Neurobiology Group

Graduate Students

Deebika Balu: Unavailable

Gregory Blass: The focus of my research is the natural resistance to CO2-induced pulmonary edema in African naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber).  Naked mole-rats
live completely subterranean in large numbers ranging up to 300 individuals.
As a result, CO2 builds up to levels that in other mammals can cause
suffocation and death.  I am investigating what biological mechanisms they
possess that enables them to survive in a high CO2 environment.

Bethany Brown Peterson: Unavailable

Ji In Choi: Unavailable

James Gocel: Unavailable

Jason Jacoby: My research focuses on how retinal interneurons use lateral inhibition to modulate the visual signal from photoreceptors to second order neurons. A signal is generated by a light stimulus in the photoreceptors and undergoes a myriad of modifications by these interneurons in order to finely tune this visual signal through both excitatory and inhibitory synaptic connections. Currently, I am implementing fluorescent imaging techniques to determine how extracellular pH may affect signal transduction in order to craft the center-surround receptive fields that are so essential to both our visual contrast and how we perceive the world around us.

Elizabeth Langer: Several human diseases may be related to changes in a brain protein that is important for regulating glutamate homeostasis in the brain.  This protein is a glial cystine-glutamate transporter (xCT).  Unfortunately, we do not yet know exactly when xCT is expressed in the brain, nor whether there are differences between sexes in localization of this protein.  I study xCT protein levels and behavior in mutant mice that do not contain xCT protein to understand how xCT protein changes brain function.

Colleen LaVinka: I study pain processing in the African naked mole-rat.  These unusual
rodents lack neuropeptides in their trigeminal nerves.  The neuropeptides
are needed to relay certain pain signals.  Using behaviour and
immunohistochemical techniques, I examine how the absence of the
neuropeptides alter the perception and reaction to chemical pain in the
naked mole-rat.

Liliana Marquez: Unavailable

Shankar Ramachandran: Synaptic transmission involves a series of spatially and temporally coordinated steps in the presynaptic terminal from the firing of an action potential to release of neurotransmitter by vesicle fusion. Evoked release is triggered by action potential dependent influx of calcium into the presynaptic terminal through voltage-gated calcium channels. My research involves characterizing the entry of calcium into the lamprey giant reticulospinal axon in an acutely isolated reticulospinal axon preparation and studying its timing relationship with vesicle fusion and release.

Saleel Raut: "I am looking at the role of basic helix loop helix (bHLH) protein, HLH-3, in the differentiation of the serotonergic hermaphrodite specific motor neurons (HSNs) in C. elegans . hlh-3 mutants are egg laying defective (egl) and some of the HSNs do not stain with serotonin antibody staining. Mutations in various transcription factors show a similar phenotype as hlh-3 mutants and probably act in a network regulating the expression of other genes downstream. UNC-86, a POU homeodomain transcription factor, regulates hlh-3 and I am interested in studying the nature of this regulation."
 

Andrew Seymour: Unavailable

Boriana Tchernookova:My research focuses on the visual system of vertebrates,fish in
particular. My main animal model is the catfish. I work with cone
horizontal cells, which receive and integrate information from
photoreceptors. I investigate how ion channels and transporters operate
and how their properties and function are modulated by various
neurochemicals.  My work involves the application of electrophysiological
techniques, such as whole cell patch clamp.

Kelly Varga: I have recently joined Dr. Gongs lab and we are interested in the molecular mechanisms involved in synaptic transmission. Most notably, we study exocytosis and subsequent endocytosis, which is transmission involving fusion and retrieval of synaptic vesicles from the presynaptic membrane respectively. We utilize both genetic and cellular approaches to investigate this type of transmission, and our current work involves modulating Ca 2+ concentrations, a known ion needed for induction of these events, to better define synaptic transmission.

Leena Walters: Unavailable