EDUCATION

 

1981             B.A.          Biochemistry                  University of Kansas

                                                                              Lawrence, KS

 

1986             Ph.D.         Biological Sciences       University of California, Irvine

                                                                              Irvine, CA

 

RESEARCH TRAINING & EMPLOYMENT

 

8/80-8/81:           Undergraduate study and Research Assistant in the laboratory of Dr. Elias Michaelis, Dept. of Biochemistry, University of Kansas.

 

9/81-4/86:           Graduate study in the laboratory of Dr. Dana Aswad, Dept. of Psychobiology, University of California, Irvine.

 

5/86-1/90:           Postgraduate Researcher in the laboratory of Dr. Dana Aswad.

 

1/90-7/04:           Assistant Researcher in the Dept. of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine.

 

7/04-present:       Associate Project Scientist, Dept. of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine.

 

 

AWARDS & HONORS

 

Graduation with Distinction and Honors in Biochemistry, University of Kansas, 1981

Phi Beta Kappa, 1981

Regents' Fellowship, University of California, 1981

PHS National Research Service Award, 1984

Edward A. Steinhaus Graduate Student Teaching Award, School of Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, 1985

Regents' Dissertation Fellowship, University of California, 1986

Takasago Award for Research in Olfaction, 2003

 

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

 

Society for Neuroscience

Association for Chemoreception Sciences

 

EDITORIAL BOARD

 

Chemosensory Perception

 

DISSERTATION

 

Johnson, B.A. (1986) Modification of L-isoaspartate by protein carboxyl methyltransferase, University of California, Irvine.

 

PUBLICATIONS

 

1.    Michaelis, E., Chittenden, W., Johnson, B., Galton, N., and Decedue, C. (1984) Purification, biochemical characterization, binding activity, and selectivity of a glutamate binding protein from bovine brain. J. Neurochem. 42, 397-406.

 

2.    Johnson, B.A., and Aswad, D.W. (1985) Identification and topography of substrates for protein carboxyl methyltransferase in synaptic membrane and myelin-enriched fractions of bovine and rat brain. J. Neurochem. 45, 1119-1127.

 

3.    Johnson, B.A., Freitag, N.E., and Aswad, D.W. (1985) Protein carboxyl methyltransferase selectively modifies an atypical form of calmodulin.  Evidence for methylation at deamidated asparagine residues. J. Biol. Chem. 260, 10913-10916.

 

4.    Johnson, B.A., and Aswad, D.W. (1985) Enzymatic protein carboxyl methylation at physiological pH:  Cyclic imide formation explains rapid methyl turnover. Biochemistry 24, 2581-2586.

 

5.    Aswad, D.W., Johnson, B.A., and Glass, D.B. (1987) Modification of synthetic peptides related to lactate dehydrogenase (231-242) by protein carboxyl methyltransferase and tyrosine protein kinase:  Effect of introducing an isopeptide bond between Asp-235 and Ser-236. Biochemistry 26, 675-681.

 

6.    Aswad, D.W., and Johnson, B.A. (1987) The unusual substrate specificity of eucaryotic protein carboxyl methyltransferases. Trends Biochem. Sci. 12, 155-158.

 

7.    Johnson, B.A., Murray, E.D., Jr., Clarke, S., Glass, D.B., and Aswad, D.W. (1987) Protein carboxyl methyltransferase facilitates conversion of atypical L-isoaspartyl peptides to normal L-aspartyl peptides. J. Biol. Chem. 262, 5622-5629.

 

8.    Johnson, B.A., Langmack, E.L., and Aswad, D.W. (1987) Partial repair of deamidation-damaged calmodulin by protein carboxyl methyltransferase. J. Biol. Chem. 262, 12283-12287.

 

9.    Aswad, D.W., Johnson, B.A., Langmack, E.L., and Shirokawa, J.M. (1988) Modification of isoaspartyl peptides and proteins by protein carboxyl methyltransferase from bovine brain. In: Post-translational Modifications of Proteins and Ageing (Zappia, V., Galletti, P., Porta, R., and Wold, F., eds.) pp. 247-259, Plenum Publishing Corporation, New York, NY.

 

10.  Johnson, B.A., Shirokawa, J.M., and Aswad, D.W. (1989) Deamidation of calmodulin at neutral and alkaline pH: Quantitative relationships between ammonia loss and the susceptibility of calmodulin to modification by protein carboxyl methyltransferase. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 268, 276-286.

 

11.  Johnson, B.A., Shirokawa, J.M., Hancock, W.S., Spellman, M.W., Basa L.J., and Aswad, D.W. (1989) Formation of isoaspartate at two distinct sites during in vitro aging of human growth hormone. J. Biol. Chem. 264, 14262-14271.

 

12.  Johnson, B.A., and Aswad, D.W. (1990) Identities, origins, and metabolic fates of the substrates for eukaryotic protein carboxyl methyltransferases. In: Protein Methylation (Paik, W.-K., and Kim, S., eds.) pp. 195-210, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.

 

13.  Johnson, B.A., and Aswad, D.W. (1990) Fragmentation of isoaspartyl peptides and proteins by carboxypeptidase Y: Release of isoaspartyl dipeptides as a result of internal and external cleavage. Biochemistry 29, 4373-4380.

 

14.  Johnson, B.A., Shirokawa, J.M., Geddes, J.W., Choi, B.H., Kim, R.C., and Aswad, D.W. (1991) Protein L-isoaspartyl methyltransferase in postmortem brains of aged humans. Neurobiol. Aging 12, 19-24.

 

15.  Johnson, B.A., and Aswad, D.W. (1991) Optimal conditions for the use of protein L‑isoaspartyl methyltransferase in assessing the isoaspartate content of peptides and proteins. Anal. Biochem. 192, 384-391.

 

16.  Johnson, B.A., Ngo, S.Q., and Aswad, D.W. (1991) Widespread phylogenetic distribution of a protein methyltransferase that modifies L-isoaspartyl residues. Biochem. Int. 24, 841-847.

 

17.  Najbauer, J., Johnson, B.A., and Aswad, D.W. (1991) Amplification and detection of substrates for protein carboxyl methyltransferases in PC12 cells. Anal. Biochem. 197, 412-420.

 

18.  Najbauer, J., Johnson, B.A., and Aswad, D.W. (1992) Analysis of stable protein methylation in cultured cells. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 293, 85-92.

 

19.  Potter, S.M., Johnson, B.A., Henschen, A., Aswad, D.W., and Guzzetta, A.W. (1992) The type II isoform of bovine brain protein L-isoaspartyl methyltransferase has an endoplasmic reticulum retention signal (...RDEL) at its C-terminus. Biochemistry 31, 6339-6347.

 

20.  Johnson, B.A., and Aswad, D.W. (1993) Kinetic properties of bovine brain protein L-isoaspartyl methyltransferase determined using a synthetic isoaspartyl peptide substrate. Neurochem. Res. 18, 87-94.

 

21.  Johnson, B.A., Najbauer, J., and Aswad, D.W. (1993) Accumulation of substrates for protein L-isoaspartyl methyltransferase in adenosine dialdehyde-treated PC12 cells. J. Biol. Chem. 268, 6174-6181.

 

22.  Najbauer, J., Johnson, B.A., Young, A.L., and Aswad, D.W. (1993) Peptides with sequences similar to glycine, arginine-rich motifs in proteins interacting with RNA are efficiently recognized by methyltransferase(s) modifying arginine in numerous proteins. J. Biol. Chem. 268, 10501-10509.

 

23.  Johnson, B.A., and Aswad, D.W. (1995) Deamidation and isoaspartate formation during in vitro aging of purified proteins.  In: Deamidation and Isoaspartate Formation in Peptides and Proteins (Aswad, D.W., ed.) pp. 91-113, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.

 

24.  Johnson, B.A., Woo, C.C., Duong, H., Nguyen, V., and Leon, M. (1995) A learned odor evokes an enhanced Fos-like glomerular response in the olfactory bulb of young rats. Brain Res. 699, 192-200.

 

25.  Johnson, B.A., Woo, C.C., Ninomiya-Tsuboi, K., and Leon, M. (1996) Synaptophysin-like immunoreactivity in the rat olfactory bulb during development and after restricted early olfactory experience. Dev. Brain Res. 92, 24-30.

 

26.  Johnson, B.A., and Leon, M. (1996) Spatial distribution of [14C]2-deoxyglucose uptake in the glomerular layer of the rat olfactory bulb following early odor preference learning.  J. Comp. Neurol. 376, 557-566.

 

27.  Johnson, B.A., Woo, C.C., and Leon, M. (1998) Spatial coding of odorant features in the glomerular layer of the rat olfactory bulb. J. Comp. Neurol. 393, 457-471.

 

28.    Johnson, B., and Leon, M. (1999) The role of early experience in olfactory bulb cell survival.  In: The Biology of Early Influences (Hyson, R.L., and Johnson, F., eds.) pp. 73-85, Kluwer Academic/Plenum Press, New York.

 

29.    Leon, M., and Johnson, B. (1999) Experiential basis for chemical coding. Dev. Neuropsychol. 16, 321-323.

 

30.    Johnson, B.A., Woo, C.C., Hingco, E.E., Pham, K.L., and Leon, M. (1999) Multidimensional, chemotopic responses to n-aliphatic acid odorants in the rat olfactory bulb. J. Comp. Neurol. 409, 529-548.

 

31.    Johnson, B.A., and Leon, M. (2000) Modular representations of odorants in the rat olfactory bulb: the effects of stimulus concentration. J. Comp. Neurol. 422, 496-509.

 

32.    Johnson, B.A., and Leon, M. (2000) Odorant molecular length: one aspect of the olfactory code.  J. Comp. Neurol. 426, 330-338.

 

33.    Johnson, B.A., and Leon, M. (2001) Spatial coding in the olfactory bulb: the role of early experience. In: Developmental Psychobiology, Developmental Neurobiology and Behavioral Ecology: Mechanisms  and  Early Principals.  (Blass, E.M., ed.) pp. 53-80, Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York.

 

34.    Johnson, B.A., and Leon, M. (2001) Spatial representations of odorant chemistry in the main olfactory bulb of the rat. In: Chemical Signals in Vertebrates IX (Marchlewska-Koj, A., Lepri, J.J., and Muller-Schwarze, D, eds.) pp. 85-91, Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York.

 

35.    Linster, C., Johnson, B.A., Yue, E., Morse, A., Xu, Z., Hingco, E.E., Choi, Y., Choi, M., Messiha, A., and Leon, M. (2001) Perceptual correlates of neural representations evoked by odorant enantiomers. J. Neurosci. 21, 9837-9843.

 

36.    Johnson, B.A., Ho, S.L., Xu, Z., Yihan, J.S., Yip, S., Hingco, E.E., and Leon, M. (2002) Functional mapping of the rat olfactory bulb using diverse odorants reveals modular responses to functional groups and hydrocarbon structural features. J. Comp. Neurol. 449, 180-194.

 

37.    Linster, C., Johnson, B.A., Morse, A., Yue, E., and Leon, M. (2002) Spontaneous versus reinforced olfactory discriminations. J. Neurosci. 22, 6842-6845.

 

38.    Ferrari, C.C., Johnson, B.A., Leon, M., and Pixley, S.K. (2003) Spatiotemporal distribution of the insulin-like growth factor receptor in the rat olfactory bulb. Neurochem. Res. 28, 29-43.

 

39.    Leon, M., and Johnson, B.A. (2003) Olfactory coding in the mammalian olfactory bulb. Brain Res. Rev. 42, 23-32.

 

40.    Johnson, B.A., Farahbod, H., Xu, Z., Saber, S., and Leon, M. (2004) Local and global chemotopic organization: general features of the glomerular representations of aliphatic odorants differing in carbon number. J. Comp. Neurol. 480, 234-249.

 

41.    Johnson, B.A., Farahbod, H., Saber, S., and Leon, M. (2005) Effects of functional group position on spatial representations of aliphatic odorants in the rat olfactory bulb. J. Comp. Neurol. 483, 192-204.

 

42.    Johnson, B.A., Farahbod, H., and Leon, M. (2005) Interactions between odorant functional group and hydrocarbon structure influence activity in glomerular response modules in the rat olfactory bulb. J. Comp. Neurol. 483, 205-216.

 

43.    Farahbod, H., Johnson, B.A., Minami, S.S., and Leon, M. (2006) Chemotopic representations of aromatic odorants in the rat olfactory bulb. J. Comp. Neurol. 496, 350-366

 

44.    Ho, S.L., Johnson, B.A., and Leon, M. (2006) Long hydrocarbon chains serve as unique molecular features recognized by ventral glomeruli of the rat olfactory bulb. J. Comp. Neurol. 498, 16-30.

 

45.    Johnson, B.A., Xu, Z., Kwok, J., Pancoast, P., Ong, J., and Leon, M. (2006) Differential specificity in the glomerular response profiles for alicyclic, bicyclic and heterocyclic odorants. J. Comp. Neurol. 499, 1-16.

 

46.    Leon, M., and Johnson, B. (2006) Functional units in the olfactory system. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 103, 14985-14986.

 

47.    Ho, S.L., Johnson, B.A., Chen, A.L., and Leon, M. (2006) Differential responses to branched and unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbons in the rat olfactory system. J. Comp. Neurol. 499, 519-532.

 

48.    Youngentob, S.L., Johnson, B.A., Leon, M., Sheehe, P.R., and Kent, P.F. (2006) Predicting odorant quality perceptions from multidimensional scaling of olfactory bulb glomerular activity patterns. Behav. Neurosci. 120, 1337-1345.

 

49.    Woo, C.W., Hingco, E.E., Johnson, B.A., and Leon, M. (2007) Broad activation of the glomerular layer enhances subsequent olfactory responses. Chem. Senses 32, 51-55.

 

50.    Johnson, B.A., Ong, J., Lee, K., Ho, S.L., Arguello, S., and Leon, M. (2007) Effects of double and triple bonds on the spatial representations of odorants in the rat olfactory bulb. J. Comp. Neurol. 500, 720-733.

 

51.    Cleland, T.A., Johnson, B.A., Leon, M., and Linster, C. (2007) Relational representation in the olfactory system. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104, 1953-1958.

 

52.    Johnson, B.A., Arguello, S., and Leon, M. (2007) Odorants with multiple oxygen-containing functional groups and other odorants with high water solubility preferentially activate posterior olfactory bulb glomeruli. J. Comp. Neurol. 502, 468-482.

 

53.    Johnson, B.A., and Leon, M. (2007) Chemotopic odorant coding in a mammalian olfactory system. J. Comp. Neurol. 503, 1-34.

 

54.    Johnson, B.A., and Leon, M. (2007) Understanding olfactory coding via an analysis of odorant-evoked glomerular response maps. In: The Senses Ð A Comprehensive Reference.  Elsevier, London, in press.

 

55.    Johnson, B.A., and Leon, M. (2007) Glomerular map. In: Encyclopedic Reference of Neuroscience.  Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, in press.