Paul M Jenkins
Pharmacology and Psychiatry
2220B MSRBIII, 1150 W. Medical Center Dr.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5632
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About
Dr. Jenkins is the Pfizer Upjohn Research Professor of Molecular Pharmacology, Associate Professor with tenure, and Associate Chair for Education in the Department of Pharmacology as well as Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan Medical School. He also serves as Associate Director of the Heinz C. Prechter Bipolar Research Program at the University of Michigan Medical School. Dr. Jenkins received his Bachelor of Science in General Biology from the University of Michigan in 2001 and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Michigan in 2010 under the mentorship of Dr. Jeffrey Martens. He continued his training as a postdoctoral fellow at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Duke University under the mentorship of Dr. Vann Bennett from 2010 to 2015. Since opening his laboratory at the University of Michigan, Dr. Jenkins has provided training to six Ph.D. students, two postdoctoral fellows, and twenty-six undergraduate researchers. Dr. Jenkins is the lead investigator on a federally funded grant from the National Institutes of Health and has received independent investigator awards from the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, One Mind, the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI), and the FamilieSCN2A Foundation. He has published 48 peer-reviewed papers, to date, and has served on multiple national and international grant review panels.
The focus of Dr. Jenkins’ research program is understanding the cellular and molecular underpinnings of complex psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. While these disorders impact a tremendous number of people worldwide, the etiology of disease is poorly understood, and current therapies are, in general, ineffective. His research group uses a multidisciplinary approach that integrates cell and molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, imaging, and electrophysiology to understand how loss-of-function or mutation of the ankyrin family of scaffolding proteins and their associated binding partners cause cellular dysfunction in the brain.
Links
Lab Website Department of Pharmacology
Qualifications
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Postdoctoral FellowHoward Hughes Medical Institute, Duke University, Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Durham, United States
2010 - 2015
Postdoctoral Fellowship
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PhD, PharmacologyUniversity of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
2004 - 2010
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BS, General BiologyUniversity of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
1997 - 2001
Center Memberships
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Center MemberCenter for Cell Plasticity and Organ Design
Research Overview
• Cellular and molecular neuroscience
• Neuropsychiatric disease mechanisms
• Protein trafficking
• Palmitoylation
• Epithelial cell biology
• Membrane structure
Recent Publications
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Alam S, Dermentzaki G, Cabrera-Garcia D, Li M, Wang R, Campbell M, Balbo I, Phillips BL, Li M, Estrada J, Zazhytska M, Yeh Y-T, Min L, Rafikian E, Valenzuela E, Joseph B, Patel T, Ustianenko D, Lovett H, Feng H, Wang X, Brenner-Morton S, Lin C-S, Waites CL, Wichterle H, Chen L, Yang M, Au E, Jovanovic M, Lomvardas S, Jenkins PM, Yang R, Kuo S-H, Peng Y, Yang G, Harrison NL, Zhang C. Nat Commun, 2026 Feb 13;Journal ArticleA neuron type-specific microexon in Ank3/ankyrin-G modulates calcium activity and neuronal excitability.
DOI:10.1038/s41467-026-69486-x PMID: 41688438 -
Lopez AY, Jenkins PM. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2026 Jan 6; 123 (2):Journal ArticleReframing the axon initial segment: Giant ankyrin-G as a modulator of excitability and plasticity in neurodevelopment
DOI:10.1073/pnas.2530592122 PMID: 41499407 -
Tamura S, Nelson AD, Spratt PWE, Hamada EC, Zhou X, Kyoung H, Li Z, Arnould C, Barskyi V, Krupkin B, Young K, Zhao J, Holden SS, Sahagun A, Keeshen CM, Lu C, Ben-Shalom R, Taloma SE, Schamiloglu S, Li YC, Min L, Jenkins PM, Pan JQ, Paz JT, Sanders SJ, Matharu N, Ahituv N, Bender KJ. Nature, 2026 Jan 1; 649 (8095): E2Journal ArticlePublisher Correction: CRISPR activation for SCN2A-related neurodevelopmental disorders (Nature, (2025), 646, 8086, (983-991), 10.1038/s41586-025-09522-w)
DOI:10.1038/s41586-025-09995-9 PMID: 41367045 -
Alam S, Dermentzaki G, Cabrera-Garcia D, Li M, Wang R, Campbell M, Balbo I, Phillips BL, Li M, Estrada J, Zazhytska M, Yeh Y-T, Min L, Rafikian E, Valenzuela E, Joseph B, Patel T, Ustienenko D, Lovett H, Feng H, Wang X, Brenner-Morton S, Lin C-S, Waites CL, Wichterle H, Chen L, Yang M, Au E, Jovanovic M, Lomvardas S, Jenkins PM, Yang R, Kuo S-H, Peng Y, Yang G, Harrison NL, Zhang C. bioRxiv, 2025 Dec 16;Journal ArticleA neuron type-specific microexon in Ank3/ankyrin-G modulates calcium activity and neuronal excitability.
DOI:10.64898/2025.12.12.693948 PMID: PMC12713133 -
Caballero-Florán RN, Dean KP, Nelson AD, Min L, Jenkins PM. Neuropharmacology, 2025 Nov 15; 279:Journal ArticleLithium restores inhibitory function and neuronal excitability through GSK-3β inhibition in a bipolar disorder-associated Ank3 variant mouse model
DOI:10.1016/j.neuropharm.2025.110649 PMID: 40849089 -
Tamura S, Nelson AD, Spratt PWE, Hamada EC, Zhou X, Kyoung H, Li Z, Arnould C, Barskyi V, Krupkin B, Young K, Zhao J, Holden SS, Sahagun A, Keeshen CM, Lu C, Ben-Shalom R, Taloma SE, Schamiloglu S, Li YC, Min L, Jenkins PM, Pan JQ, Paz JT, Sanders SJ, Matharu N, Ahituv N, Bender KJ. Nature, 2025 Oct 23; 646 (8086): 983 - 991.Journal ArticleCRISPR activation for SCN2A-related neurodevelopmental disorders
DOI:10.1038/s41586-025-09522-w PMID: 40963013 -
Elvira CC, Jenkins PM. Current Opinion in Cell Biology, 2025 Oct 1; 96:Journal ArticleCytoskeletal scaffolding of NaVs and KVs in neocortical pyramidal neurons: Implications for neuronal signaling and plasticity
DOI:10.1016/j.ceb.2025.102570 PMID: 40674863 -
Thome C, Janssen JM, Karabulut S, Acuna C, D'Este E, Soyka SJ, Baum K, Bock M, Lehmann N, Roos J, Stevens NA, Hasegawa M, Ganea DA, Benoit CM, Gründemann J, Min LY, Bird KM, Schultz C, Bennett V, Jenkins PM, Engelhardt M. Elife, 2025 Sep 11; 14:Journal ArticleCorrection: Live imaging of excitable axonal microdomains in ankyrin-G-GFP mice.
DOI:10.7554/eLife.109210 PMID: PMC12425473
