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Research in Neuroscience

Areas of Research

The Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program is a campus wide organization that brings together students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty across multiple colleges and academic units for the purposes of fostering neuroscience education and research to promote interdisciplinary training and interaction. Interdisciplinary neuroscience research spans departments in The College of Arts and Science, The David B. Falk College of Sports and Human Dynamics and The College of Engineering and Computer Science.

Areas of Expertise

​Animal and cellular models of neurological disease, analysis of animal behavior, cellular imaging and analysis, cell and molecular biology, structural biology and biophysics, biochemistry, fMRI, EEG, electrocochleography, cognitive neuroscience, computational neuroscience, single cell recording, mathematical modeling, developmental neuroscience.

Biology

Areas of Research

  • Astrocyte and neuronal bioenergetics in learning and memory
  • Hormonal regulation of learning and memory
  • Astrocyte contribution to CNS injury and protection
  • Transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of neuronal and astrocytic genes
  • Cell signaling and communication
  • Redox regulation of astrocytoma proliferation and survival
  • Mechanisms underlying seizures, epilepsy, and stroke
  • Neuroinflammation in CNS biology and pathobiology
  • Changes in nervous system function across the lifespan
  • Spinal cord interneuron development, patterning and specification
  • Formation of functional neuronal circuitry
  • Neocortical development, and disruptions in autism spectrum disorders
  • Gene – environment interactions altering neuronal development and function
Biomedical and Chemical Engineering

Areas of Research

  • Spinal cord injury and repair
  • Use of polymeric biomaterials and nanoparticles for translational applications in nerve regeneration
  • Signal processing and systems analysis of the auditory system with an emphasis on cochlear implants
  • Visual psychophysics
Chemistry

Areas of Research

  • Investigating neuroimmune interactions by creating new probes and techniques to monitor in vivo interactions among diverse cell and tissue types.
  • Understanding the structural, dynamical, and functional consequences of PTMs, as they pertain to neurodegenerative and neuromuscular disorders.
Communications Sciences and Disorders

Areas of Research

  • Psychoacoustics
  • Neural processing of sounds in the peripheral and central auditory system
  • Neural correlates of voice and swallowing disorders
  • Otoacoustic emissions and auditory brainstem responses for classification of hearing loss
  • Neural correlates of language processing in stroke-induced aphasia
  • Electroencephalographic markers of sleep and fatigue after stroke
  • Neural basis of speech perception and production, including applications to developmental speech and language disorders
Exercise Science

Areas of Research

  • Study of neurovascular coupling in health, disease and disability
  • Study of neurovascular coupling over the human life span: effects of diet and exercise
Psychology

Areas of Research

  • Study of human memory (memory cues and memory disorders)
  • Computational modeling of human memory and decision making
  • Sensory processing in typically developing children, children with developmental disabilities, and children on the autism spectrum
  • Developmental psychopathology
  • Reciprocal pathways between nicotine addiction and chronic pain
  • Substance use and abuse
  • Behavioral and neural correlates of decision processes
  • The relationship between mood disorders and biased cognitive processing
  • Cognitive mechanisms underlying human learning and memory (categorization and attention)
  • Stress-related psychopathology
  • Suicidality and borderline personality disorder
  • Social support and affectionate behavior to facilitate coping with stress
  • Visual attention and movements
  • Characterizing cognitive processes by means of mathematical models
  • Attachment and close relationships across the lifespan
Public Health, Food Studies, and Nutrition

Areas of Research

  • Neurobiology of addiction
  • Environmental toxicants and cardiac autonomic regulation
  • HPA axis and cortisol dysregulation among veterans and first-responders with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • The effects of mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) on HPA axis, cortisol dysregulation and cognitive processes
  • Connections between meta-cognition, cognitive processes, and physical well-being
  • The role of mindfulness in health, self-regulation, and thriving among children and young adults