Roberta Diaz Brinton, Ph.D. University of Southern California
Research in the Brinton laboratory is focused on discovery of mechanisms by which the aging brain develops late onset Alzheimer’s and therapeutics that target these mechanisms to prevent, delay and treat the disease. Our research spans basic mechanistic discovery to FDA IND enabling translational analyses to Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials.Our NIA sponsored discovery research has investigated the neuro-systems-biology of aging in the sex with greatest risk of developing late onset Alzheimer’s.
Marisa Bartolomei, Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
The research in the Bartolomei laboratory focuses on the study of genomic imprinting and epigenetic gene regulation in mice. To understand how genomic imprinting is regulated, the Bartolomei laboratory has examined cis-acting sequences at imprinted loci and trans-acting factors that confer and maintain allele-specific epigenetic modifications in the germline and early embryos. Moreover, we are also determining how the environment, including procedures used in Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) and endocrine disruptors, affect imprinting and epigenetic gene regulation.
Dianne K. Newman, Ph.D. California Institute of Technology
Dianne Newman’s research focuses on understanding the coevolution of microbial metabolism and environmental chemistry. The contexts that motivate her research span ancient sedimentary deposits to chronic infections. Her work is helping to reshape interpretations of ancient molecular fossils as well as redox-active “secondary” metabolites.
E. Peter Greenberg, Ph.D. University of Washington School of Medicine
Dr. Greenberg studies bacterial communication and cooperation. His work focuses on quorum sensing in the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. He has elucidated the quorum sensing signals, determines how the signals are synthesized, how the signal receptors function to activate a constellation of about 300 genes in P. aeruginosa, and he has developed quorum sensing antagonists.
Yang Dan, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley
Yang Dan’s lab uses electrophysiology, imaging, optogenetic, and computational techniques to study functions of the mammalian brain. They have studied microcircuits underlying visual cortical computation and mechanisms for cortical plasticity at multiple levels, from synapse to perception. Recent work has revealed the mechanisms by which brainstem, hypothalamus, and basal forebrain circuits exert powerful control of sleep-wake brain states.
Bing Ren, Ph.D. Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of California, San Diego
The long-term objective of the Ren lab’s research is to understand the gene regulatory program in mammalian cells. Dr. Ren believes that a thorough understanding of this process will help elucidate the molecular basis of many human diseases and develop effective therapeutics. In the past five years, his lab has focused on the embryonic stem (ES) cells as a model system, and used genomic strategies to study the gene regulatory mechanisms underlying pluripotency and lineage specification.
Linda Griffith, Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
“Mice are not little people,” is a refrain that is becoming louder as the strengths and weaknesses of animal models of human disease become more apparent. At the same time, three emerging approaches are headed toward integration: powerful systems-biology analysis of cell-cell and intracellular signaling networks in patient-derived samples; 3D tissue-engineered models of human organ systems, often made from stem cells; and micro-fluidic and meso-fluidic devices that enable living systems to be sustained, perturbed, and analyzed for weeks in culture. Dr.
Mother’s milk has an organizational effect on infant outcomes, not just by providing the energy that sustains growth, but by transferring bioactives that influence immunological, neurobiological, microbial, neurobiological and behavioral development. Guided by evolutionary theory, Dr. Hinde investigates how variation in mother’s milk influences infant outcomes from post-natal life into adulthood and subsequent generations.
DNA is our genetic blueprint. Generally it is expected that RNA sequences are identical to the underlying DNA. However, there are exceptions to this one-to-one relationship, such as the A-to-G RNA editing mediated by ADAR proteins. The Cheung lab uncovered many more sites where RNA sequences differ from the underlying DNA, beyond those mediated by the known RNA-editing mechanisms. Dr. Cheung will describe their findings of RNA-DNA sequence Differences, RDDs, and how their study of juvenile amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is leading to an understanding of RDD formation.
Yasmin Hurd, Ph.D. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Dr. Hurd is an internationally renowned neuroscientist whose translational research examines the neurobiology of drug abuse and related psychiatric disorders. She is extensively published in the field and leads a team of investigators in molecular biology, behavioral neuropharmacology, genetics and neuroimaging to study the human brain as well as translational animal models.
This page was last updated on Tuesday, August 10, 2021
