Faculty

Structural, functional and pharmacological studies of ion channel macromolecular complexes.

Research focuses on metabolic mechanisms that are responsible for cardiovascular complications of diabetes and the role of mitochondrial dysfunction and autophagy in the pathophysiology of insulin resistance and its complications.

Membrane protein crystallography; structural determination of membrane transport proteins

How does the brain control fear and anxiety elicited by different imminent threats?

Cardiac Neurobiology, Bioinformatics, Transgenic murine and Porcine Models of Cardiovascular disease, Viral Tracing, Neuromodulation

How does neuronal activity during development affect synapse and circuit assembly?

The Alward lab is interested in how steroid hormones generate social behaviors. The organism we use for answering this question is the cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni. These fish exhibit dynamic social interactions that can be readily studied in the lab. We combine approaches using molecular genetics, transcriptomics, neurobiology, and behavioral paradigms in both sexes to yield fundamental insights into the hormonal control of behavior.

Autonomic control of the normal and diseased heart

We study the sex chromosomal and hormonal factors that cause sex differences in physiology and disease.

Mechanosensation, Structural and functional dynamics of sensory membrane proteins, Multiscale modelling

Mitochondria, bioenergetics and electrophysiology

Neurobiology of circadian rhythms

We are a systems biology lab that seeks to understand how human biochemical signaling circuitry is remodeled by viruses and other perturbations

Neurochemical and anatomical pathways in the vertebrate retina that mediate vision

Chronic pain and opioid addiction

Molecular mechanistic and translational studies of cardiorespiratory diseases

Ion channel disorders of skeletal muscle, mathematical modeling, gene therapy

Neural repair after stroke

Neuronal mechanisms controlling jaw movement

Neural control of behavior, circadian rhythms

Effects of sex variables on the neural control of temperature and energy balance

We investigate immuno-metabolic dysregulation in macrophages during aging, metabolic disease, and cancer

Muscle regeneration, muscular dystrophy, drug discovery, mouse models of disease

Research in the Daboussi lab lies at the intersection of the fields of glial biology, axonal regeneration and cytoplasmic-to-nuclear signaling. We are focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms of nervous system plasticity to gain insight into regeneration after injury and during chronic disease

Neuroimaging/imaging genetics of language and social cognition in typical and atypical development (emphasis on adolescence and autism spectrum disorders); cultural neuroscience

Neuron-glial interactions in health and disease

Cardiac repair and regeneration, wound healing, progenitors, fibroblasts

Computational modeling of gene regulation, cell signaling and cellular physiology

We are uncovering the mechanisms of cardiovascular calcification and how it is increased by statins and exercise.

mPFC circuits for learning and memory

Dr. Sophie Deng is a clinician-scientist whose research aims to develop new stem cell-based therapies to treat corneal diseases. One area of her research investigates the role of Wnt signaling pathways in the regulation and regeneration of human limbal epithelial stem cells and the other main area of her research investigates the anti-scarring function of extracellular vesicles derived from corneal stromal stem cells.

The goal of my research is to understand the intersection and contributions of markers (eg. genetic, neuroimaging, social factors) of cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease in the Black community.

Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience; Machine Learning; Neural Networks; Neural Coding; Neural Dynamics

Control of cell physiology by mitochondrial metabolism and bioenergetics

Sleep regulation and function

Neural control of movement and neuromuscular plasticity

Heart disease, pulmonary hypertension and sex differences in cardiopulmonary disease

My laboratory investigates the physiology of mammalian photoreceptors.

Neural circuit neurophysiology and behavior

Systemic iron metabolism and host defense

Mathematical modeling of electrophysiology

Mechanobiology of vascular inflammation and degeneration in eye diseases

The focus of my laboratory's research is on the cell biology of memory, particularly how memories are stored.

Action of diet and exercise on brain injury and disease

Mechanisms of membrane transport, channels, homeostasis, cryoEM structural biology MIcroED

Cancer and Immuno Systems Biology

Synaptic function

neurodegeneration and regeneration, aging, mitochondria

Molecular mechanism of innate and adaptive immunity

The neural basis of sensory behaviors in free-living and parasitic nematodes

Neural mechanisms underlying sleep state

Molecular underpinnings of insulin resistance and the relationships between insulin resistance, obesity and chronic disease

Neural circuit mechanism of animal social behavior

Our multidisciplinary research team focuses on address tissue/organ development, injury, and repair by embracing advanced imaging, computation, molecular, and senor technology.

Microbiome, Neurobiology of Disease, Neuroimmunology, Host-Microbe Interactions

Our lab is interested in understanding the effects of exercise on vascular health, specifically studying the association between endurance exercise and coronary artery calcification. Additionally, we are investigating the effects of COVID-19 on cardiac and vascular inflammation, with the aim of better understanding mechanisms of Long COVID.

Molecular mechanisms of aging and longevity regulation

Visual, cognitive, and computational neuroscience

Immunology and Inflammation

My laboratory studies host-microbiome interactions in gastrointestinal, metabolic, and inflammatory disorders.

Therapeutic approaches for alzheimer's disease

We are interested in how glia regulate neural circuits.

We perform basic and translational research to understand how our memory system works and how this system goes awry in memory and mood disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and depression. We utilize state-of-the-art high-resolution imaging techniques, PET imaging of amyloid and tau pathologies, and novel experimental paradigms to understand brain-behavior relationships.

In the Leitch lab, we study sensory system function and diversity from comparative and evolutionary perspectives, integrating approaches ranging from genetics to physiology and behavior. Often, we make use of non-model organisms with unique sensory adaptations to understand fundamental principles of nervous system architecture and function.

Nutrient, microbiome and metabolism

Our lab uses genetic approaches, in human subjects and animal models, to investigate interactions involved in common forms of cardiovascular disease.

cardiovascular function, extracellular vehicles as therapeutic agents, biopacemakers

Neural mechanisms of motor control and learning.

Our research aims at better understanding pain-induced neuronal alterations, how they affect the rewarding and aversive properties of stimuli, elucidate how they impact substance use liability, and ultimately open new routes for pain pharmacotherapy improvements

Sensory processing/motor control, especially auditory feedback control of vocalization; Behavioral Neuroscience (Neuroethology)

How obesity increases cancer incidence and makes cancer harder to cure, specifically childhood leukemia

Iron physiology and pathology: mechanisms and regulatory circuits (pregnancy, inflammation, infection, iron deficiency and iron overload)

Synaptic and Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Memory Formation

Ion Channel Molecular Physiology and Biophysics

Cardiac muscle, Transporters, Excitation-Contraction Coupling. The primary area of interest of the Ottolia Laboratory is to understand how cytosolic calcium is regulated in cardiac cells. We focus on the role of the plasma membrane sodium-calcium exchanger (NCX) which constitutes the main calcium extrusion mechanism in the heart and alterations in its activity have been associated with ischemia reperfusion injury, arrhythmia, and heart failure.

Chemotherapy-induced cardiac injury and repair; characterization of high-risk atherosclerotic lesions

The structure, function, and biogenesis of voltage dependent ion channels

Sleep and circadian regulatory mechanisms.

Molecular mechanisms of the progression and diversity of neurodegenerative diseases

Genetic Dissection of Retinal Circuits

Determine how transplanted olfactory ensheathing cells enhance axon regeneration after spinal cord injury

My research program focuses on developing integrative omics and data science approaches to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying physiological functions in normal and diseased hearts.

Molecular Physiology of Gastrointestinal Hormones

Investigating the mechanisms by which sleep traits serve learning and memory consolidation

Aspects of stem cell biology as well as more translational aspects of human pluripotent stem cell differentiation towards skeletal muscle for use in therapeutic approaches for patients with muscular dystrophy

Cardiovascular development and disease

Retina & Retinal Pigment Epithelium Biochemistry: Understanding Pathophysiology of Age-Related Macular Degeneration and related retinopathies using preclinical models

Physiology and pathology of non-coding RNA and their interactors in hematopoiesis

Lipoproteins and lipid metabolism in human diseases

The Reed lab studies mechanisms of immune-mediated allograft injury and mapping innate and adaptive immune responses to viral and bacterial pathogens.

Genetics of obesity and diabetes

Mechanobiology, Mechanotransduction

Noncoding RNA, RNA modification, metabolism and heart disease

My laboratory is interested in elucidating the mechanism of phototransduction in retinal rods and cones, and establishing how the information generated by these photoreceptors is encoded downstream in the retina.

Steroid hormone synthesis and action in birds; hormonal control of brain and behavior in tropical bird species

Dynamic regulation of neurotransmitter release

Cancer metabolism. Studying the intersection of signal transduction and metabolism in cancer in order to identify the molecular and metabolic basis of tumorigenesis.

Synaptogenesis, neural circuit development, and the determinants of whole brain dynamics

Mitochondria & metabolism in CVD models; adipose tissue bionergetics

Autonomic regulation of cardiac excitability

Muscular dystrophy, gene therapy, CRISPR based therapies for DMD and immune response to AAV vectors

Neuropharmacology

Novel signaling pathways that suppress pathogenic blood vessels

Brain-gut interaction

Immunometabolism - lipid metabolism and immunity

My lab studies metabolic flux, how it changes in different physiological states including disease, and how it relates to cellular identity

The immunobiology and physiology of muscle disease, regeneration and development

Metabolism, gene regulation, diabetes, atherosclerosis

Genetics and evolution of vertebrate neurodevelopment.

Our mission in the Neonatal/Congenital Heart Laboratory is to address unmet needs towards precision child health cardiovascular medicine. We employ genomics platforms, molecular genetics tools, and disease model systems to elucidate novel mechanisms of gene regulation, such as investigating causal genetic variants and functional lncRNAs, in neonatal/congenital heart disease (CHD). Our long-term goal is to establish better diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for newborn infants with CHDs.

Pulmonary vascular biology, Right heart dysfunction, Cardiopulmonary pathophysiology, Cardioprotection

Gene regulation, nutrition and metabolic diseases

Understanding the role of the nervous system in promoting cardiac arrhythmias in setting of heart disease using a combination of tissue clearing, optogenetic, neural recordings, and electrical mapping techniques in small and large animal models to find and develop novel neuromdulatory therapies

Biophysics of muscle excitation-contraction coupling

Our lab is interested in understanding how cells regulate their metabolic programs. These studies will provide opportunities to understand how cells burn energy and how we may use that information to prevent obesity and treat diabetes

Chromatin biology and epigenomics of the cardiovascular system

Molecular biology of aging

Single Molecule Biophysics

Neural basisi for socially-learned vocal communication

systems biology, cellular signaling variability, spatial transcriptomics

Structure and function of cotransporters

Bioinformatics, genomics, neuroscience

Multitissue multiomics systems biology of complex diseases

Pathological and physiological remodeling of heart

I work on basic mechanisms for plasma triglyceride metabolism as well as diseases of the nuclear envelope.

Glia cell development and function in health and disease

We study the neural mechanisms of internal sensations i.e. how we feel inside our body. One focus is to investigate the molecular and circuit mechanisms of nausea

Therapeutic development in ophthalmology

Dr. Zhou uses cryogenic electron microscopy (cryoEM) and tomography (cryoET) to study structure-function relationship of cellular and viral complexes in health and diseases, with areas of interest in immunology and infections, metabolism, and neurosciences