Neuroscience Faculty, Teaching and Support

Neuroscience Faculty

Faculty - Mentors

Faculty - Teaching and Support

Faculty: Update/Include Your Profile

Neuroscience Faculty - Teaching and Support

Kenneth R. Alexander, Ph.D.
Professor, Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, Psychology, Bioengineering

kennalex@uic.edu

Disease/Therapeutics, Integrative Systems
My research program focuses on the development of noninvasive assessment techniques, such as electroretinography and psychophysics, for evaluating the pathophysiology and progression of retinal degenerations.

Selected references

Qian H, Shah MR, Alexander KR, Ripps H. Two distinct processes are evident in rat cone flicker ERG responses at low and high temporal frequencies. Exp Eye Res. 2008 Jul;87(1):71-5.
Kim LS, McAnany JJ, Alexander KR, Fishman GA. Intersession repeatability of Humphrey perimetry measurements in patients with retinitis pigmentosa. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2007 Oct;48(10):4720-4.
Alexander KR, Raghuram A. Effect of contrast on the frequency response of synchronous period doubling. Vision Res. 2007 Feb;47(4):555-63.

Aixa Alfonso, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences, National Science Foundation (until 8/2009)

aalfonso@uic.edu

Cellular/Molecular
Regulation of neuronal polarity and acquisition of neuronal fate in C. elegans.

Selected references

Doonan R, Hatzold J, Raut S, Conradt B, Alfonso A. HLH-3 is a C. elegans Achaete/Scute protein required for differentiation of the hermaphrodite-specific motor neurons. Mech Dev. 2008 Jun 11. [Epub ahead of print]
Kay AR, Alfonso A, Alford S, Cline HT, Holgado AM, Sakmann B, Snitsarev VA, Stricker TP, Takahashi M, Wu LG. Imaging synaptic activity in intact brain and slices with FM1-43 in C. elegans, lamprey, and rat. Neuron. 1999;24(4):809-17.
Nonet ML, Holgado AM, Brewer F, Serpe CJ, Norbeck BA, Holleran J, Wei L, Hartwieg E, Jorgensen EM, Alfonso A. UNC-11, a Caenorhabditis elegans AP180 homologue, regulates the size and protein composition of synaptic vesicles. Mol Biol Cell. 1999;10(7):2343-60.

Jonathan J. Art, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Anatomy & Cell Biology; Associate Dean, Graduate College

jart@uic.edu

Integrative Systems, Cellular/Molecular
Cochlear Hair Cell Physiology, Confocal Laser Microscopy.

Selected references

Lyubimov AV, Carr SN, Brown AP, Art JJ, Crowell JA, Levine BS. Evaluation of hydrogen ion concentrations in prostates from rats and dogs using fluorescent confocal microscopy. J Photochem Photobiol B. 2005 Sep 1;80(3):225-34.
Chen L, Kawano T, Bajic S, Kaziro Y, Itoh H, Art JJ, Nakajima Y, Nakajima S. A glutamate residue at the C terminus regulates activity of inward rectifier K+ channels: implication for Andersen's syndrome. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2002 Jun 11;99(12):8430-5.
Boyer C, Art JJ, Dechesne CJ, Lehouelleur J, Vautrin J, Sans A. Contribution of the plasmalemma to Ca2+ homeostasis in hair cells. J Neurosci. 2001 Apr 15;21(8):2640-50.

Jeffrey Bishop, DPharm.
Assistant Professor, Pharmacy Practice, Psychiatry

jbishop@uic.edu

Disease/Therapeutics, Cognition/Learning
Psychopharmacology and pharmacogenomics of antipsychotic and antidepressant medications in psychotic and mood disorders.

Selected references

Bishop JR, Ellingrod VL, Moline J, Miller D. Association between the polymorphic GRM3 gene and olanzapine response. Schizophr Res 2005; 77:253-260
Bishop JR, Ellingrod VL, Moline J, Miller D. Association between G-protein beta subunit (GNB3) polymorphisms and weight gain and clinical response to olanzapine. Med Sci Monit 2006; 12:47-50.
Bishop JR, Wang , Moline J, Ellingrod VL. Association analysis of the metabotropic glutamate receptor type 3 gene (GRM3) with schizophrenia. Psychiatr Genet, 2007; 17:358.

David W. Carley, Ph.D.
Professor & Director, Center for Narcolepsy, Sleep and Health Research, Biobehavioral Health Science

dwcarley@uic.edu

Disease/Therapeutics, Integrative Systems
Brainstem mechanisms of state-dependent autonomic regulation; Pathogenesis of sleep-related breathing disorders; Animal models of disease; Drug discovery; Mathematical modeling; Clinical translational investigation.

Selected references

Carley DW, C Olopade, GS Ruigt and M Radulovacki. Efficacy of mirtazapine in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Sleep 2007; 30:35-41.
Radulovacki M, M Stoiljkovic, J Saponjic and DW Carley. Effects of intertrigeminal region NMDA and non-NMDA receptors on respiratory responses in rats. Resp. Physiol. Neurobiol. 2007;156:40-46.
Bojic T, J Saponjic, M Radulovacki, DW Carley and A Kalauzi. Monotone signal segments analysis as a novel method of breath detection and breath-to-breath interval analysis in rat. Resp. Physiol. Neurobiol. 2008 161:273-280.

Robert M. Gould, Ph.D.
Assistant Research Professor, Anatomy & Cell Biology

rmgould@uic.edu

Cellular/Molecular, Disease/Therapeutics
Understanding the formation of myelin through characterization of evolution of genes expressed by myelinating cells and neurons and understand the kinesin motor based trafficking of myelin.

Selected references

Schweigreiter R, Roots BI, Bandtlow CE, Gould RM., Understanding myelination through studying its evolution. Int Rev Neurobiol. 2006;73:219-73.
Gould RM, Morrison HG, Gilland E, Campbell RK., Myelin tetraspan family proteins but no non-tetraspan family proteins are present in the ascidian (Ciona intestinalis) genome. Biol Bull. 2005 Aug;209(1):49-66.
Stankoff B, Wang Y, Bottlaender M, Aigrot MS, Dolle F, Wu C, Feinstein D, Huang GF, Semah F, Mathis CA, Klunk W, Gould RM, Lubetzki C, Zalc B. Imaging of CNS myelin by positron-emission tomography. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Jun;103(24):9304-9.

Ellen S. Herbener, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Psychology, Psychiatry

eherbener@psych.uic.edu

Disease/Therapeutics, Cognition/Learning
I conduct behavioral and functional imaging research focusing on abnormalities in emotional and social functioning in individuals with schizophrenia.

Selected references

Herbener ES.Emotional memory in schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull. 2008 Sep;34(5):875-87.
Herbener ES, Song W, Khine T, Sweeney JA. What aspects of emotional functioning are impaired in schizophrenia? Schizophr Res. 2008 Jan;98(1-3):239-46.
Herbener ES, Rosen C, Khine T, Sweeney JA. Failure of positive but not negative emotional valence to enhance memory in schizophrenia. J Abnorm Psychol. 2007 Feb;116(1):43-55.

Stephen Lasley, Ph.D.
Research Professor, Cancer Biology and Pharmacology, UICOM-Peoria

SML@uic.edu

Cellular/Molecular, Disease/Therapeutics
Mechanisms of lead neurotoxicity affecting synaptic plastitcity, especially those involving neurotrophin activity; therepeutic approaches for chronic uranium neurotoxicity

Selected references

Gilbert ME, Lasley SM. Long-term consequences of developmental exposure to lead or polychlorinated biphenyls: Synaptic transmission and plasticity in the rodent CNS. Environ. Toxicol. Pharm. 2002;12:105-117.
Gilbert ME, Lasley SM. Developmental lead exposure reduces the ability of the NMDA antagonist M-801 to suppress long-term potentiation in the rat dentate gyrus, in vivo. Neurotoxical. Teratol. 2007;29:385-393.
Vietti KRN, Lasley SM. Stimulus-evoked glutamate release is diminished by acute exposure to uranium in vitro. Neurotoxicol Teratol. 2007;29:607-612.

Charles Laurito, M.D.
Professor, Anesthesiology, Anatomy & Cell Biology

sharps@uic.edu

Disease/Therapeutics, Cellular/Molecular
How noxious stimuli are perceived as being painful: specifically what neurotransmitters are released at the spinal cord level. Can pain relief be provided by blocking these molecules?

Selected references

Park TJ, Lu Y, Juttner R, Smith ESJ, Hu J, Brand A, Wetzel C, Milenkovic N, Erdmann B, Heppenstall, PA, Laurito CE, Wilson SP, Lewin GR. Selectivity inflammatory pain insensitivity in the African naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber). PLoS Biol 6(1):e13 doi:10.1371/jounral.pbio.0060013.
Tzabazis AZ, Pirc G, Votta-Velis EG, Wilson SP, Laurito CE, and Yeomans DC. Antihyperalgesic effect of a recombinant herpes virus encoding antisense for calcitonin gene related peptide. Anesthiol. 2007: 1196-1203.
Yeomans CD, Lu Y, Laurito CE, Votta-Velis EG, Wilson SP, and Pappas GD. Recombinant herpes vector-mediated analgesia in a primate model of hyperalgesia. Molec. Ther. 2006 March, 13(3):589-598.

Deborah Little, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Neurology & Rehabilitation, Anatomy & Cell Biology, Ophthal and Visual Sciences, Psychology

little@uic.edu

Cognition/Learning, Disease/Therapeutics
Research in my lab has a focus in understanding how the brain responds to insult or injury and in defining the threshold for clinically relevant pathology. We use advanced MRI imaging in patients with a history of head injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, and risk factors of cerebrovascular disease.

Selected references

Little DM, Thulborn KR, Szly JP. An fMRI study of saccadic and smooth pursuit eye movement control in Age-related Macular Degeneration. Investigative Ophthal. and Visual Sci. 2008; 49:1728-1735 (PMID: 18385097)
Kraus MF, Susmaras T, Walkker CJ, Sweney JA, Little DM. Diffusion tensor imaging and neuropsychological assessment in chronic traumatic brain injury of all severities. Brain. 2007; 130:2508-2519 (PMID: 17872928).
Little DM, Holloway R, Diffusion Tensor Imaging: Scientific advance, clinical tool, or just a pretty picture. Neurology. 2007; 68:9-10 (PMID: 17200483).

Eileen Martin-Thormeyer, Ph.D.
Professor, Psychiatry, Neurology

emmartin@uic.edu

Cognition/Learning, Disease/Therapeutics
Evaluate the independent and additive effects of drugs of abuse and HIV on neurocognitive function. Study populations include users of crack, opiates or club drugs.

Selected references

Gonzalez, R., Bechara, A., & Martin, EM. Executive functions among individuals with methamphetamine or alcohol as drugs of choice: Preliminary observations. J Clin Exp Neuropsychology 2007; 25:155-159.
Martin EM, Nixon H, Pitrak DL, Weddington W, Rains NA, Nunnally G, Grbesic S, Gonzalez R, Jacobus J, Bechara A. Characteristics of prospective memory deficits in HIV-seropositive substance-dependent individuals: preliminary observations. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 2007 Jul;29(5):496-504.
Gonzalez R, Jacobus J, Amatya AK, Quartana PJ, Vassileva J, Martin EM (. Deficits in complex motor functions, despite no evidence of procedural learning deficits, among HIV+ individuals with history of substance dependence. Neuropsychology, in press.

Gustavo Pigino, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor, Anatomy & Cell Biology

pigino@uic.edu

Cellular/Molecular, Disease/Therapeutics

Selected references

DeBoer SR, You Y, Szodorai A, Kaminska A, Pigino G, Nwabuisi E, Wang B, Estrada-Hernandez T, Kins S, Brady ST, Morfini G. Conventional kinesin holoenzymes are composed of heavy and light chain homodimers.
Biochemistry. 2008 Apr 15;47(15):4535-43.
Morfini G, Pigino G, Brady ST. Approaches to kinesin-1 phosphorylation. Methods Mol Biol. 2007;392:51-69.
Lazarov O, Morfini GA, Pigino G, Gadadhar A, Chen X, Robinson J, Ho H, Brady ST, Sisodia SS. Impairments in fast axonal transport and motor neuron deficits in transgenic mice expressing familial Alzheimer's disease-linked mutant presenilin 1. J Neurosci. 2007;27(26):7011-20.

Steve Reilly, Ph.D.
Professor, Psychology

sreilly@uic.edu

Cognition/Learning, Integrative Systems
Neural mechanisms of learning, memory and motivation, with an emphasis on conditioned taste aversion, reward comparison, and incentive learning.

Selected references

Figueroa-Guzmán Y, Reilly S.NMDA receptors in the basolateral amygdala and gustatory neophobia. Brain Res. 2008; 1210:200-203.
Roman C, Reilly S. Effects of insular cortex lesions on conditioned taste aversion and latent inhibition in the rat. Eur J Neurosci. 2007;26:2627-2632.
St Andre J, Reilly S. Effects of central and basolateral amygdala lesions on conditioned taste aversion and latent inhibition. Behav Neurosci. 2007; 121:90-99.

R. Francis Schlemmer, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Pharmocology, Biopharmaceutical Sciences, Psychiatry

schlemm@uic.edu

Disease/Therapeutics
Behavioral pharmacology of psychotherapeutic drugs and drugs of abuse; development of primate models of mental disorders; use of the student response system to enhance learning in the large classroom.

Selected references

Schlemmer RF. Review of: Pagliaro's Comprehensive Guide to Drugs and Substances Abuse. J. Forensic Sciences, 2005;50:749.
Negrusz A, Adamowicz P, Saini BK, Webster DE, Juhascik MP, Moore CM, Schlemmer RF. Detection of ketamine and norketamine in urine of nonhuman primates after a single dose of ketamine using microplate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and NCI-GC-MS. J Anal Toxicol. 2005 Apr;29(3):163-8.

Konstantin Slavin, M.D.
Associate Professor & Section Chief, Neurosurgery

kslavin@uic.edu

Disease/Therapeutics
Clinical research: spinal cord stimulation, surgery for migraine, surgery for depression, duraplasty.

Selected references

Slavin KV. Peripheral nerve stimulation for neuropathic pain. Neurotherapeutics. 2008 Jan;5(1):100-6.
Slavin KV, Nersesyan H, Colpan ME, Munawar N. Current algorithm for the surgical treatment of facial pain. Head Face Med. 2007 Jul 25;3:30.
Lipov EG, Joshi JR, Sanders S, Wilcox K, Lipov S, Xie H, Maganini R, Slavin K. Effects of stellate-ganglion block on hot flushes and night awakenings in
survivors of breast cancer: a pilot study. Lancet Oncol. 2008 Jun;9(6):523-32.

Lisa D. Stanford, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Psychiatry, Neurology

lstanford@psych.uic.edu

Cognition/Learning, Disease/Therapeutics
Neurocongitive aspects of pediatric neurologic and developmental disorders (i.e., epilepsy, cancer, Autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, PKU, etc.).

Selected references

Stanford, L.D. & Dorflinger, J. Pediatric brain injury: Amelioration and mechanisms. In Cecil Reynolds (Ed.), Handbook of Clinical Child Neuropsychology, 3rd ed. New York: Plenum Press, in press.
Stanford, L.D. & Miller, J. Neuropsychological evaluation in children with epilepsy. In A.B. Ettinger & A.M. Kanner (Eds.), Psychiatric Issues in Epilepsy: A Practical Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment, 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, 2007.
Loddenkemper,T., Holland, K.D., Stanford, L.D., Kotagal, P., Bingaman, W., & Wyllie, E. Developmental outcome after epilepsy surgery in infancy. Pediatrics. 2007; 119(5):930-5.

Thomas R. Stratford, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor, Psychology

ratdoc@uic.edu

Integrative Systems
Neurophysiological control of ingestive behavior, focusing on the influence of the nucleus accumbens, ventral pallidum, and raphe nuclei on hypothalamic feeding and drinking circuits.

Selected references

Stratford, T.R., The Nucleus Accumbens Shell as a Model of Integrative Subcortical Forebrain Systems Regulating Food Intake. In Appetite and Body Weight: Integrative Systems and the Development of Anti-Obesity Drugs, Editors, T.C. Kirkham and S.J. Cooper, London, Elsevier, 2007, pp. 27-65.
Stratford, T.R., Activation of feeding-related neural circuitry after unilateral injections of muscimol into the nucleus accumbens shell. Brain Research, 2005;1048: 241-250.
Stratford, T.R. and Wirtshafter, D., NPY mediates the feeding elicited by muscimol injections into the nucleus accumbens shell. NeuroReport, 2004;15: 2673-2676.

Keith R. Thulborn, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor & Director of MR Research, Physiology & Biophysics, Radiology, Bioengineering

kthulbor@uic.edu

Cognition/Learning, Disease/Therapeutics
Development of a biochemical model of human brain function using in vivo metabolic MR imaging using sodium, oxygen, carbon, phosphorus and nitrogen signals at 3.0 and 9.4 Tesla.

Selected references

Atkinson IC, Renteria L, Burd H, Pliskin NH, Thulborn KR. Safety of Human MRI at Static Fields Above the FDA 8T Guideline: Sodium Imaging at 9.4T Does Not Affect Vital Signs or Cognitive Ability. J Magn Reson Imag. 2007; 26:1227-1252.
Little DM, Thulborn KR. Prototype-distortion category learning: A two-phase learning process across a distributed network. Brain and Cognition 2006; 60:233-243.
Thulborn KR, Davis D, Snyder J, Yonas H, Kassam A. Sodium MR imaging of acute and subacute stroke for assessment of tissue viability. Neuroimag Clin N Am 2005; 15:639-653.

James R. Unnerstall, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Anatomy & Cell Biology; Director of Graduate Studies, Neuroscience Program

jru@uic.edu

Cellular/Molecular, Disease/Therapeutics
Plasticity of locus coeruleus neurons, cellular response to injury during the aging process.

Selected references

Carlstrom L, Ke ZJ, Unnerstall JR, Cohen RS, Pandey SC. Estrogen modulation of the cyclic AMP response element-binding protein pathway. Effects of long-term and acute treatments. Neuroendocrinology. 2001; 74(4):227-243.
Connor B, Kozlowski DA, Unnerstall JR, Elsworth JD, Tillerson JL, Schallert T, Bohn MC. Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) gene delivery protects dopaminergic terminals from degeneration. Exp Neurol. 2001; 169(1):83-95.
Wang XT, Unnerstall JR, Ibuki T, Wang H, Pappas GD. Comparison of tyrosine hydroxylase and preproenkephalin expression in rat adrenal medullary explants in vitro and transplanted into subarachnoid space. Exp Neurol. 2000;161(1):346-360.

Tibor Valyi-Nagy, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor & Director of Neuropathology, Pathology

tiborv@uic.edu

Disease/Therapeutics, Cellular/Molecular
Pathogenesis of nervous system infections, herpes simplex virus pathogenesis, role of latent viral infections in neurodegenerative diseases.

Selected references

Kavouras JH, Prandovszky E, Valyi-Nagy K, Kovacs SK, Tiwari V, Kovacs M, Shukla D, Valyi-Nagy T. HSV-1 infection induces oxidative stress and the release of bioactive lipid peroxidation by-products in P19N mouse neural cell cultures. J Neurovirol. 2007; 13:416-425.
Valyi-Nagy T, Shukla D, Engelhard HH, Kavouras J, Scanlan P. Latency strategies of alphaherpesviruses: herpes simplex virus and varicella-zoster virus latency in neurons. In: Latency strategies of herpesviruses. Minarovits J, Gonczol E, Valyi-Nagy T (eds), New York, Springer,. 2007, ch. 1 (pp 1-36).
Prandovszky E, Horváth S, Gellért, L, Kovacs SK, Janka Z, Toldi J, Shukla D, Valyi-Nagy T. Nectin-1 (HVEC) is expressed at high levels in neural subtypes that regulate radial migration of cortical and cerebellar neurons of the developing human and murine brain. J Neurovirol; 2008; 14:164-172.

Peggy J. Wheeler, M.D.
Assoc. Prof. of Clinical Anesthesiology, Neuroanesthesiology Division, Anesthesiology

pwheel@uic.edu

Disease/Therapeutics, Cognition/Learning
Neuroanesthesiology; neurosurgery; cerebral vascular disease; neuroprotective agents surrounding surgical procedures; and cognitive impairment following anesthesia in geriatric patients.

Selected references

Paisansathan C, Hoffman WE, Gatto R, Baughman V, Wheeler P, Charbel F. Brain hypoxic changes during neuroanesthesia. Journal of Neurosurgical Anesthesiology 2008 (in press).
Paisansathan C, Hoffman WE, Lee M, Ananda RC, Wheeler P. Autonomic activity during desflurane anesthesia in patients with brain tumors. Journal of Clinical Monitoring and Computing 2007;21(5):265-269.
Paisansathan C, Lee M, Hoffman W, Wheeler P. Sevoflurane anesthesia decreases cardiac vagal activity and heart rate variability. Clinical Autonomic Research 2007;17(6):370-374.

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