Faculty by Last Name

Mark Alkema, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Neurobiology

Focus: C.elegans behavioral genetics.

Sandra C.V. Almeida, PhD

Academic Role: Assistant Professor

Programs: Department of Neurology

Focus: Understanding the molecular mechanisms of frontotemporal dementia (FTD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer disease (AD).

Raffi V. Aroian, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Program in Molecular Medicine

Focus: Assessing how vertebrate hosts and their immune system interact with intestinal nematodes, with the goal of controlling autoimmune diseases including MS; cognitive impact of parasitic nematodes.

Neil Aronin, MD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Medicine, RNA Therapeutics Institute

Higgins Family Professor of Neuroscience

Focus: Neurodegenerative diseases, especially Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases.

Lab Web-page

Ingolf M. Bach, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Biology, Department of Molecular, Cell and Cancer Biology, Department of Radiology, Program in Molecular Medicine

Focus: Neuronal Cell Fate Specification.

Eric H. Baehrecke, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Molecular, Cell and Cancer Biology

Focus: Cell death and autophagy.

Sheldon Benjamin, MD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Psychiatry

Focus: Clinical Neuropsychiatry and neuropsychiatry training.

Milena Bogunovic, MD, PhD

Academic Role: Associate Professor

Programs: Department of Pathology

Focus: Macrophages and the enteric nervous system in intestinal health and disease

Daryl A. Bosco, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Neurology

Focus: Pathogenic mechanisms underlying Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis; protein misfolding in ALS

Lab Webpage

Gabriella Boulting, PhD

Academic Role: Assistant Professor

Programs: Department of Neurobiology

Focus: Activity-dependent gene expression in the primate brain

Robert H. Brown, Jr., MD, DPhil

Academic Role: Professor and Vice Chair

Programs: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, Department of Neurology, RNA Therapeutics Institute

Leo P. and Theresa M. LaChance Chair in Medical Research

Focus: Identification of gene defects in neuromuscular diseases; Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Vivian Budnik, PhD

Academic Role: Chair and Professor

Programs: Department of Neurobiology

Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research Chair

Focus: Molecular mechanisms of synapse assembly and plasticity

Alexandra C. Byrne, PhD

Academic Role: Assistant Professor

Programs: Department of Neurobiology

Focus: Mechanisms of axon regeneration and degeneration in the aging nervous system

Yingleong Chan, PhD

Academic Role: Assistant Professor

Programs: Department of Neurology

Focus: Using induced pluripotent stem cells from patient samples to model Herpes viral infection as a cause of Alzheimer’s disease and Hearing-loss due to Cisplatin treatment.

Link to Lab Page

Felicia Chu, MD

Academic Role: Assistant Professor

Programs: Department of Neurology

Focus: Epilepsy

Roger J. Davis, PhD

Academic Role: Chair and Professor

Programs: Program in Molecular Medicine

Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

H. Arthur Smith Chair in Cancer Research

Focus: Mechanisms by which growth factors regulate cellular proliferation and signaling.

George J. DeMarco, MS, DVM, DACLAM

Academic Role: Associate Professor

Programs: Department of Pathology

Director, Department of Animal Medicine

Janice A. Dominov, PhD

Academic Role: Assistant Professor

Programs: Department of Neurology

Focus: Investigate neuromuscular diseases with an emphasis on congenital and other muscular dystrophies; cell death mechanisms and inflammatory pathway regulation.

Charles P. Emerson Jr., PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Neurology

PI, Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Program at UMass Chan Medical School

Focus: Muscular Dystrophies

Lab website

Patrick Emery, PhD

Academic Role: Professor and Acting Chair

Programs: Department of Neurobiology

Focus: Circadian Rhythms and photoreception in Drosophila.

Xiaoduo Fan, MD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Psychiatry

Focus: Schizophrenia

Minggang Fang, PhD

Academic Role: Assistant Professor

Programs: Department of Molecular, Cell and Cancer Biology

Focus: Identification of drug targets and small molecules to treat Fragile X Syndrome and Friedreich's Ataxia

Michael M. Francis, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Neurobiology

Focus: Activity-dependent synaptic plasticity; Neuronal circuit development and function in C. elegans.

Lab Webpage

Jean A. Frazier, MD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Psychiatry

Director, Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center

Robert M. and Shirley S. Siff Chair in Autism

Focus: Autism, early onset schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, neuroimaging, psychopharmacology.

The Child and Adolescent NeuroDevelopment Initiative (CANDI)

Kensuke Futai, PhD

Academic Role: Associate Professor

Programs: Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, Department of Neurobiology, Department of Psychiatry

Focus: The roles of Inhibitory neurons in neuropsychiatric diseases.

Susan B. Gagliardi, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Neurology

Focus: Undergraduate and graduate neuroanatomy education.

Fen-Biao Gao, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Neurology

The Governor Paul Cellucci Chair in Neuroscience Research

Focus: Understanding Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) and ALS.

Lab Webpage

Guangping Gao, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems, Horae Gene Therapy Center, RNA Therapeutics Institute

Penelope Booth Rockwell Chair in Biomedical Research

Director, Horae Gene Therapy Center

Focus: Adeno-associated virus vectors for gene therapy of genetic diseases including Canavan Disease

Rachel M. Gerstein, PhD

Academic Role: Associate Professor

Programs: Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems

Focus: Immune system dysfunction including multiple sclerosis, with an emphasis on B lymphocyte contribution to pathology and biomarkers of disease progression.

Edward Ginns, MD, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Neurology, Department of Pathology, Department of Pediatrics, Department of Psychiatry

Focus: Neurogenetics; lysosomal storage disorders.

Matthew J. Gounis, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Radiology

Director, New England Center for Stroke Research

Focus: Minimally invasive neuroendovascular surgery

Heather L. Gray-Edwards, DVM, PhD

Academic Role: Assistant Professor

Programs: Department of Radiology

Focus: Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) gene therapy in animal models of Sandhoff and Tay-Sachs diseases

Lawrence J. Hayward, MD, PhD

Academic Role: Professor of Neurology

Programs: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Department of Neurology

Focus: Motor neuron degeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Christopher C. Hemond, MD

Academic Role: Assistant Professor

Programs: Department of Neurology

Focus: Multiple Sclerosis, Neuroimaging, Psychoneuroimmunology

Nils Henninger, MD, PhD

Academic Role: Associate Professor

Programs: Department of Neurology, Department of Psychiatry

Focus: Stroke and brain injury.

Carolina Ionete, MD, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Neurology

Focus: Multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune neurological diseases; and neurological complications of HIV infections.

Javier E. Irazoqui, PhD

Academic Role: Associate Professor

Programs: Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems

Marcellette G. Williams Scholar

Focus: Neural-immune communication; Comparative immunology.

Lab website

Allan S. Jacobson, PhD

Academic Role: Chair and Professor

Programs: Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems, RNA Therapeutics Institute

Lambi and Sarah Adams Chair of Genetic Research

Gerald L. Haidak, MD, and Zelda S. Haidak Professorship in Cell Biology (est. 1999)

Focus: Post-transcriptional control of gene expression in model systems and genetic disorders

Mark D. Johnson, MD, PhD

Academic Role: Chair and Professor

Programs: Department of Neurological Surgery

Focus: Normal-pressure hydrocephalus; gliomas

Allison May Keeler-Klunk, PhD

Academic Role: Assistant Professor

Programs: Department of Pediatrics

Focus: Gene Therapy, T-REGS and immune response to AAVs

David N. Kennedy, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Psychiatry

Focus: Neuro-imaging and Neuroinformatics; functional MRI, morphometric analysis.

Anastasia Khvorova, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Program in Molecular Medicine, RNA Therapeutics Institute

Remondi Family Chair in Biomedical Research

Focus: Therapeutic gene silencing in vivo.

Dohoon Kim, PhD

Academic Role: Assistant Professor

Programs: Department of Molecular, Cell and Cancer Biology

Focus: Identifying alterations in metabolic pathways supporting cancer cells (gliomas) and exploiting these alterations for therapeutic purposes.

Lab website

Sohye Kim, PhD

Academic Role: Assistant Professor

Programs: Department of Gynecology, Department of Obstetrics, Department of Pediatrics, Department of Psychiatry

Focus: Human brain development and maternal-infant bonding

William R. Kobertz, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology

Focus: Structure, Function and Modulation of Ion Channels.

Lab Webpage

John Landers, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Neurology

Focus: Genetics of Familial and Sporadic ALS.

Jeanne Lawrence, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics

Focus: Chromosome silencing, Down Syndrome, and Alzheimer Disease

Lab Web-page

Hong-Sheng Li, PhD

Academic Role: Associate Professor of Neurobiology

Programs: Department of Neurobiology

Focus: Molecular Dissection of Drosophila Vision.

Lawrence Lifshitz, PhD

Academic Role: Associate Professor

Programs: Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems, Program in Molecular Medicine

Focus: Computer vision and image processing.

Elaine Lim, PhD

Academic Role: Assistant Professor

Programs: Department of Molecular, Cell and Cancer Biology

Focus: To understand the genetic mechanisms of complex neurological diseases (ASD and Alzheimer’s) through computational and statistical methods and experimental technology.

Lab website

Lori J. Lorenz, PhD

Academic Role: Assistant Professor

Programs: Program in Molecular Medicine

Focus: Translational regulation in models of Fragile X Syndrome.

Elisabet Mandon, PhD

Academic Role: Associate Professor

Programs: Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems

Focus: The role of mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum in neurodegeneration and aging.

Lab website

Wendy K. Marsh, MD, MS

Academic Role: Associate Professor

Programs: Department of Psychiatry

Focus: Bipolar and mood disorders, reproductive phases in women.

Gilles Martin, PhD

Academic Role: Assistant Professor

Programs: Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, Department of Neurobiology, Department of Psychiatry

Focus: Drugs of abuse and memory; electrophysiology.

Beth A. McCormick, PhD

Academic Role: Chair and Professor

Programs: Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems

Focus: Mucosal inflammation, host:pathogen interactions, and cancer biology.

Haley E. Melikian, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, Department of Neurobiology, Department of Psychiatry

Focus: Cocaine and antidepressant-sensitive monoamine transporters.

Richard P. Moser, MD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Neurosurgery, Department of Pediatrics

Focus: Adult brain tumors, stereotactic radiosurgery, translational research.

Mary Munson, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology

Focus: Regulation of vesicle targeting and fusion.

Ika Noviawaty, MD

Academic Role: Associate Professor

Programs: Department of Neurology, Department of Neurosurgery

Director, Epilepy Service

Focus: Epilepsy

Gary R. Ostroff, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Program in Molecular Medicine, RNA Therapeutics Institute

Focus: Using small to macromolecular drug delivery to phagocytes to modulate inflammation and pathologies associated with infectious, autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases.

Thoru Pederson, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology

Vitold Arnett Professorship in Cell Biology

Focus: RNA traffic in eukaryotic cells, RNA processing, RNA-protein interactions, microRNAs.

Claudio Punzo, PhD

Academic Role: Associate Professor

Programs: Department of Neurobiology, Department of Ophthalmology, Horae Gene Therapy Center

Focus: Neurodegeneration in the retina; retinitis pigmentosa.

Lab Web-page

Ajit S. Puri, MD

Academic Role: Associate Professor

Programs: Department of Neurosurgery, Department of Radiology

Director for Clinical Research, NeuroNexus Institute
Director, Division of Neurointerventional Surgery
Director, Neurointerventional Fellowship Program

Research Focus: Stroke treatment using mechanical thrombectomy, an endovascular procedure that is performed in neurointerventional radiology.

Joel Richter, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Program in Molecular Medicine, RNA Therapeutics Institute

Arthur F. Koskinas Chair in Neuroscience

Focus: Translational control in meiosis, mitosis, and neuronal synaptic plasticity. Fragile X syndrome.

Ann Rittenhouse, PhD

Academic Role: Associate Professor

Programs: Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems

Focus: Calcium Channels and Neuronal Plasticity.

Evgeny I. Rogaev, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Psychiatry

Focus: Molecular genetic mechanisms of neuropsychiatric diseases and dementia.

Max P. Rosen, MD, MPH

Academic Role: Chair and Professor

Programs: Department of Radiology

Anthony Rothschild, MD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Psychiatry

Irving S. and Betty Brudnick Chair in Psychiatry

Focus: Clinical Research in Affective Disorders and Sexual Dysfunction; Psychopharmacology.

Sean P. Ryder, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology

Focus: Post-transcriptional regulation of maternal mRNA in development.

Lab Webpage

Manojkumar Saranathan, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Radiology

Focus: Structural and Functional Neuroimaging, Image Processing

Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD

Academic Role: Chair and Professor

Programs: Department of Ophthalmology

Bio, Department website

Dorothy P. Schafer, PhD

Academic Role: Associate Professor

Programs: Department of Neurobiology

Focus: Neuron-glia interactions regulating synaptic circuit development and plasticity.

Miguel S. Sena-Esteves, PhD

Academic Role: Associate Professor

Programs: Department of Molecular, Cell and Cancer Biology, Department of Neurology, Horae Gene Therapy Center

Focus: Preclinical gene therapy of neurological diseases and brain cancer.

Scott A. Shaffer, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology

Director, UMMS Mass Spectrometry Facility. Lab website

Kara Smith, MD

Academic Role: Assistant Professor

Programs: Department of Neurology

Focus: Parkinson’s disease, Movement disorders, biomarker development

Thomas Smith, MD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Neurology, Department of Neurosurgery, Department of Pathology

Focus: Forensic neuropathology and CNS neoplasia.

Andrew Tapper, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, Department of Neurobiology, Department of Psychiatry

Director, Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute

Focus: Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in addiction and neurological disease.

Paul R. Thompson, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology

Director, Small Molecule Screening Facility

Travis C. Thomson, PhD

Academic Role: Assistant Professor

Programs: Department of Neurobiology

Focus: Transposon regulation of neuromuscular junction plasticity

Michael Volkert, PhD

Academic Role: Professor

Programs: Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems

Focus: Molecular and cellular functions of the OXR family of oxidation resistance genes in order to determine how they protect cells from oxidative stress induced DNA damage and cell death.