Primary Training Faculty
Armen Akopian, Ph.D. (Endodontics) – modulation of inflammatory and neuropathic pain
Swati Banerjee, Ph.D. (Cellular & Integrative Physiology) – Drosophila as a genetic model for neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders
Kelly Berg, Ph.D. (Pharmacology) – G protein - coupled receptors, signal transduction, ligand functional selectivity
Manzoor Bhat, M.S., Ph.D. (Cellular & Integrative Physiology) – molecular neuron-glia interactions, synaptic development and neurological disorders
Kevin Bieniek, Ph.D. (Pathology) – traumatic brain injury, neurodegenerative disorders, CTE
Andrew Brenner, M.D., Ph.D (Cancer Therapy and Research Center) – Neuro-oncology; overcoming resistance to cancer therapy driven by the hypoxic microenvironment
Sandeep Burma, Ph.D. (Biochemistry and Structural Biology) - DNA repair and therapy resistance in glioblastoma
Jose Cavazos, M.D., Ph.D. (Neurology) – hippocampal plasticity; mechanisms of neuronal hyperexcitability, epilepsy
Chu Chen, Ph.D. (Physiology) – endocannabinoid signaling and neuroinflammation in neurodegenerative disease and TBI
Lizhen Chen, Ph.D. (Cell Systems and Anatomy) – Genetic regulation of neuronal responses to aging and injury
Ching-Kang Jason Chen, Ph.D. (Molecular Medicine) – mammalian vision and retinal physiology
William Clarke, Ph.D. (Pharmacology) – molecular and cellular mechanisms of drug efficacy and differential signal transduction
Greg Collins, Ph.D. (Pharmacology) – determinants of drug-seeking and drug-taking of abused substances, such as “bath salts”
Marcel Daadi, Ph.D. (Cell Systems and Anatomy) – develop neural stem cells for therapeutic use in Parkinson’s and other diseases
Lynette Daws, Ph.D. (Cellular & Integrative Physiology) – regulation of monoamine transporters, psychotherapeutic drug effects
Anibal Diogenes, D.D.S., Ph.D. (Endodontics) – Peripheral modulation of pain and inflammation; bioengineering and stem cells
Margaret Flanagan, Ph.D. (Pathology) – Use of human brain tissue to identify disease mechanisms, risk factors and protective factors for dementia
Bernard Fongang, Ph.D. (Biochemistry and Structural Biology) – computational tools to study genetic and environmental factors in Alzheimer’s Disease and other neurodegenerative disorders
Peter Fox, M.D. (Research Imaging Institute) – Non-invasive functional and structural neuroimaging in humans, non-human primates and rodents
Charles France, Ph.D. (Pharmacology) – behavioral and pharmacological factors influencing the abuse liability of drugs
Bess Frost, Ph.D. (Cell Systems and Anatomy) – mechanisms of neurodegeneration in drosophila models and Alzheimer’s Disease
Amy Garrett, Ph.D. (Psychiatry) – neuroimaging to understand changes in brain function with psychotherapy for youth with PTSD
Brett Ginsburg, Ph.D. (Psychiatry) – Mechanisms of alcohol abuse and recovery; behavioral pharmacology of synthetic cannabinoids
Mark Goldberg, M.D. (Neurology) – Brain injury and motor system recovery after stroke and cerebral amyloid angiopathy
Georgianna Gould, Ph.D. (Cellular & Integrative Physiology) – serotonin and social behavior
Xianlin Han (Biochemistry) –role of sulfatide and myelin lipids in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s Disease and aging
Kenneth Hargreaves, D.D.S., Ph.D. (Endodontics) – neuropharmacology of primary nociceptors and pain sensitivity
Noboru Hiroi (Pharmacology) – genetic, cellular and molecular mechanisms of developmental neuropsychiatric disorders
Sarah Hopp (Pharmacology) – microglia and neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s Disease; tau and calcium regulation
Nathan Jeske, Ph.D. (Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery) – biochemical modulation of peripheral pain in nociceptive neurons by regulation of TRPV1 channel function
Asma Khan, Ph.D. (Endodontics) - extracellular vesicles in pain; new diagnostics; pain management
Yu Shin Kim, Ph.D. (Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery) - regulation of sensory modalities including pain, itch, and gentle touch
Oleg Klykov, Ph.D. (Biochemistry) - structural regulation of glutamate receptor function
Erzsebet Kokovay, Ph.D. (Cell Systems and Anatomy) – molecular and cellular regulation of neural stem cells and adult neurogenesis
James Lechleiter, Ph.D. (Cell Systems and Anatomy) – mitochondrial calcium regulation in cell death and survival in the aging process
Hye-Young Lee, Ph.D. (Cellular & Integrative Physiology) – ion channel dysregulation in mouse models of FXS and other developmental disorders
Senlin Li, M.D. (Medicine) – Hematopoietic stem cell-derived macrophage gene therapy for neurodegenerative diseases
Daniel Lodge, Ph.D. (Pharmacology) – Hippocampal and other afferent regulation of mesolimbic dopamine activity
Liang Ma, Ph.D. (Pharmacology) – Functional genomics of neuropsychiatric and neurologic diseases; human iPS cell models
David Maguire, Ph.D. (Pharmacology) - Behavioral pharmacology; abuse potential of drugs; treatment of substance use disorders
David Morilak, Ph.D. (Pharmacology) – Effect of stress on behavior and brain function; novel therapeutics; cancer therapy-induced cognitive impairment
Jason O'Connor, Ph.D. (Pharmacology) – Tryptophan metabolism and mechanisms linking neuroinflammation and depression
Juan Pablo Palavicini, Ph.D. (Barshop Institute) – lipidomics; role of ceramides in Alzheimer’s Disease
Martin Paukert, Ph.D. (Cellular & Integrative Physiology) – Role of calcium signaling and neuron-astroglial interactions in neuromodulation and arousal
Jason Pugh, Ph.D. (Cellular & Integrative Physiology) – Axonal plasticity, cellular computation and signal processing in neural circuits
Qitao Ran, Ph.D. (Cell Systems and Anatomy) – role of mitochondrial oxidative stress in aging and Alzheimer’s Disease
Nikita Ruparel, D.D.S., Ph.D. (Endodontics) – Pain, analgesia, inflammation; Stem cells and regenerative endodontics in pain modulation
Shivani Ruparel, Ph.D. (Endodontics) – mechanisms and novel treatment approaches for oral cancer pain
Muralidhan Sargurupremraj, Ph.D. (Biggs Inst.) – genetic mechanisms in Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias
Naomi Sayre, Ph.D. (Neurosurgery) – role of astrocyte lipoprotein metabolism in recovery from stroke and traumatic brain injury
Mark Shapiro, Ph.D. (Cellular & Integrative Physiology) – ion channel physiology; regulation by intracellular signaling pathways and excitability
Qian Shi, Ph.D. (Cellular & Integrative Physiology) – role of mTOR signaling in oligodendrocyte development and diseases of myelination
Gek-Ming Sia, Ph.D. (Pharmacology) – neurodevelopment, cortical synapse and circuit formation, synaptogenesis
James Stockand, Ph.D. (Cellular & Integrative Physiology) – structure, function and regulation of ENaC/Degenerin sodium ion channels
Randy Strong, Ph.D. (Pharmacology) – role of catecholamines in aging; regulation of tyrosine hydroxylase gene expression
Glenn Toney, Ph.D. (Cellular & Integrative Physiology) – cellular, molecular and integrative mechanisms of sympathetic nervous system function
Habil Zare (Cell Systems & Anatomy) – computational biology, applying machine learning to gene network analysis
Affiliated Faculty
Yidong Bai, Ph.D. (Cell Systems and Anatomy) – mitochondrial deficits and mtDNA mutations in neurodegeneration and aging
Flavia Carreno, PhD. (Pharmacology) – novel therapies for stress-related psychiatric disorders
Robert Clark, M.D. (Medicine) – Cellular and molecular mechanisms of neutrophil signal transduction and activation; transcriptional regulation of genes relevant to biology of aging
Peter Hornsby, Ph.D. (Cellular & Integrative Physiology) – pluripotent stem cells and regenerative medicine in neurodegenerative disease models
Jean Jiang, Ph.D. (Biochemistry and Structural Biology) – function and regulation of gap junctions; connexins in cell signaling and development
Bruce Nicholson, Ph.D. (Biochemistry and Structural Biology) – structure of gap junctions; genetic and structural diversity of connexins in disease
Luiz Penalva, Ph.D. (Cell Systems and Anatomy) – RNA binding proteins and miRNA regulating gene expression in neuronal stress
Charles Szabo, M.D. (Neurology) – genetic, neuroimaging and behavioral aspects of epilepsy
Ratna Vadlamudi, Ph.D. (Ob/Gyn) – co-regulators of steroid and nuclear receptor signal transduction
Kristine Vogel, Ph.D. (Cell Systems and Anatomy) – mechanisms of tumorigenesis and neural development in neurofibromatosis