Faculty

  • Ahmed Abdelfattah

    Assistant Professor, Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Assistant Professor of Brain Science, Department of Neuroscience

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Neurogenetics; Protein Dynamics

    Research interests: Protein engineering, fluorescence imaging, and advanced genetic approaches to visualize and study the brain.

  • Associate Professor of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry

    Sidney Frank Hall, Room 252/235 (lab)

    Research Area(s): Biology of Aging; Cell Signaling; Host-Pathogen Interactions

    Research Interests: Mechanisms underlying heart and skeletal muscle diseases, with a primary focus on the role of RNA-binding proteins in regulating the expression of pathologic genes during stress challenges.

  • Professor of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry

  • Arturo Andrade Andrade

    Associate Professor of Neuroscience (Research), Associate Professor of Brain Science (Research)

    Research Area(s): Neurogenetics

    Research Interests: Elucidating cell-specific mechanisms of neuronal activity and drug action including opioids and cannabinoids

  • Professor, Molecular, Cellular Biology Biochemistry

    +1 401 863 3116

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Host-Pathogen Interactions

    Research Interests: Pathogenesis of the human polyomaviruses, JC Virus (JCV) and BK Virus (BKV)

  • Alfred Ayala

    Professor of Surgery (Research), Department of Surgery

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Development; Host-Pathogen Interactions
  • Gilad Barnea

    Professor, Department of Neuroscience

    +1 401 863-3126

    Research Area(s): Development; Neurogenetics

    Research interests: Molecular biology and mouse genetics in the mapping and characterization of neuronal circuits used by the brain for the processing of olfactory information

  • Thomas Bartnikas

    Associate Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

    +1 401 863 3478

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Host-Pathogen Interactions

    Research interests: Molecular mechanisms of mammalian metal homeostasis

  • Richard Belenky

    Associate Professor , Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology

    +401 863 5954

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Host-Pathogen Interactions

    Research interests: Metabolic and genetic responses of the microbiome to antimicrobial medicines

  • Richard Bennett

    Professor, Molecular Microbiology and Immunology

    401-863-6341

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Development; Host-Pathogen Interactions

    Research Interests: Biology of the human pathogen Candida albicans; mechanisms of fungal pathogenesis

  • Assistant Professor, Molecular Microbiology and Immunology

    Research Interests:  Mucosal T lymphocyte biology. His goal is to improve fundamental understanding of memory T cell differentiation and function in the barrier mucosae so as to design better vaccines and therapies to advance human health.

  • Professor, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology

    Research Area(s): Host-Pathogen Interactions

    Research Interests: Pathobiology, NK T cells and NK cell immune responses.

  • Assistant Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology

    Sidney Frank Hall, Room 265

    Research Area(s): Biology of Aging; Cell Signaling; Host-Pathogen Interactions

    Research Interests:By employing rigorous integrative approaches, the Chellappa Lab seeks to understand the dynamic role of metabolism in driving complex phenotypes such as aging. Her lab also investigates the cross-kingdom chemical communications between the host and the trillions of co-existing microorganisms in mammals.

  • Qian Chen

    Professor, Department of Orthopedics

    Research Area(s): Biology of Aging; Cell Signaling; Development

    Research interests: Cartilage and bone development; orthopedics. 

  • Professor of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry

  • Assistant Professor of Neuroscience

  • Professor of Medical Science (Research), Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry

    Research Area(s): Biology of Aging; Cell Signaling; Development

  • Associate Professor, Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology and Biotechnology

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Development

    Research Interests: Her group studies cell biophysical properties that regulate cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions in cancer.  Her current work is largely focused on studying the role of aging and therapy induced changes in the tumor microenvironment on cancer progression.

  • Associate Professor, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Host-Pathogen Interactions

    Research Interests: The mechanisms protozoan parasites employ to generate the wide variety of cellular morphologies these organisms use to survive within their hosts.

  • Professor, Department of Chemistry

    Research Area(s): Biology of Aging; Protein Dynamics

    Research Interests: Establishing a chemically logical roadmap to understand how DNA damage relates to genetic change and human disease.

  • Associate Professor of Biology, Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Development

    Research Interests: Gaining insight into the functions of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), an enzyme that performs important roles in phosphorylation circuits governing growth, morphogenesis and cell fate.

  • Professor, Department of Pediatrics

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Development

    Research Interests: Understanding mechanisms of neonatal lung injury and repair

  • Professor of Biology, Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry

    Research Area(s): Computational Biology; Neurogenetics

    Research Interests:Developing high- throughput genomic techniques to identify functional cis-elements in the genome.

  • Professor, Department of Neuroscience

    Research Interests: Developing a protein therapeutic, recombinant biglycan for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and other neuromuscular disorders; The role of MuSK as a BMP co-receptor

  • Professor of Medical Science, DEPARTMENT OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, CELL BIOLOGY, AND BIOCHEMISTRY

    Research Area(s): Computational Biology; Protein Dynamics

    Research Interests: Determining the structure, dynamics, interactions of large assemblies of intrinsically disordered proteins; protein aggregates implicated in Alzheimer’s Disease; liquid-liquid phase separated forms of RNA-binding proteins associated with inclusion formation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS / Lou Gehrig's disease) and frontotemporal  dementia.

  • Alexander Fleischmann

    Professor of Brain Science, Department of Neuroscience

    Research Area(s): Neurogenetics

    Research Interests: Neural circuit generation of sensory perception and behavior. 

  • Professor of Medical Science, Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry

    Research Area(s): Biology of Aging; Development

    Research Interests: Fundamental mechanisms of transcriptional regulation in mammalian development and human disease.

  • Professor of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Director of the Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research

    Research Area(s): Biology of Aging; Neurogenetics
  • Kathryn Grive

    Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology (Research)

    Kilguss Research Institute Room 108

    Research Area(s): Biology of Aging; Development; Protein Dynamics

    Research Interests: Ovarian development and function, female reproductive health, oncofertility

  • Professor, Department of Neuroscience

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Development; Neurogenetics

    Research Interests: Molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying neurological disease, sensory signaling, sleep, and fatigue.

  • Professor of Medical Science

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling

    Research Interests: The understanding of the structure and function of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and of the neurotoxins that target these important receptors.

  • Professor of Biology, Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry

    Research Area(s): Biology of Aging; Development; Neurogenetics

    Research Interests: Understanding the molecular genetic mechanisms underlying aging and longevity using the model system, Drosophila melanogaster.

  • Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry

    Research Interests: Molecular biology of Alzheimer's disease and aging, aided by new modeling tools developed in his laboratory.

  • Associate Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

    Research Area(s): Computational Biology

    Research Interests: Scanning human genomes from different populations to detect mutations in genes that have helped humans adapt to different environments like different diets, temperatures, pathogens and altitudes.

  • Associate Professor, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology

    401-863-9775

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Computational Biology; Host-Pathogen Interactions

    My lab is interested in the interplay of multiple simultaneous innate immune responses at a systemic, cellular, and molecular level.

  • Associate Professor, Department of Neuroscience

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Development; Neurogenetics

    Research Interests: Molecular and cellular mechanisms of brain wiring

  • Associate Professor of Biology, Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Protein Dynamics

    Research Interests: We use X-ray crystallography as our main research tool (together with biochemical and biophysical approaches) to study the structure and function of proteins and macromolecular complexes such as the ribosome.

  • Professor of Biology, Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Development

    Research Interests: Mark's laboratory is focused on understanding the molecular basis for cellular communication. They focus on flowering plant reproduction because this process is essential for agricultural productivity and because it relies on an elaborate dialogue between experimentally tractable cells.

  • Associate Professor, Department of Neuroscience

    Research Area(s): Development; Neurogenetics

    Research Interests: We investigate how memories for appetitive stimuli are encoded in the brain and how drugs of abuse affect the molecular pathways in these circuits to result in aberrant motivational response. We combine genetics, behavior, in vivo imaging in behaving animals, molecular biology and biochemistry to address this.

  • Professor, Department of Medicine

    Research Area(s): Biology of Aging; Cell Signaling; Development

    Research Interests: My research program is aimed at the understanding of the pathogenesis of cardiac arrhythmias.

  • Associate Professor (Research), Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry

    Research Area(s): Biology of Aging; Cell Signaling; Development

  • Associate Professor, Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Director, Computational Biology Graduate Program

    Research Area(s): Biology of Aging; Computational Biology; Development

    Research Interests: Sex differences in aging, coordinated regulation of synaptic genes, computational biology

  • Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

    The main interests of the Lawler lab at present are 1) Drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier for cancer treatment in the brain, 2) Harnessing innate immune mechanisms to enable the effective application of immunotherapies for brain cancer, and 3) understanding the effects of a common pathogen, cytomegalovirus, on the growth of the malignant brain tumor glioblastoma.

  • Professor, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Development; Host-Pathogen Interactions

    Research Interest: My role in basic and clinical research has largely derived from my position as Director of the Molecular Biology Core in the Section of Pulmonary Medicine.

  • Assistant Professor, Molecular Microbiology and Immunology

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Host-Pathogen Interactions

    Research interest: Host-Virus interaction in cells and animals. Immune responses controlling viral infection and viral counteractions.

  • Professor, Department of Neuroscience

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Neurogenetics

    Research Interests: I study the expression, regulation, and function of voltage-gated calcium ion channels in different regions of the nervous system. I am also interested in their role in chronic pain and psychiatric disorders.

  • Thomas J. & Alice M. Tisch Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry

    Research Area(s): Protein Dynamics

    Research Interests: Structural biology, Allostery, NMR spectroscopy, Biochemistry

  • Associate Professor, Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Development; Neurogenetics

    Research Interests: Basic and translational research on pediatric epilepsy

  • Sofia Lizarraga

    Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry

    Sidney Frank Hall 168/171

    Research Area(s): Biology of Aging; Cell Signaling; Development; Neurogenetics

    Research Interests: Neurodevelopmental disorders with a focus on autism.

  • Assistant Professor of Biostatistics

  • Sendurai Mani

    Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

    Coro Center, 1 Hoppin Street

    Research Interests: In my laboratory, we aim to understand the fundamental biology of cancer progression and, in particular, to comprehend how tumors become highly aggressive, develop resistance to therapies, and eventually become metastatic.

  • Sonia Mayoral

    ROBERT J. AND NANCY D. CARNEY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF NEUROSCIENCE, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF NEUROSCIENCE, Department of Neuroscience

    Research Area(s): Neurogenetics

    Research Interests: I'm a cellular neuroscientist interested in studying cell-cell interactions in the brain focused around the development and function of oligodendrocytes, specialized glial cells that wrap myelin around neurons. 

  • Associate Professor of Surgery

    Research Area(s): Computational Biology; Host-Pathogen Interactions

    Rhode Island Hospital/Warren Alpert Medical School

  • Associate Professor, Department of Medicine

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Development

    Research Interests: Mechanisms of immune-mediate vascular remodeling focusing of areas where macrophages direct the biologic processes of arteriogenesis, vascular calcification, and pulmonary arterial hypertension.

  • Mencoff Family Professor of Biology , Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Professor of Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, Professor of Brain Science, Carney Institute for Brain Science

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Development; Neurogenetics

    Research Interests: Normal molecular mechanisms of brain development, and genetic perturbations that underlie disorders of human cognitive development.

  • Professor of Biomedicine, Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry

    Research Area(s): Development; Protein Dynamics

    Research Interests: RNA; Development; RNA-protein dynamics

  • Associate Professor of Biology, Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry

    Research Area(s): Biology of Aging; Computational Biology

    Research Interests: Application of high throughput techniques such as RNA-seq to study changes in the transcriptional network caused by genetic and environmental interventions that extend life span in model organisms.

  • Professor of Medical Science, Department of Neuroscience

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Development

    Research Interests: Understanding signal transduction events using fluorescent microscopy in living cells.

  • Professor, Department of Neuroscience

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Development; Neurogenetics

    Research Interests: How neurons build synaptic connections that reliably control behavior while maintaining the ability to modulate their function over a lifetime of new experiences and environments.

  • Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

    Research Interests: The Plavicki lab uses the zebrafish model to study CNS angiogenesis and blood brain barrier (BBB) development in order to assess the impact of chemical exposures and genetic mutations on cerebral vascular development and brain health.

  • Hermon C. Bumpus Professor of Biology, Professor of Computer Science, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Computer Science

    Research Area(s): Computational Biology

    Research Interests: Problems in population genetics and evolutionary theory, using humans as a study system.

  • Professor of Biology, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

    Research Area(s): Biology of Aging; Development

    Research Interests: How the mitochondrial genome and its interactions with the nuclear genome influence animal performance, evolutionary fitness, and aging; how thermal selection influences the genetic composition of populations.

  • Professor of Biology, Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry

    Research Area(s): Biology of Aging; Cell Signaling; Development; Neurogenetics

    Research Interests: We are interested in evolution of brain function and behavior. Our primary model system is Drosophila, the fruit fly, for its powerful traditional and molecular genetics. Our main question is - how do genomes encode and regulate proteins involved in rapid electrical and chemical signaling in the brain, normally and in disease?

  • Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biology

    Research Area(s): Computational Biology; Protein Dynamics

    Research Areas: Biophysical and machine learning-based molecular modeling, biochemical computation. The Rubenstein group is focused on developing new quantum mechanical, statistical mechanical, and machine learning tools to predict biological phenomena, including the evolution of biomolecules.

  • Professor of Biology, Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Computational Biology; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Protein Dynamics

    Research Interests: Elucidation of signaling networks relevant to human disease and exploring perturbations in phosphorylation patterns induced by pharmacological agents. Quantitative phosphoproteomic analysis by mass spectrometry is a technique that allows efficient profiling of tens of thousands of phosphorylation sites over time from cells and tissues.

  • John Sedivy

    Professor of Biology, DEPARTMENT OF MOLECULAR, CELLULAR BIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY

    Research Area(s): Biology of Aging; Cell Signaling; Development

    Research Interests: Understanding the biology of aging at the cellular level: the epigenetic regulation of cellular senescence, genome-wide surveillance of transposable elements, and the role of c-Myc in aging.

  • Surendra Sharma

    Professor (Research), Department of Pediatrics, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

    Research Area(s): Development

    Research Interest: Human and pre-clinical models and therapeutic options for pregnancy complications.

  • Assistant Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology

    BioMed Building, Room 595 (office)/602 (lab)

    Research Area(s): Computational Biology; Host-Pathogen Interactions

    Research interests: genomics, viral infections, epidemiology, host-pathogen interactions

  • Carlos Giovanni Silva-García

    Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry

    Research Area(s): Biology of Aging; Cell Signaling; Neurogenetics

    Research Interests: How internal and external signals induce molecular and cellular mechanisms to promote longevity and impact age-related diseases and whether these conditions (positive or negative) can be transmitted to subsequent generations. 

  • Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Assistant Professor of Data Science

  • Nikos Tapinos

    Sidney A. Fox and Dorothea Doctors Fox Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, Visual Science, and Neuroscience

    We employ multidisciplinary approaches and outside-the-box thinking to discover mechanisms that regulate myelination, plasticity, cellular motility and oncogenic transformation of glial cells.

  • Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

    Research Area(s): Biology of Aging; Development

    Research Interests: Genetic analysis of Drosophila to understand how insulin/IGF signals and lipid hormones regulate aging, and how these endocrine signals interact with nutrition.

  • Shipra Vaishnava

    Associate Professor, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology

    Research Area(s): Host-Pathogen Interactions

    Research Interests: The role of immune system in regulating microbiota and the molecular mechanisms by which microbiota shape host immunity.

  • Associate Professor of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry

    Research Interests: Discovering molecules that function to preserve and restore the function of the nervous system and skeletal muscles during normal aging and affected with age-related diseases.

  • Associate Professor of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry (Research)

  • Daniel Weinreich

    Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Computational Biology

    Research Interests: Professor Weinreich is a theoretical population geneticist who uses a combination of experimental, analytic and simulation techniques to further understanding of the general principles of biological adaptation.

     

  • Gary Wessel

    Professor, Department of Molecular, Cellular Biology and Biochemistry

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Development

    Research Interests: Molecular Mechanisms of Reproduction

  • Kristi Wharton

    Professor, Department of Molecular, Cellular Biology and Biochemistry

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Development; Neurogenetics

    Research Interests: How signaling molecules facilitate the communication between cells.

  • Mamiko Yajima

    Associate Professor of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry (Research)

    Research Area(s): Cell Signaling; Development

    Research Interests: The functional contributions of germ line molecules in the somatic lineages during the process of developmental reprogramming and regeneration.

  • Anatoly Zhitkovich

    Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

    Research Area(s): Biology of Aging; Cell Signaling

    Research Interests: Cellular stress responses that control activity of accurate and mutagenic DNA repair processes and cell fate decisions following DNA damage by carcinogenic chemicals and anticancer drugs.