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Faculty
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Paul S. Katz
Director
In our lab, we use electrophysiological, immunohistochemical, and calcium imaging techniques to study neurons and their synaptic interactions in molluscs. We are interested in how neuromodulatory actions are incorporated into neural circuits underlying rhythmic behaviors. We are developing NeuronBank (http://neuronbank.org), a knowledgebase of identified neurons and synaptic connections as a way to catalog the neurome. |
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Charles Derby
My lab studies chemosensory neurons towards understanding how they develop and grow to become and remain functional throughout the life of an animal. We use molecular, cellular, systems, and behavioral approaches in our work. |
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Donald H. Edwards
Our research addresses the mechanisms of synaptic integration and neuromodulation in neural circuits that mediate avoidance and escape behaviors in crayfish. We use electrophysiology, calcium imaging, and immunocytochemistry to analyze the anatomy and function of synapses, neurons and neural circuits that mediate these behaviors. |
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Chun Jiang
We are interested in the molecular and cellular mechanisms for CO 2 chemoreception of brainstem neurons. We use several molecular biological techniques to identify potential CO 2 /pH-sensing proteins, locate their brainstem expression, and elucidate the sensing mechanisms for protonation and channel gating. Using primary neuronal culture on multielectrode arrays, we try to understand how the CO 2 chemosensitive signal is processed by neuronal networks, and how the identified sensors work in their neuronal hosts. |
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Anne Murphy
Our lab uses behavioral, anatomical and molecular techniques to examine the central mechanisms underlying sex differences in pain and analgesia. A major focus is on the impact of sex, age and persistent pain states on opioid receptor expression (mRNA, protein) and activation (G protein coupling) in neurons. |
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Vincent Rehder
Our lab is interested in understanding the mechanisms by which neuronal processes are guided to their appropriate synaptic targets during normal neuronal development and after injury, upon which the nervous system undergoes regeneration. We are using mollusks and chick as model systems and employ calcium imaging, immunohistochemical, molecular, and electrophysiological techniques. Presently, our work focuses on the role that a gas, nitric oxide, has on the growth of neuronal processes during development and regeneration. |
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Sarah L. Pallas
Research in my laboratory is geared toward understanding how sensory experience and intrinsic genetic programs drive development of brain circuitry. We use mammalian model systems to explore how the neurons in developing neural circuits compensate for manipulations of experience or modification of gene expression. Techniques employed include electrophysiology, neuroanatomy, and molecular biology. We have also been involved in a database project to catalog gene expression maps from the neonatal mouse brain. The clinical applications of this work concern recovery from sensory deprivation or from perinatal traumatic brain injury. |
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W. William Walthall
Our research focuses on the genes and gene products that specify the synaptic patterns necessary to create functional networks of neurons in the nematode C. elegans. We use the genetic approach to identify genes and cellular and molecular techniques to characterize the roles of these gene products in the specification and maintenance of synaptic patterns. The community of C. elegans researchers has created two repositories that are essential to these studies: 1) Worm Atlas (http://www.wormatlas.org) is an extensive collection of micrographs and schematic diagrams showing anatomical relationships among all of the cells and the networks they form. 2) WormBase (http://www.wormbase.org) provides information about the animal's genetic map, its genome, orfeome and proteome. |
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