Faculty

  • 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

  • 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

  • Qian Chen

    Professor, Department of Orthopedics

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

    Research interests: Cartilage and bone development; orthopedics. 

  • 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 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 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.

  • 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 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.

  • Associate Professor, Department of Neuroscience

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

    Research Interests: Molecular and cellular mechanisms of brain wiring

  • 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

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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

  • 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.

  • 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?

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.