Integrative Biology Faculty
Yi Liu, Ph.D.
Program Chair
Massimo Attanasio, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Genetics of inherited kidney diseases, Human Genetics, Molecular genetics, Molecular biology
Ilya Bezprozvanny, Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Neuronal calcium signaling and neurodegeneration; molecular mechanisms of Huntington's and Alzheimer's disease; calcium channels; synaptic transmission
Rolf A. Brekken, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Brekken Lab
Research Interests: Tumor-host interactions in pancreatic cancer as an avenue for the development of novel therapy; interplay between neoplastic genetic alterations, changes in the extracellular matrix, and angiogenesis in the development and progression of pancreatic cancer; gene therapy to restore SMAD4 expression in tumor cells; blocking VEGF-induced angiogenesis in tumors; function of the matricellular protein SPARC in tumor development
Michael S. Brown, M.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Unraveling the mechanism by which the SREBP pathway regulates cholesterol metabolism at the molecular, cellular and whole body levels
Stephen C. Cannon, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Ion channel biophysics; neuromuscular disorders; mathematical modeling
Benjamin Chen, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Chen Lab
Research Interests: DNA damage response and DNA double strand break repair
Deborah Clegg, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Clegg Lab
Research Interests: Metabolically characterizing animals where we have site-specifically manipulated estrogenic signaling
George N. DeMartino, Ph.D.
Professor
DeMartino Lab
Research Interests: Cell physiology; regulation of growth and atrophy; protein degradation; intracellular proteases; ubiquitin/proteasome pathway of protein degradation
J. Michael DiMaio, M.D., FACS
Professor
Research Interests: Collaborator of the LCBCC Consortium-University of Texas SPORE in Lung Cancer; Reynolds Associate with Reynolds Center-New Measures to reduce death and disability from ASHD
Todd N. Eagar, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Amelia J. Eisch, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Adult mammalian neurogenesis and growth factors; cell cycle analysis of adult neural stem cells in vivo; regulation of endogenous cell cycle proteins in psychiatric disorders such as addiction, depression and Alzheimer’s disease; transgenic manipulation of adult mammalian neurogenesis
Joel K. Elmquist, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Professor
Elmquist Lab
Research Interests: Functional neuroanatomy of the mammalian hypothalamus
Andrew Feranchak, M.D.
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Hepatobiliary transport, mechanisms of bile formation, biophysical characterization of membrane ion channels, cell volume regulation, cholestatic liver disease
Christine Garcia, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Genetic approaches to identify primary determinants of lung disease
Joseph Garcia, M.D., D.Phil.
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Integrative biological studies of hypoxia-inducible transcription factors; identification of genetic factors controlling the cardiovascular-respiratory response to hypoxia
Dwight C. German, Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Mechanisms of neurodegeneration in neurological and psychiatric disorders, using human post-mortem tissue and animal models
Joseph L. Goldstein, M.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Unraveling the mechanism by which the SREBP pathway regulates cholesterol metabolism at the molecular, cellular and whole body levels
Frederick Grinnell, Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Cell signaling during wound repair; cell motility and contractility in wound contraction; MAP kinase and other signaling pathways regulating cellular reorganization of collagen matrices stimulated by platelet-derived growth factor, lysophosphatidic acid and transforming growth-factor beta
Rana Gupta, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Transcriptional control of fat cell development and adipose tissue expansion in obesity; manipulating the adipose lineage as a therapeutic treatment for metabolic disease.
Lisa Marie Halvorson, M.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Anterior pituitary gland function; reproductive aging; PACAP in reproduction
Joachim J. A. Herz, M.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Molecular genetics; genetic manipulation of neuronal apoE receptors in mice; mechanisms of brain development, neurogenesis and Alzheimer’s disease
Joseph A. Hill, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Molecular signaling processes in cardiac hypertrophy and failure; mechanisms of structural, functional and electrophysiological remodeling, using genetic and surgical mice models
Sandra L. Hofmann, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Role of lipid-metabolizing enzymes in cell metabolism and signal transduction; covalent modification of proteins by the fatty acid palmitate; the study of enzymes that transfer the palmitate on and off modified proteins
Jay Horton, M.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Hepatic steatosis; lipid metabolism
Ming-Chang Hu, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Abnormal mineral metabolism and dysregulation of Klotho/FGF23 axis related to acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease, and to the complications in kidney diseases
Chou-Long Huang, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Ion channels related to renal physiology and diseases, including renal potassium channel ROMK, epithelial calcium channel, and polycystic kidney disease protein related channels
Peter Igarashi, M.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Transcriptional control of tissue-specific gene expression and organogenesis; polycystic kidney disease
Kristine E. Kamm, Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Muscle physiology; regulation of contractile and motile processes in smooth and nonmuscle cells
W. Lee Kraus, Ph.D.
Professor
Kraus Lab
Research Interests: Cellular signaling, gene regulation, and epigenetic control in the chromatin environment of the nucleus. Biological systems include: reproduction, cancer, inflammation, adipogenesis, stem cells, differentiation.
Makoto Kuro-o, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Molecular biology of aging
Lu Q. Le, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Tumor cell of origin; roles of tumor microenvironment in cancer development; cellular and molecular mechanisms of neurofibromatosis; stem cell and cancer biology
Guoshen Liang, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Cholesterol homeostasis; metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes; transcriptional regulation
Yi Liu, Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Molecular mechanisms of circadian clocks
Mala Mahendroo, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Parturition (the process of labor); cervical ripening; reproductive biology (male and female)
Pradeep Mammen, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Internal Medicine; treatment and management of patients with heart failure and the molecular mechanisms underlying this clinical entity. Currently, I run a molecular cardiology laboratory that is focused on enhancing our understanding of how regulation of the metabolic and redox states of muscle progenitor cells and myocytes can be modulated to serve as potential therapeutic targets for various cardiac and skeletal myopathies. Ultimately, the ability to selectively regulate the metabolic and redox states within these cells may provide opportunities for the development of novel therapeutic approaches to the treatment of patients with various myopathies.
David J. Mangelsdorf, Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Mechanism of action of nuclear hormone receptors; transcriptional regulation of lipid metabolism; role of retinoids and cancer
Steven McKnight, Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Subset of transcription factors that are gene-specific; regulation of transcription-factor function at a biochemical level with keen attention to biological relevance
Carole R. Mendelson, Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Molecular mechanisms in tissue-specific, developmental and hormonal regulation of eukaryotic gene expression
Chieko Mineo, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Molecular Basis of Pathogenesis of Antiphospholipid Syndrome; Role of Pentraxin C Reactive Protein in Metabolic Syndrome; Biology of lipoproteins and their receptors
Hamid Mirzaei, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Investigation of ubiquitin-dependent mechanisms and their role in tumor progression.
Orson Moe, M.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Regulation of mammalian water and electrolyte homeostasis, including sodium, calcium and acid-base metabolism and epithelial transport
Lisa Monteggia, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Development of animal models for psychiatric diseases; growth factors and depression; role of MeCP2 in mediating autistic-like behavior; transcriptional repression in neurons
Nikhil Munshi, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Cardiac development; transcriptional regulation; human genetics; arrhythmogenesis. The cardiac conduction system is an electrically-coupled structure within the heart responsible for initiation and propagation of each heartbeat. Our lab is interested in elucidating the transcriptional mechanisms that dictate formation of the cardiac conduction system and its impact on the establishment of normal and pathological cardiac rhythms
Eric N. Olson, Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Transcriptional control of cell differentiation; muscle development
Juan Pascual, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Animal and cellular models of neurogenetic disorders; synaptic transmission in experimental epilepsies; disorders of brain energy metabolism; developmental neurobiology; genotype:phenotype correlations in novel childhood encephalopathies; clinical pediatric neurology
Vishal Patel, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Studying the roles of miRNAs in kidney development and kidney diseases
Joyce Repa, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Research Interests: How nuclear receptors control the expression of ABC transport proteins and the consequences of this regulation on lipid balance with respect to atherosclerosis, diabetes, and brain physiology
Charles Rosenfeld, M.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Cardiovascular adaptation during development and pregnancy; maturation and ontogeny of visceral and vascular smooth-muscle protein expression and function; regulation and function of angiotensin II receptor subtypes during development and pregnancy; mechanisms related to estrogen-induced vasodilation and modulation of uteroplacental blood flow in pregnancy
Beverly A. Rothermel, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Internal Medicine; control of muscle remodeling during development and disease; circadian control of cardiac function and the role of RCAN1 (Down Syndrome Critical Region 1), a regulator of the calcium-dependent phosphatase calcineurin
Rashmin C. Savani, MB, ChB
Professor
Research Interests: Cell and mouse models to investigate the mechanisms of extracellular matrix regulation of lung development and injury, in particular, the interaction of hyaluronan (hyaluronic acid, HA) with specific receptors to regulate cell migration in pulmonary vascular development, innate immunity and inflammatory responses to injury
Philipp Scherer, Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Identification and physiological characterization of novel secretory proteins that serve as potential links between the adipocyte and the processes of whole body energy homeostasis, inflammation, and cancer, thereby defining novel targets for pharmacological intervention and further defining the role of adipose tissue as an endocrine organ
Margaret Schwarz, M.D.
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Developmental pulmonary vascular biology interactions with distal lung morphogenesis and extracellular matrix deposition. Identification of the factors that govern the contradictory proliferative/antiangiogenic roles of endogenous negative vascular regulators during development
Philip W. Shaul, M.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Endothelial cell biology, vascular development and disease; signaling molecules in endothelial cell caveolae/lipid rafts
Rhonda F. Souza, M.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Internal Medicine/VAMC; investigate the molecular mechanisms involved in the development and neoplastic progression of Barrett’s esophagus, focusing on the intracellular signaling mechanisms and biologic relevance of acid and/or bile acid exposure, the components of reflux, on Barrett’s esophagus using animal models, cell culture and human biopsy tissues
James T. Stull, Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Myosin phosphorylation in the actin cytoskeleton and cell motility; modulation by signal-transduction pathways involving Ca2 and small GTP-dependent proteins
Philip J. Thomas, Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Function and structural development of ATP-dependent membrane proteins, including CFTR
Benjamin Tu, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Metabolic cycles; mechanisms by which fundamental processes (e.g., cell growth and division, transcription, mitochondria homeostasis) are coupled to cellular metabolic state; yeast
Roger H. Unger, M.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Diabetes; obesity; lipotoxicity; internal medicine; islet physiology and pathophysiology
Steven Vernino, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Animal models of autoimmune autonomic neuropathy; serologic evaluation of patients with dysautonomia; disorders of neuromuscular hyperexcitability; paraneoplastic neurological syndromes
Yihong Wan, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Transcriptional regulation of development, metabolism and cancer by nuclear receptors using the skeleton and the mammary gland as model systems
Thomas M. Wilkie, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Research Interests: G-protein signaling during mouse development; energy homeostasis and feeding behavior
Kevin W. Williams, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Understanding the cellular mechanisms which contribute to the coordinated control of food intake, body weight, and glucose homeostasis
Guanghua (Andy) Xiao, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Statistical methods in biomedical research; Bioinformatics and computer software development; Computer algorithm and database
Hiromi Yanagisawa, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Molecular components of the vascular wall during development and disease
Masashi Yanagisawa, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Identification and characterization of new signaling molecules that regulate vital functions such as sleep appetite and blood pressure
Jin Ye, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Host proteins required for hepatitis C virus replication; regulation of geranylgeranyl lipid homeostasis; regulated intramembrane proteolysis
Helen L. Yin, Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Actin cytoskeletons of nonmuscle cells, including reorganization in response to extracellular signals; structure/function relationships of the gelsolin family of actin regulatory proteins
Chengcheng (Alec) Zhang
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Mechanisms by which the cell fates of adult stem cells are regulated, and the interaction of adult stem cells and their in vivo microenvironment; ex vivo expansion of HSCs for cell therapy and gene therapy; the interplay between stem cells and cancer
Jeffrey M. Zigman, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Identification of CNS targets of ghrelin action; the study of ghrelin cell physiology; functional neuroanatomy of the mammalian hypothalamus
Andrew R. Zinn, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Human genetic diseases; infertility, obesity, sex chromosome abnormalities