Thematic Research Areas:
Cell Biology, Cell Signaling, and Pharmacology Research

Cell biology, cell signaling and pharmacology research represents a broad multi-disciplinary group of investigators interested in basic cellular mechanisms, organ and body physiology and clinical mechanisms of disease. The consortium is comprised of more than 50 faculty members with expertise in the areas of angiogenesis, cancer, computational cell biology, cell and tissue imaging, cytoskeleton and molecular motors, molecular medicine and genomic expression, reproductive biology, endocrinology, mechanistic and translational stem cell biology, molecular and systems pharmacology, molecular cardiology, signal transduction and vascular biology.

Cell biology, cell signaling and pharmacology research employs a diverse array of model systems in these areas including recombinant protein systems, prokaryotes, yeast, mammalian cell and tissue cultures, genetically modified and standard mouse models and translational sciences with human disease cells, tissues and clinical samples. Integration of advances in deep sequencing to evaluate non-coding RNAs, epigenetic modifications, disease susceptibility, large scale gene expression are currently applied to many investigators areas of interest. The diversity of this group provides students with unique opportunities for interdisciplinary training, exposure to advanced technologies, and unique access to translation research groups.


Rashmi Bansal, Associate Professor of Neuroscience; Ph.D., Central Drug Research Institute, 1976. The developmental, cellular and molecular biology of oligodendrocytes (OLs).

Elisa Barbarese, Professor of Neuroscience, Ph.D., McGill University. Developmental neurobiology, myelination, and multiple sclerosis.

Stefan Brocke, Assistant Professor, M.D., Ph.D., Cellular and molecular mechanisms of brain injury in inflammatory and inflammation-associated disorders of the central nervous system.

Gordon G. Carmichael, Professor of Genetics and Developmental Biology; Ph.D., Harvard, 1975. Regulation of gene expression in eukaryotes.

Joan M. Caron, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology; Ph.D., University of Connecticut. Biochemical, cell biological and genetic approaches to examine the function of microtubules, and to identify new anti-microtubule drugs for use against cancer.

John H. Carson, Professor of Molecular, Microbial and Structural Biology, B.A., Reed College, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology. RNA transport in cells of the nervous system.

Kevin Claffey, Associate Professor of Cell Biology; Ph.D., Boston University School of Medicine, 1989. Angiogenesis in cancer progression and metastasis; vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression; hypoxia-mediated gene regulation.

Robert B. Clark, Associate Professor of Immunology, M.D., Stanford, 1975. Autoimmunity; immune regulation; regulatory T cells.

Ann Cowan, Associate Professor of Molecular, Microbial and Structural Biology; Deputy Director, Center for Biomedical Imaging Technology; Ph.D., University of Colorado, 1984. Research encompassing several areas of mammalian sperm development.

Stephen J. Crocker, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, Ph.D., University of Ottowa. Stem cells; glia; metalloproteinases; cytokines; development; pathology; tissue culture.

Asis K. Das, Professor of Molecular, Microbial and Structural Biology, B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D. University of Calcutta. Genetics, genomics and mechanisms of bacterial adaptive response; genetic control of bacteriophage lysogeny and lysis; and non-coding RNAs in prokaryotic development.

Caroline N. Dealy, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Oral Rehabilitation, Biomaterials and Skeletal Development, Center for Regenerative Medicine and Skeletal Development. The molecular regulation of limb development in the vertebrate embryo, from early stages where the limb is initially formed, to limb patterning and outgrowth, to skeletogenesis.

Anne Delany, Assistant Professor of Medicine. Ph.D., Dartmouth Medical School. Study of non-collagenous matrix proteins and metalloproteinases important in bone remodeling. This includes investigation of the function and post-transcriptional regulation of osteonectin or SPARC in bone, and the function and regulation of the metastasis associated metalloproteinase, stromelsyin-3, in bone.

Kimberly Dodge-Kafka, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology, Center for Cardiology and Cardiovascular Research; Ph.D., University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston, 1999. Molecular mechanism of signaling pathways in the heart.

David I. Dorsky, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases; M.D., Ph.D., Harvard, 1976. Anti-HIV and anti-herpesvirus drug mechanisms, herpesviral DNA polymerases, gene transfer strategies applied to bioengineering and studies of antigen presentation.

Betty Eipper, Professor of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, B.S., M.S., Brown University, Ph.D., Harvard University. Biosynthesis and secretion of peptides by neurons and endocrine cells.

Paul Epstein, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Cell Biology. Receptor signal transduction, second messengers, and protein phosphorylation in control of cell growth and regulation; purification and regulation of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases; role of calmodulin in mediating Ca2+-dependent cell processes.

Alan Fein, Professor of Cell Biology; Ph.D., Johns Hopkins, 1973. Molecular basis of visual excitation and adaptation.

Maurice B. Feinstein, Professor of Cell Biology; Ph.D., SUNY Downstate Medical Center, 1960. Role of blood platelet proteins in thromboembolic diseases (e.g., heart attack, stroke).

Guo-Hua Fong, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology, Ph.D., University of Illinois. Developmental biology of the vascular system, VEGF-A receptor signal transduction, embryonic stem cells and gene knock-out in mice.

A. Jon Goldberg, Professor of Prosthodontics, Director of the Center for Biomaterials, Ph.D., University of Michigan. Biomaterials, with studies involving structure-property relationships, development of novel systems, clinical evaluations and surface analysis.

Brenton R. Graveley, Associate Professor of Genetics and Developmental Biology. Ph.D., University of Vermont, 1996. Regulation of alternative pre-mRNA splicing.

Gloria Gronowicz, Professor and Director of Orthopaedic Research, Department of Orthopaedics, Ph.D., Columbia University. Effects of hormones and growth factors on the production of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, on the regulation of integrins (receptors for ECM proteins) and on apoptosis in bone; response of bone cells to implant biomaterials.

Arthur Günzl, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Genetics and Developmental Biology and Center for Microbial Pathogenesis. Transcription and Antigenic Variation in the mammalian parasite Trypanosoma brucei.

David Han, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology, Ph.D., Washington University, 1994. Apoptosis signaling using proteomics and mass spectrometry and bioinformatics technologies.

Arthur R. Hand, Professor of Orthodontics and Maxillofacial Surgery, Pediatric Dentistry and Advanced Education in General Dentistry, Division of Pediatric Dentistry, D.D.S., University of California, Los Angeles. Study of gene expression in rodent salivary glands during normal growth and development and in various experimental conditions employing morphological, immunological and biochemical methodology.

Christopher Heinen, Assistant Professor of Medicine, B.Sc., Northwestern University, Ph.D., University of Cincinnati. Biochemical and cellular defects of the DNA mismatch repair pathway during tumorigenesis.

James Hewett, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, Ph.D., Michigan State University. Mechanisms of cell injury and inflammation in the central nervous system.

Sandra Hewett, Professor of Neuroscience, B.S., Providence College, Ph.D., Michigan State University. Mechanisms underlying cell death in the central nervous system: the interplay between excitotoxicity and inflammation.

Chi-Kuang Huang, Associate Professor of Immunology, B.S., National Taiwan University; M.Phil., Ph.D., Yale University. Signal transduction in stimulated neutrophil and lymphocytes, roles of protein kinase and phosphoproteins in cell activation; chemotaxis.

Marja Hurley, Professor of Medicine, M.D., University of Connecticut School of Medicine. Molecular mechanisms by which members of the fibroblast growth factor (FGFs) and fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) families, (produced by osteoblasts, osteoclasts and stromal cells) regulate bone development, remodeling and disorders of bone. Fgf2 knockout and Fgf2 transgenic mice are utilized in loss and gain of function experiments to elucidate the role of FGF-2 in disorders of bone including osteoporosis.

Laurinda A. Jaffe, Professor of Cell Biology; Ph.D., UCLA, 1977. The cell biology of fertilization, and the regulation of meiosis in oocytes.

Ingela Jansson, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology, Ph.D. DNA-binding proteins in metallothionine induction and Cytochrome P450-cytochrome b5 interactions.

Stephen M. King, Professor of Molecular, Microbial and Structural Biology; Ph.D., University College, London, 1982. Cell biology, structure and function of molecular motors, dynein biochemistry and cell biology, structural biology.

Lawrence A. Klobutcher, Professor of Molecular, Microbial and Structural Biology, B.S., Loyola University (Chicago), Ph.D., Yale University. DNA rearrangement in eukaryotic cells.

Dennis E. Koppel, Professor of Biochemistry; Ph.D., Columbia, 1973. Application of biophysical techniques to membrane dynamics; mechanisms by which specialized cell-surface domains are produced and maintained.

Leo Lefrançois, Professor of Immunology, B.S., Colorado State University; Ph.D., Wake Forest University. T-cell activation and migration, T-cell memory; immune response to infection; tolerance; vaccines.

Eric S. Levine, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, B.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ph.D., Princeton University. Synaptic physiology and plasticity, in particular the roles of nerve growth factors and endogenous cannabinoids in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex.

Bruce Liang, Professor of Medicine, M.D., Harvard Medical School, 1982. Signal transduction, cardiac and vascular cell biology, receptors, G proteins, transgenic mice.

Leslie M. Loew, Professor of Cell Biology; Ph.D., Cornell, 1974. Spectroscopic methods for measuring spatial and temporal variations in membrane potential; electric field effects on cell membranes; membrane pores induced by toxins and antibiotics.

Sanjay Mallya, Assistant Professor of Oral Health and Diagnostic Sciences, Division of Oral Diagnosis, B.D.S., M.D.S., University of Bombay; Ph.D., University of Connecticut. Molecular genetics of oral cancer, effects of parathyroid hormone on bone.

Nilanjana Maulik, Associate Professor of Surgery; Ph.D., University of Calcutta, 1990. Molecular and Cellular signaling during myocardial ischemia and reperfusion.

Bruce J. Mayer, Associate Professor of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Ph.D., Rockefeller University, Mechanisms of signal transduction.

William A. Mohler, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Genetics and Developmental Biology. Developmental cell fusion; C. elegans genetics; multidimensional imaging of developmental and cell biological processes.

D. Kent Morest, M.D., Professor of Neuroscience. Role of cell and tissue interactions in the migration and differentiation of neurons; structure and function of neurons during development and synapse formation.

Bijay Mukherji, Professor of Medicine, M.D., Calcutta University. Tumor immunology and cancer vaccines, tumor-specific antigens.

Douglas L. Oliver, Professor of Neuroscience, Ph.D., Duke University. Synaptic organization; parallel information processing in the central nervous system; Ionic currents and channel expression and their role in information processing; neurocytology, morphology, and cellular physiology of CNS sensory systems; biology of hearing and deafness.

Flavia A. O'Rourke, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology; Ph.D., Connecticut, 1976. Signal transduction in human platelets with specific interest in the inositol phosphate signaling pathway and its regulation.

Joel S. Pachter, Professor of Cell Biology; Ph.D., NYU, 1983. Use of laser capture microdissection for gene profiling of the neurovascular unit in health and disease.

Achilles J. Pappano, Professor of Cell Biology, B.S., St. Joseph's College, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania. Development of autonomic innervation and of autonomic neuroeffector transmission in the embryonic chick heart.

John J. Peluso, Professor of Cell Biology, Ph.D., West Virginia University, 1974. Hormonal control of ovarian follicular growth and atresia (apoptosis); characterization of a putative membrane receptor for progesterone.

Carol C. Pilbeam, Professor of Medicine; Ph.D., Yale University, 1982. M.D., Yale School of Medicine. Mechanisms of regulation of bone formation and resorption.

Ernst Reichenberger, Assistant Professor of Oral Rehabilitation, Biomaterials and Skeletal Development, Center for Regenerative Medicine and Skeletal Development. Ph.D., University of Erlangen. The Reichenberger laboratory is interested in learning about the complex processes required for generating and maintaining the skin and bones. To find out how the mechanisms operate in a healthy person, we study human genetic disorders in which they are disrupted.

Vladimir Rodionov, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology; Ph.D., Moscow State University, 1980. Research in this laboratory is focused on molecular mechanisms of intracellular transport and organization of microtubule cytoskeleton.

Daniel W. Rosenberg, Ph.D., Professor of Medicine. Molecular genetics of colorectal cancer; signaling pathways in the development of tumors; toxicogenomics

Mansoor Sarfarazi, Ph.D., Professor of Surgery. Positional mapping and mutation analysis of human genetic disorders; primary open angle glaucoma, primary congenital glaucoma, synpolydactyly, dyslexia, mitral valve prolapse and ascending aortic aneurysm.

John B. Schenkman, Professor of Cell Biology; Ph.D., SUNY Upstate Medical Center, 1964. Isolation and characterization of cytochrome P450 forms in mammalian tissues, mechanism of action of cytochrome P450, protein-protein interaction in the monoxygenase reaction.

Linda Shapiro, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology; Ph.D., University of Michigan 1984. To dissect and analyze the regulation of tissue-restricted gene expression, my laboratory has concentrated on understanding the molecular mechanisms controlling transcription of the CD13/APN gene in hematopoietic cells and more recently, in angiogenic endothelium.

Henry Smilowitz, Professor of Radiology, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Development of novel therapies for experimental advanced, imminently lethal malignant brain tumors in rats and mice; Use of gold nanoparticles to develop a new form of radiation therapy (gold-enhanced radiation therapy) and novel approaches to both tumor and vascular imaging.

Pramod K. Srivastava, Professor of Medicine, Ph.D., Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India. Heat shock proteins as peptide chaperones, roles in antigen presentation and applications in immunotherapy of cancer, infectious diseases and autoimmune disorders.

Mark R. Terasaki, Associate Professor of Cell Biology, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 1983. Mechanism of nuclear envelope breakdown; structure and function of the endoplasmic reticulum

Jennifer Tirnauer, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Center for Molecular Medicine; M.D., University of Maryland School of Medicine, 1989. Role of the microtubule cytoskeleton in cancer biology; molecular mechanisms of microtubule regulation.

Hung Ton-That, Assistant Professor of Molecular, Microbial and Structural Biology, B.S., Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles. Pilus assembly and sortase-mediated anchoring of surface proteins in Gram-positive bacteria.

James Watras, Associate Professor of Medicine; Ph.D., Washington State, 1979. The mechanisms by which the sarcoplasmic reticulum regulates intracellular calcium concentration in vascular smooth muscle.

Bruce A. White, Professor of Cell Biology; Ph.D., Berkeley, 1980. Aspects of prolactin and growth hormone gene expression in the rat pituitary and rat pituitary tumor cell lines.

Charles Wolgemuth, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology; Ph.D., University of Arizona. My research objectives deal with using physics to understand biological systems. My main interests lie in morphology, propulsion, growth and fluid dynamics.

Catherine H. Wu, Professor of Medicine; Ph.D., CUNY, Brooklyn, 1976. Molecular control mechanisms involved in the regulation of collagen synthesis at a molecular level.

George Y. Wu, Professor of Medicine; M.D./Ph.D., Yeshiva (Einstein), 1976. Use of receptor-mediated endocytosis as a natural mechanism for targeting substances to specific cell-types.

Lixia Yue, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology, Center for Cardiology and Cardiovascular Biology; Ph.D., McGill University, 1999. TRP channels and Ca2+ signaling mechanisms; Physiological and pathological functions of TRP channels in heart, brain, and kidney.