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Neuroscience Faculty Research Interests

John Boughter, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology

jboughte@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Neurobiology and behavior genetics of sensory systems.

Joseph Callaway, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology
jcallaway@uthsc.edu 

 

Research Interests: Calcium imaging and electrophysiology in brain slices; Dendritic integration and intrinsic membrane properties responsible for firing patterns of dopaminergic neurons in the basal ganglia.

 Xinwei Cao, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology

xinwei.cao@stjude.org

Research Interests: Mechanisms that regulate the growth of the vertebrate nervous system. Genetic basis of brain size evolution. 

Victor Chizhikov, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology
Research Interests: Our laboratory has two goals: (1) to identify the molecular mechanisms that regulate the development of the mammalian brain and (2) to define the pathogenic mechanisms that underlie human developmental brain disorders. Specifically, we focus on two dorsal brain regions - the developing cerebellum and the cerebral cortex.
Hao Chen, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology
Research Interests: My long-term interest is to elucidate the complex interaction between social, genetic, and sensory factors in regulating drug abuse behavior, particularly cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking, by using rodent models. Behavioral, anatomical, molecular, genetic, genomic and informatics approaches are integrated to investigate the mechanisms underlying the effects of social and genetic factors on drug abuse and addiction behavior. 
Julio Cordero-Morales, PhD
Asscicate Professor, Department of Physiology

jcordero@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Our research is focused on understanding the biochemical, structural, and cellular mechanisms by which sensory receptors e.g., transient receptor potential and potassium ion channels.contribute to somatosensation. These sensory receptors are polymodal membrane proteins that respond to a broad range of physical e.g., heat, cold, and pressure.and chemical e.g., acid, irritants, and inflammatory mediators.stimuli to depolarize sensory neurons and elicit or intensify inflammatory pain. Specifically, we are interested in determine how different stimuli induce channel activation and identifying regions that specify stimuli detection. Our laboratory follows two main avenues: 1.in vitro biochemical and biophysical approaches to study ion channel regulation in response to different physical and chemical stimuli. 2.in vivo approaches to characterize sensory receptors with novel physiological roles. Our research involves a multidisciplinary approach that includes biochemical procedures, electrophysiological and structural methods together with molecular genetics and behavior experiments.

Alessandra d'Azzo, PhD
Member, Department of Genetics/Tumor Cell Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

alessandra.dazzo@stjude.org

Research Interests: Metabolism disorders that affect organs, the central, peripheral and enteric nervous system in children and mouse models. Further interest is on striated muscle development and the involvement of a muscle-specific ubiquitin ligase in human myopathies.

Michael A. Dyer, PhD
Member, Department of Developmental Neurobiology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

michael.dyer@stjude.org

Research Interests: Cell cycle exit mechanisms, upstream regulators, evolution and neural progenitor cell proliferation, and computational model of retinal development.

Matthew Ennis, PhD
Chair and Professor, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology

mennis@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and neurochemistry of brain circuits involved in pain/analgesia, taste and olfaction at the molecular, cellular, systems and behavioral levels.

Max Fletcher, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology

mfletch4@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: My research focuses on understanding the basic principles of neural encoding of sensory information and how both experience and learning can affect this process. Specifically, my work has focused on investigating how simple forms of learning can enhance sensory processing in the early stages of the olfactory pathway and lead to changes in perception.

Robert Foehring, PhD
Professor, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology

rfoehrin@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Roles of ion channels in determining neuronal integrative properties; Diversity of Ca2+ and K+ channels; Modulation of ionic currents and neuronal firing behavior by transmitters (e.g. norepinephrine, serotonin, acetylcholine,dopamine); Postnatal development of neuronal integrative behavior.

Rajashekhar Gangaraju, PhD
Assistant Professor, Ophthalmology
Anatomy and Neurobiology

sgangara@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: My research program’s focuses on retinal neurovascular biology, specifically studying basic vascular mechanisms and neurodegeneration concepts for their potential for translational research. We use two approaches: 1) Adult stem cell therapies and 2) drug target ID/validation. I am funded by National Eye Institute and Department of Defense to study the mechanisms and mediators underlying the roles of adult stem cells from adipose tissue in retinal diseases. We primarily utilize preclinical in vitro and in vivo models to investigate the potential of our findings for clinical translation, with the long-term goal of advancing clinical management of diabetic retinopathy, age related macular degeneration and visual deficits of traumatic brain injury. In the second program, we explore the role for ER stress in dysfunctional neurovascular retina and its link to endothelial activation with the long-term goal to identify novel targets to treat diabetic retinopathy. This program is in part funded by International Retinal Research Foundation and others via postdoc fellowship grants to the lab.

By training, I am a cell biologist with experience in Physiology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Pharmacology with special interest in neurovascular biology.

Kristin Hamre, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology

khamre@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Interaction of the mouse genotype with the effects of ethanol on the severity of ethanol-induced deficits following in utero alcohol and the response of the animal to adult ethanol exposure.

Detlef Heck, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology

dheck@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Structure and function of the cerebellar cortical network, cerebrocerebellar interaction, neuronal mechanisms of motor control, dynamics of neuronal communication during behavior.

Marcia Honig, PhD
Professor, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology

mhonig@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Sensory neuron specification and axonal pathfinding in the developing chick embryo.

Monica Jablonski, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Ophthalmology

mjablon1@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Retinal development and degeneration; Regulation of photoreceptor outer segments assembly; Identification of mouse models of ocular abnormalities.

Hitoshi Kita, PhD
Professor, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology

hkita@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Physiology and anatomy of the basal ganglia.

Francesca-Fang Liao, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology

fliao@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Neurobiology: Molecular and cellular mechainsms underlying Abeta-induced synaptic damage; drug target validation, pharmacology and cell signaling pathways.

Mike McDonald, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Neurology

mike@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Analysis of complex behavior and neuropathology in murine models of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Application of novel genetic therapies targeting gangliosides, to prevent or reverse cognitive deficits and neuropathology.

Peter McKinnon, PhD
Member, Department of Genetics/Tumor Cell Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

peter.mckinnon@stjude.org

Research Interests: The role of the DNA damage response in the nervous system, and how this functions to prevent disease.

James Morgan, PhD
Member and Chair, Department of Developmental Neurobiology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

jim.morgan@stjude.org

Research Interests: Role of regulated gene expression in degenerative and regenerative responses in the mammalian nervous system.

Thaddeus Nowak, PhD
Professor, Department of Neurology 

tnowak@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Brain injury and protection in experimental stroke. 

Anton Reiner, PhD
Professor, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology 

areiner@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Neurobiology of neurodegenerative disease

Lawrence Reiter, PhDAssistant Professor, Department of Neurology

lreiter@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Investigation of the functions of genes involved in human neurological disease using the powerful genetic model organism Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies).

Kazuko Sakata, PhDAssistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology

ksakata@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Current projects focus on studying the roles of activity-dependent expression of BONF (Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor) in depression and anxiety, using molecular and biochemical, electrophysiologyical, and behavioral techniques with genetically modified mice. 

Richard Smeyne, PhD
Member, Department of Developmental Neurobiology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital 

Richard.smeyne@stjude.org

Research Interests: Cell biology of Parkinson's disease and effects of drugs of abuse on nervous system organization. 

Jeffrey Steketee, PhD
Professor, Department of Pharmacology 

jsteketee@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Neural mechanisms of drug addiction. 

Steven J. Tavalin, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology

stavalin@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Regulation of synaptic transmission and neuronal excitability by localized signaling systems.

Robert Waters, PhD
Professor, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology

rwaters@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Roles of sensory experience in somatosensory cortical plasticity.

Robert Williams, PhD
Professor, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology

rwilliams@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Systems genetics, complex trait analysis, and functional genomics. Control of gene expression. Genetics of CNS diseases and addiction. Visual system structure, function, development. Advanced methods in collaborative research and data sharing.

Stanislav S. Zakharenko, MD, PhD
Associate Member
Department of Developmental Neurobiology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

stanislav.zakharenko@stjude.org

Research Interests: Synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus, functional organization of the auditory cortex, and mechanisms of sound perception.

Fu-Ming Zhou, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Pharmacology

fzhou3@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Dopamine and serotonin systems in the brain and their involvement in neuropsychiatric disorders.

May 26, 2022