Dear Kenny,
Thanks very much for taking such great care of Patrick and we appreciate very much that you two have been sharing years of experiences together.
This is a photo of Patrick from graduate student days at UCSF, as Yuh Nung and I were just talking about Patrick’s pioneering thesis research that began with his original and bold idea to identify mRNA transcripts near neuronal synapses in the brain, when our UCSF colleagues told us about their recent findings last week.
The discovery of Kv1.1 local translation in dendrites that Patrick and Kim reported in their 2006 Science paper continues to have tremendous impact in the field. Our UCSF colleagues now find Kv1 beta subunits in the vicinity of mRNA binding proteins and translation machineries and regulators. It looks like these beta subunits have the means to be stationed nearby, to associate with locally synthesized Kv1.1 and allow Kv1 channels to appear on the dendrite.
While sheltering in place in our condo at Mission Bay during the pandemic, we ran into birds often as Yuh Nung runs and I walk along the bay. I’ve attached a photo of a crane as it went fishing near the ballpark. Please take care. Best, Lily and Yuh Nung