Primary Focus
Dopamine transporter structure, trafficking, oligomerization, and protein interaction networks.
Research
Research Focus
Transporter biology as a route into the molecular logic of movement, reward, psychiatric illness, and neurodegenerative disease.
Dr. Torres's laboratory investigates the dopamine transporter (DAT) as a central regulator of dopaminergic neurotransmission. DAT controls the duration, intensity, and spatial reach of dopamine signaling, making it a crucial node for understanding normal brain function and disease-relevant disruption.
His work has helped define how monoamine transporters are organized, trafficked, and regulated by protein interactions, intracellular signaling pathways, and psychostimulant exposure. This emphasis links molecular pharmacology with circuit-level consequences in addiction, schizophrenia, attention-related disorders, and other neuropsychiatric conditions.
Current research interests also extend into Parkinson's disease, where DAT biology intersects with dopaminergic neuron vulnerability, motor impairment, and neuroinflammatory signaling. Studies of transporter regulation provide a framework for probing how synaptic homeostasis is lost during neurodegeneration.
An emerging component of this program explores the gut-brain axis, including how microbiota-related changes can shape dopamine neuron survival and behavioral outcomes in experimental models. Across these projects, the laboratory integrates biochemical, cellular, pharmacological, imaging, and behavioral approaches.
Neuropharmacology
Mechanisms by which psychostimulants, GLP-1 signaling, and transporter modulators alter dopamine homeostasis.
Signaling
Regulation of DAT by G protein beta-gamma subunits, kinase pathways, lipid mediators, and synaptic scaffolds.
Emerging Research
Gut microbiota, inflammatory signaling, and the gut-brain axis in Parkinson’s disease models.
Techniques
Biochemistry, molecular pharmacology, brain-slice assays, transporter uptake and release studies, imaging, and behavioral models.