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Thomas S. Reese
Education	Harvard College, BA, 1957 and Columbia, MD, 1962
Awards	1987 Member, National Academy of Sciences
Scientific career
Fields	Neurobiology, Structural Neuroscience, Electron Microscopy
Institutions	National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts

Thomas Reese, Neuroscientist

Thomas S. Reese was an American neuroscientist and Senior Investigator and Chief of the Section on Structural Cell Biology in the NINDS Intramural Program as well as a leader, mentor, and teacher in the Neurobiology course at the Marine Biology Laboratory in Woods Hole Massachusetts.

Reese specialized in structural neuroscience, developing cutting-edge applications that fundamentally changed our understanding of synapses and cells in the brain, as well as the barrier separating the brain from the bloodstream. His many contributions to neuroscience and cell biology were recognized in 1987 by his election to the National Academy of Sciences.

Blood-brain barrier

In his early work in the late 1960s, Reese used electron microscopy to examine the structural basis of the blood-brain barrier. His experiments with Morris Karnovsky showed that proteins in the bloodstream are prevented from entering the brain by tight junctions between vascular endothelial cells. This discovery continues to influence the design and delivery of therapeutics for brain diseases.

Rapid freeze electron microscope

In the 1970s, Reese and his postdoc John Heuser carefully examined electron micrographs to delineate the different steps by which synaptic vesicle membrane is recycled for subsequent reuse at the neuromuscular junction. They went on to develop a revolutionary technique to precisely time rapid tissue freezing with electrical stimulation of motoneurons to capture the fleeting moment when neurotransmitter release occurs. This “freeze-slamming” technique conclusively demonstrated, for the first time, that neurotransmitter is released by fusion of synaptic vesicles with the presynaptic plasma membrane.

Kinesins

Reese set up a laboratory at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, MA to study giant axons in squid. He used his rapid-freeze EM methods in conjunction with video microscopy to observe fast axonal transport in real time and then visualize the axons transporting cargo. These techniques enabled Dr. Reese and his collaborator, Ron Vale, and others to discover kinesins, a class of motor proteins that we now know to be critical for axonal transport, mitosis, and a variety of other cellular functions.

Postsynaptic density

In the 2000s, Reese and his collaborators focused on the structural organization of the postsynaptic density (PSD), a specialized, extensive protein complex associated with the postsynaptic membrane. He discovered that the PSD is a dynamic structure that changes shape and protein composition rapidly with synaptic activity. He also discovered that a new subcellular compartment, which he termed the pallium, is a principal site for regulatory machinery that underlies transmitter receptor targeting to and from synaptic microdomains. The PSD is now recognized to contain intricate molecular machinery critical for the reception, integration, and plasticity of neurotransmitter signaling.

Trichoplax

Towards the end of his career, Reese focused on the evolution of the nervous system. He worked with his colleague and wife, Dr. Carolyn Smith, on Trichoplax, a tiny disk-shaped marine animal that has no synapses but can perform simple behaviors such as movement and digestion. They used Reese’s tried-and-true freezing and microscopy techniques to identify cells that could control locomotion and feeding to gain insights into how animals without synapses can generate behavior.