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Research Topics



Neuroscience Research Group  

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Neuroscientists in the Department of Physiology bring a strong interdisciplinary scientific approach to the study of the nervous system. Our students, post-docs and faculty are using molecular, cell biological, anatomical, electrophysiological, behavioral, and optical techniques to understand how the brain develops, how neurons communicate with each other, how brain cells maintain ionic homeostasis, and how these vital processes are disturbed in diseases such as epilepsy, Down’s syndrome, Alzheimer’s, and neuromuscular disease.

Neuroscience Faculty and Interest  

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Membrane Biology Research Group 

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Faculty in the Department of Physiology are internationally recognized for their research into the cellular and molecular aspects of membrane physiology. Understanding the function of ion channels, transporters and pumps, as well as structural proteins and cell adhesion molecules, lends insight into a variety of physiological processes. Researchers are attempting to understand how membranes maintain chemical gradients, regulate excitability and mediate signal transduction. See the website of the Membrane Biology Training Program for more information.

Membrane Biology Faculty and Interest  

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Reproductive Biology Research Group  

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The control of reproduction involves diverse organs including the brain, pituitary, gonads and reproductive tract. Researchers in the Department of Physiology are focused primarily on the control of female reproduction with emphasis on the development of the neuroendocrine axis, ovarian and uterine physiology and the regulation and function of steroid receptors. 

Reproductive Biology Faculty and Interest  

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Endocrinology Research Group  

Members of the Department of Physiology conduct cutting edge research into the basic cellular mechanisms of hormone action. These studies illuminate our understanding of diverse processes such as growth and development, as well as specific diseases such as prostate cancer and diabetes.

Endocrinology Faculty and Interest  

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Functional Genomics and Molecular Medicine Research Group  

The Department of Physiology is responding to the opportunities and challenges of the post-genome sequencing era. We are translating sequence information into an understanding of gene function in health and disease, cracking the code of life. Research programs highlight all areas of the field, including molecular genetics, transgenic and gene knockout technology, physiological genomics, mutagenesis and heterologous expression, analysis of protein-protein interactions, and DNA microarray technology. By combining modern genetic tools with state-of-the-art techniques in physiology, cell biology and neuroscience, our graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and faculty are discovering how genes work in health and fail in disease. See the Molecular Medicine website for more information on our training program.

Functional Genomics and Molecular Medicine Faculty and Interest  

  • Robert Bloch, The structure and function of the membrane systems in muscle, and the effects of muscular dystrophy and other myopathies
  • Mordecai Blaustein, Molecular mechanisms of calcium signaling
  • Robert Koos, Molecular mechanisms of angiogenesis
  • W. Jon Lederer, Molecular models of cardiac dysfunction
  • Andrea L. Meredith, Ion Channels 
  • Alan Shuldiner, Molecular genetics of type 2 (adult) onset diabetes and obesity
  • B. Vogel, Extracellular matrix proteins and cell surface receptors in epithelial morphogenesis and cell architecture, C. Elegans
  • James Wade, Membrane traffic of epithelial transporters and channels
  • Paul Welling, Molecular mechanisms of salt balance and blood pressure control in health and disease

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Cardiovascular and Renal Physiology Research Group  

Faculty in the Department of Physiology are internationally recognized for their research into the cellular and molecular aspects of cardiovascular and kidney function. We employ an interdisciplinary approach, using molecular, cell biological, electrophysiological, transgenic, functional genomic and optical techniques to understand how the cardiovascular-renal system works. Many of our graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and faculty are focused on elucidating the mechanisms of human disease, including hypertension, heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias and inherited disorders of salt and water balance.

Learn more about our Training Programs in Cardiovascular Cell Biology and Vascular Biology.  

Learn more about our Research Program in Hypertension through a NHLBI-funded Program Project Grant  

Cardiovascular and Renal Faculty  

  • Robert Bloch, The structure and function of the membrane systems in muscle, and the effects of muscular dystrophy and other myopathies
  • Mordecai Blaustein, Mechanisms of calcium signaling
  • Vera Golovina, Understanding the mechanisms of regulation of Ca2+ signaling in glial and vascular smooth muscle cells and its role in physiological and pathophysiological processes
  • John Hamyln, Endogenous ouabain and mechanisms of hypertension
  • Joseph P. Y. Kao, Molecular Mechanisms of Calcium signaling
  • H. Moo Kwon 
  • W. Jon Lederer, Molecular models of cardiac dysfunction
  • Shawn Robinson, Pathophyisology of hypertensive heart disease, heart failure
  • Alan Shuldiner, Molecular genetics of type 2 (adult) onset diabetes, obesity, and hypertension
  • Marc Simard, Cerebral circulation, stroke
  • Matthew Trudeau, The molecular specializations underlying ion channel function in potassium channels activated by voltage and cation channels activated by intracellular cyclic nucleotides
  • James Wade, Membrane traffic of epithelial transporters
  • W. Gill Wier, Calcium signaling in heart and vascular smooth muscle
  • E. J. Weinman, Molecular mechanisms of salt balance, PDZ based protein-protein interactions
  • Paul Welling, Molecular mechanisms of ion channels in salt balance and blood pressure control

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