Our faculty members train graduate PhD students for independent careers in biomedical research and teach professional students the fundamental principles of physiology and biophysics. We also are actively engaged in scientific research in a variety of areas that focus particularly on the cellular, molecular and developmental biology of the nervous system. We also serve on a wide range of local and national committees and professional organizations, and we are committed to programs aimed at increasing diversity and strengthening underrepresented minorities in our institution. In short, the mission of the department is to teach, to perform scholarly work, and to be of service to the academic community.   

In addition to the core faculty, the department comprises administrative and laboratory staff, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and joint appointees. Fellows and students can be found under the home page of their faculty mentor.

Current research projects under investigation cover a broad range of biological problems such as the control of secretion of oxytocin and vasopressin from the hypothalamus (Sladek), recycling of synaptic vesicles (Betz), transduction and modulation of signals in the olfactory bulb (Schoppa), mechanisms of sound localization in mammals (Tollin), the transport of bicarbonate ions across cell membranes (Grichtchenko), the role of glia and spontaneous secretion of transmitter in the brain (Vijayaraghavan), characterization of sodium channel isoforms in excitable cells (Levinson), regulation of potassium channel expression during development (Ribera), excitation-contraction coupling (Beam), and cellular & molecular aspects of mammary gland biology (Neville).

This broad array of research projects requires the use of an equally broad assortment of cutting edge techniques and instruments. These include advanced electrophysiology, a wide array of molecular biological tools, multiple types of optical microscopes, electron microscopy, and novel biochemical (including photochemical) tools.

The faculty are also active participants in interdepartmental programs, including MSTP, Neuroscience, Cell & Developmental Biology, Molecular Biology, and Immunology.

Click here for a list of all graduate training programs.