March 01, 2019 | Joanne Morrison
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Tuesday, October 22, 2024
UM School of Medicine's Margaret M. McCarthy, PhD, Elected as Member of Prestigious National Academy of Medicine
Margaret M. McCarthy, PhD, an internationally-recognized neuroscientist, who is the James and Carolyn Frenkil Dean’s Endowed Professor in the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Drug Development, and Director of the University of Maryland – Medicine Institute of Neuroscience Discovery (UM-MIND), has been elected as a new member of the National Academy of Medicine.
Tuesday, April 25, 2023
Immune System Sculpts Rat Brains During Development
Researchers have established that biological sex plays a role in determining an individual’s risk of brain disorders. For example, boys are more likely to be diagnosed with behavioral conditions like autism or attention deficit disorder, whereas women are more likely to suffer from anxiety disorders, depression, or migraines. However, experts do not fully understand how sex contributes to brain development, particularly in the context of these diseases. They think, in part, it may have something to do with the differing sizes of certain brain regions.
Friday, March 31, 2023
Traumatic Brain Injury Interferes with Immune System Cells’ Recycling Process in Brain Cells
Each year about 1.5 million people in the U.S. survive a traumatic brain injury due to a fall, car accident, or a sports injury, which can cause immediate and long-term disability.
Friday, January 06, 2023
UM School of Medicine Scientists Create First Extensive Brain Cell Data Repository
Neuroscience researchers now have access to 50 million brain cells to better understand how the brain develops and functions or changes with disease or trauma. Last month, scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s (UMSOM) Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS) unveiled a “one-stop shop” for brain cell data called the Neuroscience Multi-Omic Archive (NeMO Archive). This archive is now available to neuroscience researchers to transform their understanding of the complex workings of the brain.
Monday, November 14, 2022
Brain Area Thought to Impart Consciousness, Behaves Instead Like an Internet Router
Tucked underneath the brain’s outer, wrinkly cortex is a deeply mysterious area, known as the claustrum. This region has long been known to exchange signals with much of the cortex, which is responsible for higher reasoning and complex thought. Because of the claustrum’s extensive connections, the legendary scientist Francis Crick, PhD, of DNA-discovery fame, first postulated in 2005 that the claustrum is the seat of consciousness. In other words, the region of the brain enabling awareness of the world and ourselves.
Wednesday, July 21, 2021
University of Maryland School of Medicine Study Finds Calcium Precisely Directs Blood Flow in the Brain
University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Vermont researchers have shown how the brain communicates to blood vessels when in need of energy, and how these blood vessels respond by relaxing or constricting to direct blood flow to specific brain regions.
Tuesday, June 08, 2021
IN MEMORIAM: UM School of Medicine Biomedical Research Pioneer and Pharmacology Professor, Laure Aurelian, PhD
The Department of Pharmacology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) is saddened to announce the passing of Laure Aurelian, PhD, Professor Emerita of Pharmacology. She was the first woman to receive a PhD from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and was a pioneer who opened doors for many women to pursue research careers in biomedical science. She was also among the first women to receive independent funding from the National Institutes of Health, receiving her first R01 award in 1970.
Wednesday, October 21, 2020
UM School of Medicine Postdoctoral Fellow Awarded Prestigious AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship
Ryan Richardson, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Pharmacology, at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) was awarded a highly prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Technology Policy Fellowship (STPF), placing him at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)’s Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative for a year.
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Dr. Tracy Bale Elected President of the International Brain Research Organization
Tracy L. Bale, PhD, Professor of Pharmacology and Director of the Center for Epigentic Research in Child Health & Brain Development has been elected President of the International Brain Research Organization.
Friday, September 06, 2019
UMSOM's Dr. Margaret McCarthy Awarded Indiana University's Gill Transformative Investigator Award for Neuroscience Research
Indiana University’s Gill Center for Biomolecular Science has given Margaret McCarthy, PhD, The James & Carolyn Frenkil Endowed Dean’s Professor and Chair of the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), The Gill Center for Biomolecular Science 2019 Gill Transformative Investigator Award.
Monday, April 29, 2019
UMSOM’s Reading on the Brain Program Teaches Baltimore City Elementary Students About the Brain-Building Power of Reading
Acting Baltimore City Mayor Jack Young joined 4th and 5th grade students at Callaway Elementary School to help paint a mural about the brain. It was all part of Reading on the Brain, a University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) program to teach young students about the importance of reading and how reading can stimulate brain development and inspire future success. Tracy Bale, PhD, is leading the pilot program, which also emphasizes science and helps children to understand how the brain works.
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Allergic Reactions Play Role in Sexual Behavior Development in Unborn Males and Females, UMSOM Research Shows
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and colleagues at Ohio State University have discovered that allergic reactions trigger changes in brain behavior development in unborn males and females. This latest brain development discovery will ultimately help researchers better understand how neurological conditions can differ between men and women.
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
New Study Finds Unexpected Link Between Immune Cells and Male/Female Differences
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have made a surprising discovery: during fetal development, a particular immune cell seems to play a key role in determining the male or female characteristics of the brain.
Tuesday, July 31, 2018
University of Maryland School of Medicine Establishes Two Endowed Professorships Through Private Gifts and Matching State Funds
University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, announced today that the school has been awarded matching funds from the Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative Fund (MEIF), administered by the Maryland Department of Commerce. The funds, when combined with private philanthropy, will enable UMSOM to establish two new endowed professorships – one in Microbiology and Immunology, and one in Pharmacology.
Monday, July 16, 2018
Microbes from Birth Canal May Affect Stress Levels of Offspring
Researchers have long known that stress during pregnancy may be transferred from the mother to her offspring. Many studies have shown that this stress can have long-lasting impacts on the physical and emotional health of the offspring. However, the mechanisms of this transfer have remained mysterious. A new study has unraveled one possible way in which these effects move from mother to child.
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Scientists Identify Mechanism That May Explain Why Males Have a Higher Risk for Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Researchers have recently begun to realize that biological sex plays a key role in disease risk. Sex differences play a role in hypertension, diabetes, arthritis – and in many neurological and psychiatric disorders. Depression and anxiety affect females more, while neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorders, early onset schizophrenia, and attention deficit hyperactivity, affect more males. Males are also more sensitive to issues during pregnancy, such as maternal stress, maternal infection and exposure to drugs.
Friday, June 15, 2018
Acting Chairs Appointed for Pharmacology and Physical Therapy Departments During Chair Sabbaticals
University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, announced today that two department chairs, Margaret McCarthy, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Pharmacology, and Mark Rogers, PhD, PT, FAPTA, the George R. Hepburn Dynasplint Professor and Chair, Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science (PTRS), will be taking sabbatical leave during the 2019 fiscal year. In making the announcement, Dean Reece noted that acting chairs have been named to provide leadership in these two departments during this period.
Thursday, May 03, 2018
Renowned Journalist Nicholas Kristof Speaks on Justice and Society
Renowned New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof will speak on May 3 at the Peabody Library in Baltimore on the need to build a fairer society.
Thursday, March 01, 2018
Increased Stress on Fathers Leads to Brain Development Changes in Offspring
New research in mice has found that a father’s stress affects the brain development of his offspring. This stress changes the father’s sperm, which can then alter the brain development of the child. This new research provides a much better understanding of the key role that fathers play in the brain development of offspring.
Thursday, December 07, 2017
University of Maryland School of Medicine Scientists Identify the First Brain Cells to Respond to Sound
Some expectant parents play classical music for their unborn babies, hoping to boost their children’s cognitive capacity. While some research supports a link between prenatal sound exposure and improved brain function, scientists had not identified any structures responsible for this link in the developing brain.