Faculty Research in Neural & Behavioral Science
Juan Marcos Alarcon, Understanding how the brain changes with experience is a fundamental question in neuroscience. Our research projects attempt to address this question by characterizing how neuronal and synaptic circuit function changes by experience-driven neural activity.
Alison E. Baird, Studying the predictors of clinical and tissue outcome after stroke and predictors of stroke risk. Methods used include neurovascular imaging (MRI, MRA, and CT) and cellular and molecular profiling of the peripheral blood (gene expression profiling and flow cytometry). Development and evaluation of novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for stroke.
Randall L. Barbour, Optical tomographic imaging methods for the evaluation of tissue function.
Frank C. Barone, Basic scientific study of Cerebrovascular dieases with focus on ischemic stroke, vascular dementia and trauma; Development of animal disease models that can translate well to man and will facilitate our understanding of disease biology, pathology and signaling, and biomarkers in order to impact drug discovery and advances in therapeutic interventions; Persue close collaborations with Clinical Researchers and Neuroscientists to help make Translational Medicine a reality.
Ernest Barthelemy, Translational neurotrauma, health equity and global neurosurgery; advancing precision medicine approaches in neurotrauma care for communities that have been historically excluded from translational neuroscience research; characterizing the molecular epidemiology of neurotrauma outcomes in socially disadvantaged groups; studying the neuroscience of meditation and its putative effects on resilience neurobiology, neuroprotection and brain repair. Closely collaborate with non-clinical researchers to conduct multidisciplinary studies and extend basic science models to clinical neurosurgery patients.
Peter Bergold, Analysis of the pathophysiology of neuronal disorders.
Riccardo Bianchi, What are the mechanisms of altered plasticity associated with epilepsy, Fragile X mental retardation, and Down syndrome? We study the glutamate- and acytylcholine-mediated modulation of intrinsic and synaptic properties in hippocampal neurons and mouse models of these disorders.
Tim B. Bigdeli, Statistical genetics, genetic epidemiology, and psychiatric genetics. Integration of highly dimensional “omic” data with detailed clinical and epidemiological data, especially in the context of global health., schizophrenia and bipolar disorder risk. How inherited (e.g. genetic) and acquired (e.g. medication exposures, trauma, comorbidities) influence patients’ long term outcomes, including cognition, functioning, and mortality.
John Carter, Electrical neurostimulation. Amplifier, filter and non-linear analog signal processing circuit design and construction. Sensor interfacing, Microcontrollers. Digital signal analysis.
Shih-Chieh (Abraham) Chuang, Cellular mechanisms of metabotropic glutamate receptor mediated epilepsy. Neural plasticity. mGluR-mediated hyperexcitability in CNS in mouse model of Fragile X Mental Retardation.
Jeremy Coplan, Nonhuman primate studies which examine the long-term biobehavioral impact of early life stress incurred by the offspring of mothers exposed to unpredictable foraging; neurohistological correlates of antidepressant action in primate models of mood and anxiety disorders, with a specific focus on hippocampal neuroplasticity.
Howard A. Crystal, Clinicopathologic and epidemiologic studies of memory and cognition in normal aging and dementia.
John Danias, Gene expression and gene therapy in glaucoma; neuroprotection; neuroregeneration.
Diana L. Dow-Edwards, Developmental toxicity of Drugs of Abuse including cocaine and THC; effects on cerebral function, behavior and cognition in the rat.
Salva Dura-Bernal, Computational neuroscience to better understand neural brain function and disorders, and help develop novel treatments. AI/ML to build and simulate large-scale biophysically detailed models of the brain neural circuits linking multiple scales: molecules, cells, networks and systems. Current projects include using detailed cortical and thalamic circuit models to study the biophysical mechanisms of sensorimotor behavior, auditory perception, schizophrenia, epilepsy, Parkinson’s, brain-machine interfaces, neural stimulation and pharmacological treatments, among others.
Oleg Evgrafov, Genetics and genomics of psychiatric disorders. Gene expression profiling using massively parallels sequencing. Cellular models of neurodevelopmental disorders.
Steven E. Fox, Hippocampal EEG rhythms and location-specific firing of cells.
Alejandro Iván Hernández, Understanding the molecular mechanisms regulating long-term synaptic plasticity and the alterations of those mechanisms associated with neurodegenerative disorders and drug addiction.
Sabina Hrabetova, Biophysical properties of the brain extracellular space important for neurotransmission, neurotrophic effects, drug delivery, general electric activity, and basic cellular homeostasis. Focus: role of glia and extracellular matrix. Interdisciplinary approach: imaging, electrophysiology, computer modeling.
Xian-Cheng Jiang, Creation and development of mouse models (transgenic and gene knock-out) for the study of the relationship between lipid metabolism and heart disease. Use of transgenic approach to perform functional studies of two lipid transfer proteins: phospholipid transfer and cholesteryl ester transfer proteins.
Ira Kass, Mechanisms of hypoxic and ischemic neuronal damage. Of particular interest are the cellular electrophysiologic, biochemical and molecular biological changes that occur during ischemia and how anesthetics and other pharmaceutical agents influence these changes.
Richard Kollmar, Molecular genetics of otolith formation in the zebrafish. Regeneration of the recurrent laryngeal nerve in the rat.
John Kubie, Rat hippocampus: navigation, learning and memory.
Jenny Libien, Function of retinoids (vitamin A and its analogues) and retinoid transport proteins (RBP, TTR) in the central nervous system. The birth and survival of new neurons in the adult dentate gyrus in neurodegenerative diseases.
Douglas S. F. Ling, Properties of cortical inhibitory circuits and the regulation of excitatory transmission; mechanisms of epilepsy and synaptic plasticity; changes in cortical physiology following traumatic brain injury.
William W. Lytton, Computer modeling of neurons and neural networks: applications to epilepsy, stroke, and learning and memory.
Steven Macknik , Studies in visual perception, physiology, and microscopic blood flow using a variety of techniques spanning human behavior to advanced microscopy. The topics include basic visual, oculomotor, and cognitive processing—and the underlying circuits—with emphasis on neural diseases such as blindness, epilepsy, macular degeneration, and Alzheimers, Parkinson's, schizophrenia, and depression.
Susana Martinez-Conde, Our lab’s research bridges perceptual, oculomotor, and cognitive neuroscience, with a particular focus on the neural bases of illusory perception. Our recent work with Parkinsonian patients received the EyeTrack Award, a global prize given to a single publication in eye movement research. The lab also engages in significant science communication and outreach. Prof. Martinez-Conde is the 2014 recipient of the Science Educator Award, given by the Society for Neuroscience to an outstanding neuroscientist who has made substantial contributions to educating the public.
Lisa Merlin, Electrophysiology; role of metabotropic glutamate receptors in epilepsy; network properties of the hippocampus; signal transduction mechanisms in epileptogenesis.
Hillary Michelson, Functional connectivity, morphology, and development of hippocampal inhibitory circuitry; interneuron function in epilepsy.
Rena Orman, Focused on neurophysiological and neuroanatomical evidence for regional and long-range neuronal circuits. Brain regions of particular interest include: claustrum, endopiriform nucleus, amygdala and limbic cortex (hippocampal formation, retrosplenial cortex).
Nicholas J. Penington, Neuropharmacology of serotonergic (5-HT) neurons: patch clamp studies of 5-HT receptor modulation by protein kinases, signal transduction mechanisms, serotonergic drug effects on ion channels.
Katherine L. Perkins, Synaptic transmission in the hippocampus, primarily GABAergic transmission. Current focus is on the depolarizing GABA response and interneuron networks.
Roseann E. Peterson, Directs the Population Genetics and Environment in Mental Health (POP-GEM) Lab. Research domains include Statistical Genetics, Precision Psychiatry, and Data Science. Current projects include conducting large-scale trans-ancestry genome-wide association studies to identify risk loci, constructing polygenic risk scores that are generalizable across populations, and testing for interactions with environment factors including social determinants of health to advance the etiological understanding of severe mental illness across global populations.
Alexandro Ramirez, Investigates how brains integrate internally-generated activity with sensory signals to form decisions, with a focus on eye movements.
Todd C. Sacktor, Protein kinase C isozymes, PKMζ, long-term potentiation, long-term depression, synaptic plasticity, hippocampus, learning and memory.
Sheryl S. Smith, Investigation of neurosteroid effects on GABA-A receptor plasticity and its relevance for altered hippocampal physiology, as well as anxiety and epilepsy.
Armin Stelzer, Hippocampus, synaptic plasticity, role of synaptic inhibition, regulation of GABA receptor.
Mark G. Stewart, Physiology and pathophysiology of limbic neurons and limbic neuron circuits.
Gladys N. Teitelman, Cellular and molecular analysis of pancreatic islet cell differentiation; isolation of insulin precursor cells and characterization of the signals that control their maturation.
Henri Tiedge, Regulation of neuronal gene expression; RNA transport in neurons; mechanisms of local protein synthesis; long-term synaptic plasticity; Alzheimer's disease; tumor biology.
Jeffrey P. Weiss, In view of my clinical expertise in neurogenic and non-neurogenic voiding dysfunction with emphasis on nocturia, our translational laboratory efforts center upon the role of vasopressin receptors in signaling bladder contractility and bladder fluid dynamics in order to understand potential alternative pharmacological effects of standard medications employed in functional urology applications.
Robert K.S. Wong, Calcium and intercellular signaling and circuit organization of the hippocampus.