sensory perception and neurodegeneration

 

My research interest is understanding the pathophysiology of traumatic injury leading to the use of therapeutic strategies targeting specific mechanisms of damage.

 

Nervous and paracrine signals that regulate pancreatic islet function and glucose metabolism.

 

We study the cell biological bases of brain development by using various imaging and genetic technologies.

 

Calcium handling in the peripheral motor system and its disruption in neurodegenerative diseases

 

I use single cell voltage clamping to study ion currents in cells from the nervous system of the marine snail Aplsyia californica. This animal is a biomedical model for understanding alterations in the nervous system arising from everything from learned behavior to aging.

 

"We study survival and regeneration in the developing and adult nervous system, bridging molecular, cellular, and in vivo approaches. Additional projects focus on the use of stem cells and nanotechnology."

 

Our research centers around the elucidation of mechanisms of genetic retinal diseases that lead to blindness through the identification of the causative genes, construction and use of animal models to elucidate the pathophysiological mechanisms by which specific gene mutations lead to retinal degeneration, and therapeutic manipulation of the animal models with the ultimate goal of developing effective therapies.

 

"Neurobiological and behavioral studies of drugs of abuse. Studies of cocaine, methamphetamine, nicotine, marijuana and amphetamine are conducted to better understand the effects of these drugs in adolescence and in adults."

 

"My research focuses on the initiation of inflammation, autophagy and apoptosis in the CNS after traumatic brain and spinal cord injury."

 

Biophysics: molecular motion in excitable cell membrane channels, gating currents.

 

Research in the lab focuses on axon growth and guidance in the developing and regenerating nervous systems. Neural stem/progenitor cell biology in both native neurogenesis and following CNS trauma using endogenous and transplantation strategies

 

Neural mechanisms of sound localization by fish and development of the auditory function of zebrafish

 

Biophysics; mechanisms of ionic channel activity.

 

Neural mechanisms underlying emotional behavior; Role of social/emotional behavior in the progression of cardiovascular disease

 

Neuroscience; neuronal signaling; axon growth and synapse formation; nerve repair.

 

"My research interests are focussed on the brain and spinal cord mechanisms controlling walking, with particular emphasis on identifying the neurotransmitters involved in the control of spinal locomotor neurons."

 

My Neurosensory Laboratory focuses on the exploration of the auditory and visual neural processes using physiological  tools and develops new methods and devices for diagnostic and research purposes.

 

"My laboratory focuses on several key aspects of CNS injury repair: 1) preventing progressive tissue damage following the initial mechanical trauma through the application of pharmacological or biological neuroprotectants, 2) overcoming the physical impediment of the injury cyst through the implantation of exogenous cells or by harnessing endogenous cellular repair mechanisms and, 3) the promotion of axon regeneration by the stimulation of intracellular signaling pathways that are important in the initiation and/or maintainence of axon growth."

 

Dr. Pericak-Vance excels at the integration of genomic and statistical technologies and their application to common and complex diseases of public health importance. Along with her research team, Dr. Pericak-Vance has identified risk genes for the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, age-related macular degeneration, multiple sclerosis, autism, and Alzheimer disease.

 

Dr. Sanchez’s research interests are in brain-machine interfaces, neural ensemble recordings, motor and limbic system electrophysiology, neural signal processing, and neural engineering.

 

Detecting the earliest signs of retinal ganglion cell dysfunction in order to intervene before ganglion cells death in glaucoma and other optic neuropathies using advanced imaging and electrophysiological measures, and mathematical modeling.

 

"My research explores strategies to rescue denervated muscles from degeneration; the mechanisms underlying peripheral nerve regeneration, neuromuscular fatigue, weakness and spasticity."

 

"Our areas of research center on the development of the nervous system, neurotrophin signaling in neural cells and repair of the CNS after spinal cord injury. For the development of nervous system we try to understand how mitogenic factors influence cell numbers and how cell fates are linked to specific transcriptional networks. We use live fluorescent imaging techniques to study neurotrophin signaling. For spinal cord injury repair strategies, we utilize modified neurotrophins and grafting of CNS derived cells. We integrate several approaches including Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Genetics and Imaging techniques."

 

Dr. Wahlestedt's research interests focus on novel drug therapies for neuropsychiatric disorders and epigenetics.

 

Dr. Young's research interests include epigenetic mechanisms regulating CNS function; mouse models of neurological diseases.

 

Dr. Züchner is identifying and characterizing the function of genomic variation that is involved in human disease phenotypes, specifically for neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders.