dorsal horn. The Journal of physiology. 2007; 580:883-94. [Abstract]
  • Liu, X., Banister, S., Christie, M., Banati, R., Meikle, S., Coster, M., Kassiou, M. Trishomocubanes: Novel sigma ligands modulate cocaine-induced behavioural effects. European journal of pharmacology. 2007; 555:37-42. [Abstract]
  • Christie, M., Craik, D., Adams, D., Klimis, H., Nevin, S., Clark, R. Are alpha 9 alpha 10 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors a pain target for alpha-conotoxins?. MOLECULAR PHARMACOLOGY. 2007; 72:1406-1410. [Abstract]

2006

  
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  • Ekberg, J., Jayamanne, A., Vaughan, C., Aslan, S., Thomas, L., Mould, J., Drinkwater, R., Baker, M., Abrahamsen, B., Wood, J., Adams, D., Christie, M., Lewis, R. {micro}O-conotoxin MrVIB selectively blocks Nav1.8 sensory neuron specific sodium channels and chronic pain behavior without motor deficits. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2006; 103:17030-5. [Abstract]
  • Jennings, E., Christie, M., Sessle, B. ATP potentiates neurotransmission in the rat trigeminal subnucleus caudalis. Neuroreport. 2006; 17:1507-1510. [Abstract]
  • Christie, M., Bagley, E., Hacker, J., Chieng, B. GABA transporters in drug dependence: Neuronal or glial. Alcoholism-Clinical and Experimental Research. 2006; 30:96A-96A. [Abstract]
  • Chieng, B., Christie, M., Osborne, P. Characterization of neurons in the rat central nucleus of the amygdala: Cellular physiology, morphology, and opioid sensitivity. The Journal of comparative neurology. 2006; 497:910-27. [Abstract]
  • Christie, M. Opioid and cannabinoid receptors: friends with benefits or just close friends?. British journal of pharmacology. 2006; 148:385-6. [Abstract]
  • Hacker, J., Pedersen, N., Chieng, B., Keay, K., Christie, M. Enhanced Fos expression in glutamic acid decarboxylase immunoreactive neurons of the mouse periaqueductal grey during opioid withdrawal. Neuroscience. 2006; 137:1389-96. [Abstract]
  • Riddell, S., Nielssen, O., Butler, T., Christie, M., Starmer, G. The Relationship Between Amphetamine Use, Crime and Psychiatric Disorder Among Prisoners in New South Wales. Psychiatry Psychology and Law. 2006; 13:160-165.