Investigators

Air Force Research Laboratory

• Chris Valdez, Ph.D. – Neuronal effects of high energy exposure

Anesthesiology

• Maxim Eckmann, M.D. – Management and Treatment of Pain

Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies

Biochemistry & Structural Biology

• Bernard Fongang, Ph.D. – Computational tools to study genetic and environmental factors in
  Alzheimer’s Disease and other neurodegenerative disorders
• Xianlin Han, Ph.D. – Sulfatide and myelin lipids in pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s Disease and aging
• Jean Jiang, Ph.D. – Connexins in gap junction and hemichannel function and dysfunction
• Bruce Nicholson, Ph.D. – Connexins in gap junction function and pathophysiology

Cell Systems & Anatomy

• Yidong Bai, Ph.D. – Mitochondrial dysfunction in neurodegeneration and aging
• Lizhen Chen, Ph.D. – Mechanisms of neuronal aging and degeneration; axon regeneration
• Bess Frost, Ph.D. – Brain aging and neurodegeneration; Alzheimer’s Disease; tauopathy
• Erzsebet Kokovay, Ph.D. – Neural stem cells; adult neurogenesis in aging and injury
• Robin Leach, Ph.D. – Pharmacogenetics and health disparities; biomarkers in urologic cancers
• James Lechleiter, Ph.D. – Mechanisms of neuroprotection in stroke, TBI, neurodegeneration
• Luiz Penalva, Ph.D. – Regulators of gene expression in neural development and tumor formation
• Qitao Ran, Ph.D. – Mitochondrial function and oxidative damage in neurodegenerative disease
• Russel Reiter, Ph.D. – Oxidative damage in neurodegeneration; melatonin antioxidant activity
• Kris Vogel, Ph.D. – DNA damage and repair genes in neurofibromatosis type 1 disease severity
• Christi Walter, Ph.D. – DNA damage and repair; autism and neurodevelopmental disorders
• Habil Zare, Ph.D. – Computational neurobiology, machine learning in gene network analysis

Cellular & Integrative Physiology

• Manzoor Bhat, Ph.D. – Neuron-glia interaction; neurodevelopment; neurodevelopmental disorders
• Carie Boychuk, Ph.D. – Brain and autonomic regulation of energy homeostasis
• Jeffery Boychuk, Ph.D. – Neural circuit reorganization with experience and injury
• Chu Chen, Ph.D. – Endocannabinoid signaling; neuroinflammation; neurodegeneration; TBI
• Lynette Daws, Ph.D. – Regulation of monoamine transporters, psychotherapeutic drug effects
• Ben Eaton, Ph.D. – Effects of age and diet on synaptic function and stability
• Georgianna Gould, Ph.D. – Role of Serotonin System in Shaping Social Behavior
• Peter Hornsby, Ph.D. – Stem cell therapy for age-related neurodegenerative disorders
• Hye Young Lee, Ph.D. – Ion channel dysregulation in neurodevelopmental disorders
• James Nelson, Ph.D. – Genetic and physiological factors in aging and lifespan
• Martin Paukert, M.D. – calcium signaling; neuron-astroglial interactions in arousal
• Jason Pugh, Ph.D. – Neuronal computation and signal processing in cerebellum
• Mark Shapiro, Ph.D. – Regulation and function of ion channels in neural signaling and disease
• James Stockand, Ph.D. – Cellular and molecular regulation of ENaC and aldosterone signaling
• Glenn Toney, Ph.D. – Brain regulation of sympathetic function; role in cardiovascular disease
• David Weiss, Ph.D. – Dean, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

Endodontics

• Armen Akopian, Ph.D. – Inflammatory and neuropathic pain
• Anibal Diogenes, D.D.S., Ph.D. – Peripheral modulation of pain; stem cells in regenerative endodontics
• Kenneth Hargreaves, D.D.S., Ph.D. – Neuropharmacology of inflammatory pain
• Asma Khan, Ph.D. – Mechanisms in the modulation and treatment of odontogenic pain
• Nikita Ruparel, D.D.S., Ph.D. – Mechanisms and novel therapeutics for inflammatory pain
• Shivani Ruparel, Ph.D. – Interaction of oral cancer cells and sensory neurons in pain and tumor progression

Glen Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases

• Kevin Bieniek, Ph.D. – Traumatic brain injury; neurodegenerative disorders
• Muralidhan Sargurupremraj, Ph.D. – Genetic mechanisms and causal pathways in Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias
• Sudha Seshadri, M.D. – Alzheimer’s Disease; neurodegenerative disorders
• Claudia Satizabal, Ph.D. – Lifestyle and genetic factors in neurodegenerative disorders, cognitive decline and dementia

Mays Cancer Center

• Andrew Brenner, M.D. – Neuro-oncology; hypoxic microenvironment in cancer therapy resistance
• Chethan Ramamurthy, M.D. – Cognitive impairment with prostate cancer treatment

Medicine

• Biju Chandu, Ph.D. – Olfactory function in neurodegenerative disease
• Robert Clark, M.D. – Biochemical processes in neurodegenerative disease; Parkinson’s Disease
• Subrata Debnath, Ph.D.
• Dean Kellogg, M.D., Ph.D. – Safety and efficacy of anti-aging drugs
• Senlin Li, M.D. – Stem cell-based cell and gene therapy for neurodegenerative diseases

Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics

• Alexei Tumanov, M.D., Ph.D. – Neuroimmunology; chronic inflammatory and neuropathic pain

Military Health Institute

• Jeremy Nelson, Ph.D. – Human performance and brain injury

Molecular Medicine

• Thomas Boyer, Ph.D. – Role of Mediator of Transcription in neurodevelopment and degeneration Maffi, Ph.D.

Neurology

• Robin Brey, M.D. – Neuroimmunology; neuropsychiatric lupus
• Jose Cavazos, M.D., Ph.D. – Epilepsy; clinical neurophysiology
• Mark Goldberg, M.D. – Brain injury and motor systems recovery after stroke and cerebral amyloid angiopathy
• Mitzi Gonzales, Ph.D. – Biomarkers and treatment of age-related cognitive decline and dementia
• Paul Ingmundson, Ph.D. – Sleep pathophysiology; treatment of sleep disorders
• Kameel Karkar, M.D. – Epilepsy
• Lola Morgan, M.D. – Epilepsy; clinical neurophysiology
• Michael Palm, M.D.
• Campbell Sullivan, Psy.D. – Neuropsychology; dementia; Alzheimer’s Disease
• Charles Szabo, M.D. – Epilepsy; clinical neurophysiology; neuroimaging

Neurosurgery

• Viktor Bartanusz, M.D., Ph.D. – spinal cord damage following trauma
• Sandeep Burma, Ph.D. – DNA repair and therapy resistance in glioblastoma
• Naomi Sayre, Ph.D. – Astrocyte lipoprotein metabolism in recovery from stroke and TBI

Nursing

• Danet Lapiz-Bluhm, R.N., Ph.D. – PTSD; cognitive impact of stress; stress vulnerability

Ophthalmology

• Rene Renteria, Ph.D. – Pathophysiology of diabetic retinopathy

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

• Nathan Jeske, Ph.D. – Biochemical signaling mechanisms in inflammatory pain and analgesia
• Yu Shin Kim, Ph.D. – Regulation of sensory modalities including pain, itch and gentle touch

Pediatrics

• Jannine Cody, Ph.D. – Chromosome 18 abnormalities in neurodevelopmental disorders

Pharmacology

• Kelly Berg, Ph.D. – G protein – coupled receptors, signal transduction, ligand functional selectivity
• Flavia Carreno, Ph.D. – Psychopharmacology; novel therapies for treatment-resistant depression
• Bill Clarke, Ph.D. – Molecular and cellular mechanisms of drug efficacy and functional selectivity
• Greg Collins, Ph.D. – Determinants of drug-seeking and drug-taking of abused substances
• Teresa Evans, Ph.D. – Student stress and mental health; K-12 STEM education
• Charles France, Ph.D. – Behavioral and pharmacological factors in the abuse liability of drugs
• Alan Frazer, Ph.D. – Mechanism of action of novel antidepressant drugs
• Milena Girotti, Ph.D. – Impact of stress on behavior mediated in the orbitofrontal cortex
• Andrea Giuffrida, Ph.D. – Role of endocannabiboids in regulating psychomotor function
• Sarah Hopp, Ph.D. – Role of microglia in neurodegeneration; inflammation in Alzheimer’s Disease
• Noboru Hiroi, Ph.D. – Genetic, cellular and molecular mechanisms of developmental neuropsychiatric disorders
• Sheela Kadapakkam, Ph.D. – Regulation of aldehyde detoxification in Parkinson’s Disease
• Jing Liu, Ph.D. – Neurobiology of stress-related psychiatric disorders and their treatment
• Daniel Lodge, Ph.D. – Systems level study of psychiatric disorders and treatment in animal models
• Liang Ma, Ph.D. – Functional genomics of neuropsychiatric and neurologic diseases; human iPS cell models
• David Morilak, Ph.D. – Mechanisms of stress-induced behavioral pathology and its treatment
• David Maguire, Ph.D. – Behavioral pharmacology; abuse potential of drugs; treatment of substance use disorders
• Jason O’Connor, Ph.D. – Neuroimmunology; mechanisms linking inflammation and depression
• James Roberts, Ph.D. – Neuroprotection and neurodegeneration in aging
• Gek-Ming Sia, Ph.D. – Neurodevelopment; mechanisms of synapse formation and elimination
• Randy Strong, Ph.D. – Role of catecholamines in neurodegeneration and aging; regulation of tyrosine hydroxylase gene expression

Physical Therapy

• Sandeep Subramanian, Ph.D. – Motor learning and rehabilitation after stroke

Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences

• Rajendra Badgaiyan, M.D. – Neuroimaging of the human brain during task performance
• Charles Bowden, M.D. – Bipolar disorder
• Donald Dougherty, M.D. – Impulsive behavior associated with substance abuse and suicidality
• Amy Garrett, Ph.D. – Neuroimaging to understand mechanisms of psychotherapy in children with mood and anxiety disorders; PTSD
• Brett Ginsburg, Ph.D. – Mechanisms of recovery from alcohol and synthetic cannabinoid abuse
• Nathalie Hill-Kapturczak, Ph.D. – Translational study of adolescents at risk for substance abuse
• Martin Javors, Ph.D. – Biomarkers of alcohol use; analytic measurement of bioactive drugs
• Wouter Koek, Ph.D. – Interaction of genetic and developmental factors in drug abuse
• Richard Lamb, Ph.D. – Conditioning and behavioral pathology in drug abuse, recovery and relapse
• Charles Mathias, Ph.D. – Mechanisms of impulsive, aggressive, addictive, and suicidal behaviors
• Alan Peterson, Ph.D. – Treatment of combat-related PTSD; psychological risk and resiliency
• Jennifer Potter, Ph.D. – Pharmacological and behavioral treatments for opioid use disorder
• John Roache, Ph.D. – Causes, consequences, and treatment of alcohol and drug addiction
• David Roberts, Ph.D. – Social cognitive treatment for serious mental illnesses
• Donald Royall, M.D. – Biomarkers and cognitive correlates of executive function and dementia
• Casey Straud, Psy.D. – Etiology, pathology, and treatment of PTSD and common comorbidities

Rehabilitation Medicine

• Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez, M.D. – traumatic brain injury, stroke, neurorehabilitation

Research Imaging Institute

• Peter Fox, M.D. – RII Director; clinical, computation and cognitive neurobiology; neuroimaging
• Sidath Kumarapperuma, Ph.D. – Development of novel neuroimaging methods
• Jack Lancaster, Ph.D. – Imaging processing for MRI and PET

Surgery

• Paula Shireman, M.D. – Stem cell biology, vascular repair, aging and muscle regeneration

Texas Biomedical Research Institute

• Melanie Carless, Ph.D. – MicroRNA regulation of gene expression in neuropsychiatric disorders
• Marcel Daadi, Ph.D. – Neural stem cells for therapeutic use in Parkinson’s and other diseases

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