Neuroscience Program Faculty and Their Research

Regular GSBS Faculty

Schahram Akbarian: 

Dopaminergic Signaling Induces Chromatin-Remodeling in Neurons. 

Mark Alkema: 

C. elegans behavorial genetics. 

Athena Andreadis: 

Regulation of transcription and RNA splicing in the central nervous system; relation between cytoskeletal elements and dementia.

Neil Aronin: 

Huntington’s disease.

Ingolf Bach: 

Neuronal Cell Fate Specification

Claire Bénard
        Maintenance of nervous system architecture: making it is not good enough
Daryl A. Bosco
        Mechanisms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; protein misfolding

Robert H. Brown, Jr.
        Chair, Department of Neurology
Vivian Budnik: 

Molecular Mechanisms of Synapse Assembly and Plasticity

Roger Davis: 

Mechanisms by which growth factors regulate cellular proliferation.

Paul Dobner: 
Journal Club Director 

Regulation of neuroendocrine gene expression.

William Dube: 

Developmental disabilities:  Animal models and clinical studies.  

Patrick Emery: 
Seminar Director, 2009-2012
        Circadian Rhythms and Photoreception in Drosophila.

Michael Francis: 

Mechanisms of neuronal signaling in C. elegans

Jean A. Frazier:

Neurodevelopmental disorders 

Marc Freeman: 

Unwrapping glial biology in Drosophila. 

Kensuke Futai:
        The roles of inhibitory neurons in neuropsychiatric diseases

Fen-Biao Gao
        Neuronal MicroRNAs and Neurodegeneration
Paul Gardner: 

Molecular analyses of ion channel genes and signal transduction pathways during neuronal differentiation.  Developmental studies of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor gene expression. Ion channel gene expression in schizophreniza.

Edward Ginns: 

Translational studies of neuropsychiatric disorders. Gene mapping, pharmacogenetics and gene expression profiling.  Transgenic and knock-out animal models.  Enyzme replacement and gene transfer therapies. Basic and clinical studies of lysosomal storage disorders.

Lawrence J. Hayward: 

Ion channelopathies, motor neuron disease, and Neuromuscular Channelopathies.

David N. Kennedy:

        Neuroimaging and Neuroinformatics

Hemant Khanna:
        Photoreceptor Cell Biology
Daniel Kilpatrick: 

Transcriptional control of neurogenesis.

Jean King: 

Post-traumatic stress disorder.

William Kobertz: 

Structure, function and modulation of ion channels.

John E. Landers
        Genetics of Familial and Sporadic ALS

José Lemos: 

Stimulus-secretion coupling at nerve terminals.

Jack Leonard:

        Cellular and Molecular Events that Mediate Thyroid Hormone Action in the Brain

Hong-Sheng Li: 

Neuronal signal transduction and degeneration in the fly eye

Carlos Lois:

Assembly of neuronal circuits, neuronal replacement, and the cellular mechanisms of behavior

Gilles Martin:

        Drugs of abuse and memory
William McIlvane: 

Interdisciplinary studies of developmental disabilities

Haley E. Melikian: 

Cocaine- and antidepressant-sensitive monoamine transporters. Emphasis on transporter trafficking, regulation, and transporter structure-function relationships.

Teresa Mitchell: 

Cross-Model Development and Plasticity.

Constance Moore:

        Neuroimaging Research

Melissa J. Moore:

        Eukaryotic RNA Processing and Metabolism

Maria Morabito: 

Regulation of Excitatory Synapses in Development and Disease.

David Paydarfar: 

Basis of oscillatory nerve activity.

Claudio Punzo:

        Neuro-Degeneration in the Retina

Steven M. Reppert: 

Molecular neuroethology. (Reppert Lab)

Joel Richter: 

Translational control of synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory.

Ann Rittenhouse: 

Calcium channels and neuronal plasticity.

Evgeny Rogaev: 

Molecular genetic mechanisms of neuropsychiatric diseases and dementia.

Alonzo Ross: 
        Phosphatidylinositol phosphatase, PTEN, CNS stem cells, and NGF signal transduction.
Anthony J. Rothschild, M.D.:
        Psychopharmacologic Research and Treatment of Mood and Anxiety Disorders and Schizophrenia
Sean P. Ryder

        RNA binding proteins; post-transcriptional regulation of myelin formation and nematode development
Charles Sagerström: 
        Zebrafish developmental neurobiology
Gary Schwarting: 
        Glycoproteins which regulate axon guidance and migration of neurons in the developing olfactory system.

William J. Schwartz: 

On the Neurobiology of Circadian Timekeeping.

Andrew Tapper: 

Neurobiology of Addiction.

Ajay Wakhloo, M.D.

John Walsh: 

Modulation of ion channel activity.

David Weaver: 
Graduate Program Director 

Molecular physiology of circadian rhythms.

Yang Xiang:

Zuoshang Xu:

Neuronal cytoskeleton and motor neuron disease.

Motojiro Yoshihara: 

Synaptic physiology and activity-dependent plasticity

Nanyin Zhang
        Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Jianhua Zhou: 

Molecular Pathogenesis of Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Ronghua ZhuGe: 

Intracellular localized Ca²⁺ signaling.

Douglas M Ziedonis:

Substance abuse disorders; addiction co-occurence with mental illness.

Adjunct and Special GSBS Faculty

Susan Billings-Gagliardi: 

Developmental genetics, experimental study of myelin,cytological and ultrastructural methods.

Lawrence Lifshitz: 

Computer Vision and Image Processing

Joshua J. Singer:

Ion channel behavior and cellular physiological and biochemical processes.

Thomas W. Smith:

        Clinical Neuropathology

William Stoothoff:
Sonia Ortiz-Miranda:

Scott Waddell:

        Drosophila Olfactory Memory