MPP Graduate Program Trainers
Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology
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- Amit Basu
- Associate Professor
- Our group is interested in questions that lie at the interface of chemistry, biology, and materials science. Research in the group includes –glycochemistry and glycobiology; synthesis and application of novel polymers and more>> nanomaterials; development of new sensors and diagnostic agents.
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- Carthene R. Bazemore-Walker
- Assistant Professor
- BIOANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
We seek to identify biomarkers of disease and to define disease mechanisms at the molecular level by utilizing tools of analytical chemistry, specifically high resolution chromatography and state of the art mass more>> spectrometry.
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- David Berson
- Professor
- My lab studies what the eye tells the brain. We explore the structure and function of ganglion cells, the retinal neurons that communicate directly with the brain. There are more than a dozen types of ganglion cells. Each has anatomical more>> and physiological features matched to the requirements of specific visual behaviors. We recently discovered a bizarre new type that is a true photoreceptor, responding directly to light like a rod or cone. These cells synchronize the biological clock and constrict the pupil. We seek to understand how these cells work and how their signals are used by the brain.
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- Wayne Bowen
- Dept Chair, Professor of Biology, Co-director of MPP Graduate Program
- We study sigma receptors, proteins found throughout the body. They bind several classes of psychoactive drugs. Activation of sigma-2 receptors causes programmed cell death (apoptosis). We are trying to understand the underlying more>> mechanisms for this. Because they are highly expressed in cancer cells, we are targeting sigma-2 receptors for development of new antineoplastic agents. Also, antipsychotic drugs such as haloperidol damage neurons via sigma-2 receptors. Blocking sigma-2 receptors might prevent the irreversible motor side effects caused by typical neuroleptic agents.
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- Adam Chodobski
- Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine
- I am interested in the function of the blood-brain and blood-cerebrospinal fluid barriers in the context of brain injury and aging. Traumatic brain injury is the leading cause of death of young Americans, but the incidence of brain injury more>> is also high in the elderly. In my laboratory, we investigate how neuropeptides, growth factors, and cytokines affect the function of brain barriers in the injured central nervous system, and how these changes in the barriers' function depend on age.
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- Barry Connors
- Professor and Dept Chair
- I study the cellular physiology of the mammalian brain. Most of my work centers on the neocortex, which is responsible for thinking, remembering, processing sensory information, and controlling movement. The neocortex is a vast network of more>> interconnected neurons. My research group studies the properties of these neurons, their synaptic connections, and the characteristics of cortical networks. We are also interested in the mechanisms of epileptic seizures.
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- Eric Darling
- Assistant Professor of Medical Science
- The goal of the Darling lab is to understand the relationship between the biological function of cells and tissues and their micro/nano-scale mechanical properties. We investigate these characteristics via atomic force microscopy, a more>> technique that allows high resolution imaging and force measurements. Recent findings suggest that cells exhibit distinct mechanical biomarkers, which could help identify specific cell types within heterogenous populations (i.e. metastatic cancer cells, stem cells).
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- Sarah Delaney
- Assistant Professor
- The research in my laboratory aims to understand the biological consequences of DNA damage. Using the tools of chemistry and biology we probe the effects of DNA modification at the molecular level. We are particularly interested in the more>> role of oxidative DNA damage and its contributions to cancer and neurological disorders such as Huntington's disease.
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- Leon Goldstein
- Professor
- Investigation is aimed at elucidating the mechanisms that cells employ in regulating their volume under normal conditions and during osmotic stress. We are examining this question in fish, since many representatives of this group normally more>> encounter wide variations in osmolarity of the external environment and can tolerate marked perturbations in the osmotic pressure of their extracellular fluid.
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- Chi-Ming Hai
- Professor
- Our research is concerned with how mechanical force and deformation modulate airway smooth muscle responsiveness and remodeling. We take an integrative approach to this research area by performing experiments from muscle mechanics to gene more>> expression.
• Systems Biology of Inflammatory Gene Expression in Airway Smooth Muscle
• Regulation of Podosome Dynamics in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells
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- Edward Hawrot
- Alva O. Way University Professor of Medical Science
- We pursue biochemical and pharmacological studies aimed at understanding the fundamental structure-function relationship of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). We also study the molecular basis for the highly specific recognition more>> of muscle-type nAChRs by certain snake venom-derived toxins classified as alpha-neurotoxins. More recently, we have used homologous recombination techniques to construct a knock-in mouse in which the alpha3 gene encoding one subtype of neuronal nAChRs has been minimally mutated to impart pharmacological sensitivity to the classic nicotinic antagonist, alpha-bungarotoxin. These mice should enable a systematic determination of the role of alpha3-containing nAChRs in behavior and nervous system function.
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- Gerwald Jogl
- Assistant Professor
- We are using X-ray crystallography as our main research tool to study proteins that are either involved in functional protein-protein interactions or are related to cellular signal transduction pathways.
The overall goal of our studies more>> is to advance our understanding of the functions and structural interactions of modular protein domains in the context of multi-domain proteins that are involved in cell signaling networks.
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- Conrad Johanson
- Professor of Neurosurgery
- Professor of Clinical Neuroscience (Neurosurgery) Conrad Johanson investigates the transport and permeability roles of the blood-Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) interface (choroid plexus) and blood-brain barrier (cerebral capillaries) in more>> regulating the neuronal fluid environment. His research involves models of ischemia, hydrocephalus, and aging to clarify how CSF and brain interstitial fluid homeostatic mechanisms are altered in Alzheimer's disease. The goal is to identify pharmacological strategies for preventing or repairing damage to 'barrier cells' that defend the integrity of brain fluids.
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- Julie Kauer
- Professor
- My laboratory focuses on understanding molecular mechanisms involved in synaptic plasticity and modulation of neuronal excitability using modern electrophysiological techniques in brain slices. Our work is related to understanding more>> fundamental processes in memory and in drug addiction.
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- Gideon Koren
- Professor of Medicine
- Gideon Koren's research focuses on the regulation of expression voltage-gated potassium channels and mechanisms of sudden death. One of his current research projects involves rabbits expressing dominant negative transgenes that suppress more>> the expression of repolarization currents in the heart. Transmitters are implanted to monitor the heart rhythm to help determine when and why they might die of ventricular arrhythmias. In addition, Koren's group is studying the transcriptional regulation and trafficking of these channels.
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- John Marshall
- Professor
- In response to hormonal or synaptic stimulation, excitable cells (including smooth muscle, cardiac muscle, and neurons) undergo a diversity of changes in their electrical properties. My lab is studying the trafficking and localization of more>> glutamate receptors and calcium channels to synapses, and their modulation by protein kinases.
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- Ulrike Mende
- Associate Professor of Medicine
- Ulrike Mende is interested in the functional role of G proteins (GTP-binding proteins) and their regulators (Regulators of G protein Signaling) in the heart. They are crucial for the transmission of signals from the cell surface to the more>> inside. Changes in their amount or function often lead to compromised cardiac function and disease, such as hypertrophy and failure. Our goal is to delineate the underlying molecular mechanisms and devise new therapeutic strategies.
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- Eric Morrow
- Assistant Professor in Biology and Psychiatry
- The Morrow lab investigates the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying disorders of cognitive development, such as intellectual disability and autism. The long-term aim of this research is to establish a basic foundation for improved more>> genetic diagnosis and treatment interventions designed to enhance cognitive and functional gains for patients. Because these disorders are highly genetic and in order to identify core molecular mechanisms, genome-wide "forward genetic" strategies to identify genetic mutations have been a principal focus. In complement to this, molecular and neurodevelopmental studies of identified pathways are underway in experimental systems in human and mouse tissues.
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- Jeffrey Morgan
- Associate Professor of Medical Science and Engineering CoDirector Center for Biomedical Engineering
- Research in the lab is focused on understanding the molecular and cellular biology of the skin with an eye towards new therapeutic approaches to wound healing, the repair of the skin and the improvement in the performance of percutaneous more>> medical devices. We are also working on novel devices containing living cells to profile gene expression, monitor the toxicity of nanomaterials, and to study the dynamics of the cell adhesion process.
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- Elena Oancea
- Assistant Professor of Medical Science
- The focus of my laboratory is in understanding signal transduction events using fluorescent microscopy in living cells. My lab is equipped with a state-of-the-art two-color TIRF microscope, which we will use to study UV-induced more>> pigmentation in human skin and melanoma behavior. To visualize signal transduction events, we design and generate novel fluorescent probes using molecular biology techniques, which give us a unique angle in answering biologically relevant questions.
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- James Padbury
- Professor
- Our laboratory is interested in the developmental regulation of genes involved in the growh and function of the developing heart and placenta. There are numerous examples of unique expression of genes and/or differential mechanisms for more>> regulation of gene expression and the control of cellular growth that are unique to this developmental period.
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- Rebecca Page
- Assistant Professor
- The focus of my research is to understand the molecular basis of MAP kinase regulation by its interaction with kinases, via scaffolding proteins, and phosphatases. We combine structural data from X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy more>> with biophysical data from ITC, CD spectroscopy and kinetics to understand how MAPK activity is controlled in vitro and in vivo. We are also investigating the structures and functions of bacterial proteins that play central roles in antibiotic resistance.
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- Wolfgang Peti
- Assistant Professor of Medical Science
- The focus of my research group is to understand the molecular basis of PP1 regulation. We combine the information derived from biomolecular NMR spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, and additional biophysical techniques, such as ITC, DSC, more>> Biacore, and CD spectroscopy to undertsand how PP1 is targeted, regulated and inhibited in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, my research group is pursuing the production and the structure elucidation of membrane proteins and protein essential for the formation of bacterial biofilms.
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- Jason Sello
- Assistant Professor
- My research is inspired by naturally occurring antibiotics and the organisms from which they come. Streptomyces bacteria and their antibiotics are the primary subjects of my research. These soil-dwelling bacteria produce half of the 10,000 more>> known antibiotics and about two-thirds of the medicinal natural products (e.g. FK506, tetracycline, daptomycin, and doxorubicin.) My interests are the molecular mechanisms in Streptomyces bacteria that underly the production of and resistance to antibiotics.
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- Anatoly Zhitkovich
- Associate Professor
- Our main research efforts are directed at characterization of molecular mechanisms responsible for cell death and mutagenicity of DNA-reactive carcinogenic chemicals and anticancer drugs.
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- Anita L. Zimmerman
- Professor
- Our research is in molecular and cellular aspects of the nervous system, with an emphasis on ion channels and the early stages of vision in rods and cones. An ion channel is a membrane protein with an internal pore that opens in response more>> to chemical and electrical signals, allowing passage of specific ions such as sodium and calcium. Ion channels are critically involved in functions as diverse as nerve impulses in the brain, the beating of the heart, visual perception, muscle contraction, learning and memory, hormone secretion and embryonic development. They are also the targets of many drugs, such as those used to treat pain and heart disease. Genetic defects in ion channels can cause devastating diseases, such as cystic fibrosis.
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Biomed Division
MPPB Faculty
Providence, RI 02912