Neuroscience Faculty

Ege T. Kavalali, Ph.D.
Program Chair
Professor 
Research Interests: Mechanisms underlying synaptic computation in the CNS

Ilya B. Bezprozvanny, Ph.D. 
Professor
Bezprozvanny Lab
Research Interests: Calcium channels and calcium signaling in the nervous system; deranged calcium signaling and neurodegeneration in Huntington's and Alzheimer's disease

James A. Bibb, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Bibb Lab
Research Interests: Signal transduction in the nervous system, with emphasis on the biochemistry and neuropharmacology of protein phosphorylation/dephosphorylation

Stephen Cannon, M.D., Ph.D. 
Professor
Cannon Lab
Research Interests: How ion channels regulate electrical excitability of cells and of how defects in these channels lead to human disease

Amelia Eisch, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Function of adult neurogenesis in the brain

Jeffrey Elliott, M.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Molecular and cellular basis for function of the ALS  disease gene SOD1

Joel Elmquist, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Functional neuroanatomy of the mammalian hypothalamus

Mark Goldberg, Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Axon injury, brain repair, and neurotherapeutics stroke

Matthew S. Goldberg, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Molecular mechanisms of inherited forms of Parkinson’s disease using transgenic and knockout mice. Areas of particular interest include oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction

Carla Green, Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Molecular mechanisms of circadian rhythms and how they control metabolism

Robert W. Greene, Ph.D. 
Professor
Research Interests: Circuit dysfunction in psychiatric disorders; Role of adenosine in function of sleep

Mark Henkemeyer, Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Molecular biology of axon guidance

Ryan Hibbs, Ph.D. 
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Ion channel structure and function; Membrane protein structural biology; Electrophysiology

Robin Hiesinger, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Neurogenetics; brain wiring/synaptic specification; synapse function/neurotransmitter release membrane fusion; computational approaches to 4D visualization and simulation

Donald W. Hilgeman, Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Function and regulation of membrane transporters; electrophysiology; biophysics of ion pumps and channels

Jenny Hsieh, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Stem cell biology; neurogenesis and gliogenesis in CNS; chromatin remodeling; neurological diseases

Kimberly M. Huber, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Mechanisms of synapse development, plasticity and circuit function and alterations of these processes in mouse models of mental retardation and autism

Jane E. Johnson, Ph.D. 
Professor
Research Interests: Molecular control of neuronal diversity and balancing progenitor cell maintenance with neuronal differentiation in the vertebrate central nervous system implications for tumor progression in neural and neuroendocrine cancers

Tae-Kyung Kim, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Gene expression program in cognitive behavior and disease

Genevieve Konopka, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Neurodevelopmental signaling pathways involved in cognition and neuropsychiatric disorders; comparative gene expression for insight into human brain evolution

Helmut J. Krämer, Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Genetic dissection of endocytic trafficking in Drosophila

Weichun Lin, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Developmental neurobiology

Qing Richard Lu , Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Molecular and epigenetic mechanisms of neural differentiation and gliogenesis

Julian Meeks, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Mechanisms of sensory processing in mammalian olfaction; mechanisms of information transformation in neural circuits; reciprocal synapses; interneuron functional diversity; neural control of innate social/reproductive behaviors

Lisa Monteggia, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Elucidating antidepressant efficacy; functional molecular and behavioral approach to autism spectrum disorders; cellular basis of psychiatric disorders

Luis F. Parada, Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: The role of proto-oncogenes in vertebrate development; TRK receptors and neurotropins

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

Craig Powell, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Molecular and cellular mechanisms of cognition with an emphasis on learning and memory

José Rizo-Rey (Josep Rizo), Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Biophysical studies of the mechanisms of neurotransmitter release and intracellular membrane fusion

Todd Roberts, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Cellular and circuit mechanisms for vocal imitation, learning from vocal models and using auditory feedback to learn from vocal practice

Adrian Rothenfluh, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Drug-induced behaviors in Drosophila to learn more about the genes, signaling pathways, and brain circuits mediating these behaviors, with the goal of gaining insights into vertebrate addiction

David W. Self, Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Neurobiology of motivational systems and drug addiction

Dean P. Smith, M.D., Ph.D. 
Professor
Research Interests: Molecular biology of sensory transduction in Drosophila

Ann Stowe, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Stroke; Neuroinflammation; endogenous mechanisms of CNS protection; clinical role of the immune system and growth factors in functional recovery after stroke

Joseph Takahashi, Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Molecular and Genetic Analysis of the Mammalian Circadian Clock System

Carol Tamminga, M.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Schizophrenia; postmortem brain; human brain imaging; human translational neuroscience

Jonathan Terman, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Axon growth and guidance; neuronal connectivity; axon regeneration; actin cytoskeleton; spinal cord injury and degeneration

Jiang Wu, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Chromatin regulation of mammalian neural development; function of chromatin remodeling complexes in key signaling pathways that regulate neural stem cell self-renewal, differentiation, and post-mitotic neuronal development

Masashi Yanagisawa, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Research Interests: Identification and characterization of new neuropeptides that regulate vital functions such as sleep, appetite and blood pressure.

Gang G. Yu, Ph.D. 
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Molecular genetic analysis of sleep/wake

Chun-Li Zhang, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Transcriptional regulation of neural stem cells and their role in regeneration and brain tumors

Jeffrey Zigman, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Proferssor
Research Interests: