Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience

Master
Content
Faculty Conducting Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Research

Faculty Member

Research Interests

Anne E. Anderson, M.D.

Cellular mechanisms of developmental, genetic, and acquired epilepsy

Benjamin R. Arenkiel, Ph.D.

Molecular genetic approaches to investigate neural circuit formation and function

Rachel N. Arey, Ph.D. Molecular mechanisms of learning, memory, and cognitive decline using C. elegans genetics and genomics.
Hugo J. Bellen, D.V.M., Ph.D.

Genetic and molecular analysis of neurodegenerative disease in Drosophila

Steven Boeynaems, Ph.D. Biomolecular condensates and cellular stress responses in the etiology of neurodegenerative disease and brain cancer.
Robert Bryan, Ph.D.

Communications between the gut bacteria, the gut, and the brain during normal and pathological states.

Shelly A. Buffington, Ph.D. Host-microbe interactions influencing neurodevelopment, brain function, and behavior.
Hsiao-Tuan Chao, M.D., Ph.D.

Pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders; Integrate mouse and fruit fly models with human genomics; Inhibitory neurons; HADD syndrome; New disease gene discovery

Jeannie Chin, Ph.D.

Cellular and network mechanisms of cognitive deficits in Alzheimer’s disease

Edward C. Cooper, M.D., Ph.D.

CNQ2 channels and interacting proteins in neurodevelopmental disorders

Benjamin Deneen, Ph.D.

Development of glial cells and their role in neurological diseases

Herman A. Dierick, M.D.

Genetic and neurobiological mechanisms of Drosophila aggression

Barna Dudok, Ph.D. Inhibitory cell types controlling neural circuit dynamics and epilepsy. In vivo multiphoton microscopy, optogenetics
Benjamin J. Frankfort, M.D., Ph.D.

Mechanisms of glaucoma-related injury to the retina and optic nerve in mice and humans

Yingbin Fu, Ph.D.

Sensory transduction, retinal degeneration, age-related diseases, gene therapy

Yudong Gao, Ph.D. Mechanisms of protein interaction in neurological and psychiatric conditions. Multi-omic target identification and protein engineering for phenotypic modulation.
Andrew K. Groves, Ph.D.

Development and regeneration of the inner ear

Frank Horrigan, Ph.D.

Ion channel gating and pharmacology

Sarah R. Heilbronner, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department of Neurosurgery. Neuroanatomy of motivational circuitry
Joanna L. Jankowsky, Ph.D.

 

Cellular mechanisms and genetic modifiers of Alzheimer's disease

Zheng Jiang, Ph.D. Phototransduction pathways in intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells
Thomas Kosten, M.D.

Basic and clinical research of addiction causes and treatment; immunotherapy, pharmacogenetics

Hyun-Kyoung Lee, Ph.D.

Developmental and regenerative mechanisms of glial cells and associated diseases

Hongjie Li, Ph.D. Combining multi-omics and fly genetics to study brain aging.
Wei Li, Ph.D. Ligandomics profiling of cell-cell communication, including neurovascular crosstalk, to systematically delineate disease mechanisms, discover drug targets and develop novel therapies
Jeffrey Magee, Ph.D.

Cellular and circuit mechanisms of adaptive learning and memory through the use of a variety of electrical and optical recording methods as well as opto/chemogenetic circuit manipulations in both the hippocampus and neocortex

Mirjana Maletic-Savatic, M.D., Ph.D.

Adult neurogenesis and metabo-genomics in mice and humans during aging, depression, epilepsy

Shailaja K. Mani, Ph.D.

Molecular mechanisms of steroid hormone action in brain function

Kara Marshall, Ph.D. Interoception: how the nervous system senses stimuli inside the body, in particular mechanical forces, to govern physiology and disease.
David Nelson, Ph.D.

Genetic models and mechanisms of intellectual disability and neurodegeneration, fragile X syndrome and related disorders

Jeffrey L. Noebels, M.D., Ph.D.

Genes regulating cortical excitability and synchronization; mouse models of epilepsy

James Orengo, M.D., Ph.D. Use single gene mutation models in mice, zebrafish and human cell culture to determine the common underpinnings involved in motor neuron degeneration
Ronald J. Parchem, Ph.D.

Development of the brain, stem cells, and regenerative medicine

Paul J. Pfaffinger, Ph.D.

Assembly, structure, function and modulation of ion channels in excitable membranes

Matthew N. Rasband, Ph.D.

The functional organization of axons in health and disease, neuron-glia signaling

Russell S. Ray, Ph.D.

Mechanisms of aminergic circuit organization and function in behavior and mice

Claudia S. Robertson, M.D.

Development of advanced neuro-monitoring techniques in human brain vascular injury

Jacob Robinson, Ph.D.

Engineering new technologies to manipulate and record brain activity in humans and animal models

Melanie Samuel, Ph.D.

Molecular mechanisms that wire circuits and reprogram connectivity

Joshua M. Shulman, M.D., Ph.D.

Integrative genetic analyses of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s in humans and Drosophila

Roy V. Sillitoe, Ph.D.

Cerebellar development, dysfunction, and deep brain stimulation in motor disease

Francois St-Pierre, Ph.D.

Developing and deploying genetically encoded neural activity sensors

Zheng Sun, Ph.D. Circadian rhythm, neuroendocrinology, epigenome, hypothalamus, autism, Alzheimer's disease, metabolism, lifestyle.
John W. Swann, Ph.D.

Basic mechanisms of childhood epilepsy

Kimberley R. Tolias, Ph.D.

Molecular and cellular mechanisms regulating neural circuit formation and plasticity

Nicholas Tran, Ph.D. Molecular mechanisms of retinal neurodevelopment, selective vulnerability in neurodegeneration, and axon regeneration.
Xander Wehrens, M.D., Ph.D.

Neuronal control of cardiac function and arrhythmias

Theodore G. Wensel, Ph.D.

Molecular mechanisms of signaling and neurodegeneration in retina and brain

Samuel M. Wu, Ph.D.

Functional interactions of retinal microcircuitry

Yong Xu, M.D., Ph.D. Neuroendocrine mechanisms for energy and glucose homeostasis
Mingshan Xue, Ph.D.

Cortical excitation-inhibition balance, neurodevelopmental disorders (epilepsy and autism)

Shinya Yamamoto, Ph.D.

Integration of Drosophila genetics and human genomics to uncover novel mechanisms of neurological and psychiatric diseases

Hui Zheng, Ph.D.

Autophagy-lysosomal pathway and neuron-immune interaction in Alzheimer’s disease

Huda Y. Zoghbi, M.D.

Pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases; Rett syndrome; normal neurodevelopment

Elizabeth Zuniga-Sanchez, Ph.D. Deciphering the molecular code of neuronal wiring
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Dr. Huda Zoghbi discusses her study featuring a three-pronged approach used in animal models to help subdue early events that occur in the brain long before symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease are evident.

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Baylor College of Medicine
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Dr. David Dickman's lab is studying the mechanisms in the pigeon brains that help them navigate, with the hope of using that knowledge to better understand the human brain in diseases like Alzheimer’s, where people often lose their sense of orientation.