Neuroscience
The Neuroscience Subprogram (NS) examines the organization and function of the nervous system at all levels, from molecular, cellular, systems and behavioral perspectives. Areas of research include molecular genetics of development, neurotransmitters and signal transduction, learning, neuroethology, neuroanatomy and neurophysiology of sensory and motor systems, oculomotor control, neuroendocrine systems, and neurobiology of brain disorders.
The NS subprogram is offered by the CUNY Neuroscience Collaborative in conjunction with the Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience training area for the Ph.D. Psychology. Doctoral students admitted into the NS subprogram in Biology are part of this Collaborative and will receive training across traditional program boundaries, preparing them for the increasingly interdisciplinary research taking place in neuroscience today.
Faculty include members of the staff of the Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities.
| Ahmed, Zaghloul - Neuronal injury and repair, electromagnetic stimulation, rehabilitative techniques and devices |
| Alvarado, Sebastián - How epigenetic mechanisms shape neuronal substrates and how they relate to evolution |
| Amarasingham, Asohan - Neural circuits and their models, neural coding, statistics of neurophysiological signals |
| Beeler , Jeff - Information processing and plasticity in basal ganglia circuitry and its contribution to motivational plasticity, behavioral flexibility and neuropsychiatric disorders (PD, obesity, addiction, depression) |
| Bikson, Marom - Neural engineering, electric field-neuronal interactions, epilepsy, medical devices |
| Broderick, Patricia A. - In vivo microvoltammetry; neurotransmitters and behavior; human epilepsy; cocaine addiction; schizophrenia; depression and anxiety |
| Brumberg, Joshua - Electrophysiology, imaging and anathomy of cortical circuits in the rodent somatosensoty cortex, in vivo and in vitro. |
| Casaccia, Patrizia - Epigenetic regulation of oligodendroglia in development and disease/ Environmental control of brain health and disease, Gut-brain communication/ Multiple Sclerosis/ Glial Tumors |
| Chauhan, Abha - Oxidative stress in autism, amyloid beta-protein fibrillization in Alzheimer |
| Cortes, Patricia - Maintenance of Genome Stability, DNA repair, and V(D)J recombination |
| Emerson, Mark M. - Cone photoreceptor development; Cis-regulatory elements in neuronal development and transcriptional specificity. |
| Forlano, Paul M. - Behavioral neuroendocrinology, cellular and molecular neuroethology of vocal-acoustic communication in fishes, comparative vertebrate neuroanatomy |
| Friedman, Allyson - Dissecting the neural circuits that mediate social behaviors in healthy and diseased states. |
| Friedman, Eitan - Signal transduction, G.protein coupled receptors, neuronal plasticity |
| Goldfarb, Mitchell - Sodium channel structure/function/modulation, synaptic transmission, epilepsy, cardiac arrhythmia, somatosensation, spatial memory, Epilepsy, cardiac arrhythmia, pain |
| Gong, Cheng-Xin - The molecular mechanism of neurofibrillary degeneration in Alzheimer's |
| Goodman, Jeffrey H. - Development of deep brain electrical stimulation as a therapy for epilepsy |
| Iqbal, Khalid - Neurobiology of Alzheimer’s disease and related conditions, disease mechanisms, biomarkers and preclinical therapeutic studies; neurofibrillary *(tau) pathology and neuroregeneration with neurotrophic peptide mimetics. |
| Kim, Junghoon - Prognostic MRI biomarkers of neurodegeneration and cognitive decline after traumatic brain injury. Mechanisms of neuromodulation in traumatic brain injury. |
| Knikou, Maria - Human neural basis of motor control, spinal neuronal circuits, electromagnetic stimulation of the central nervous system, neuronal plasticity, recovery of neurological disorders |
| Kottmann, Andreas H. - Understanding the regulation of structural plasticity in the adult brain during motor learning and memory; neurogenesis; molecular etiology of progressive neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s Disease and ALS. |
| Kreitzer, Geri - The roles played by the cytoskeleton in establishment and maintenance of cell polarity |
| Levitt, Jonathan - Neurophysiology and neuroanatomy of the central visual pathways, organization and development of mammalian cerebral cortex |
| Li, Christine - Understanding how different chemicals in the nervous system affect behavior. Using genetic model systems to understand neurodegenerative diseases |
| Likhtik, Ekaterina - Neural syntax of learning and emotional processing, threat and safety, cortical-subcortical communication, inhibitory systems, amygdala. |
| Lim, Hyungsik - Biophysics, Brain, Retina, Multiphoton Microscopy, Glaucoma, Neurodegenerative Disorders, Intravital Microscopy, Transcriptional Dynamics |
| Lyon, Gholson - TAF1 syndrome, KBG syndrome, NAA-10, and NAA15 related syndromes |
| Mano, Itzhak - Neuronal cell death that occurs when the brain is flooded with too much of the neurotransmitter glutamate |
| Martin, John H. - Understanding development of the motor systems and motor behavior; repair of the damaged motor systems |
| McCloskey, Dan - Understanding spontaneous patterns of activity in the brain under normal conditions and in neurological and psychological disorders |
| Mingote, Susana - The brain circuits controlling motivated behavior, particularly circuits modulated by the dopamine system, by using a circuit-based approach integrating my expertise in behavior, anatomy, synaptic physiology and optogenetics. |
| Parra, Lucas - Probabilistic modeling of neuronal signals with particular focus on real-time neuro imaging |
| Phillips, Greg - Cell-cell interactions in synaptic development and neurodevelopmental disorders |
| Pytte, Carolyn - Function and regulation of new neurons born in the post-embryonic brain, particularly in adulthood |
| Ro, Tony - Perception, attention, consciousness, multisensory integration, synesthesia |
| Serrano, Peter - Animal behavior, Comparative Psychology, Pharmacology |
| Shafer , Orie - the neurobiological basis of circadian timekeeping, the mechanism that times sleep and activity; and entrainment, the process by which circadian clocks are set to local time. His research employs genetic, physiological, imaging, and behavioral methods to understand how neural networks create a robust yet entrainable circadian rhythm, and he is particularly interested in how such networks operate when challenged by the unreliability of the modern light environment. |
| Sircar, Ratna - Developmental neuroplasticity; neurobiology of learning and memory |
| Tajerian, Maral - Brain plasticity, with particular emphasis on the extracellular matrix regulation of neuronal and glial alterations in preclinical models and human tissues. |
| Torres, Gonzalo - Role of G Proteins In Dopamine Transporter, Protein Complexes In Dopamine Terminal, Regulation of DAT By Interacting Proteins, Structure-function Analysis Of Atp-gated Ion |
| Wang, Hoau -Yan - Molecular mechanism, pathophsiology & neurodegenerative diseases |
| Yang, Song-Yu - Neurosteroid metabolism, neurodegeneration, and HSD17B10 gene related disorders: Alzheimer's disease, and HSD10 deficiency (infantile neurodegeneration) |
| Yetnikoff, Leora - Development and plasticity of dopamine circuitry, with an emphasis on adolescence. Why is adolescence such a uniquely vulnerable period in the lifespan? How do drugs of abuse administered during adolescence alter the development of dopamine circuitry? |
| Zhang, Wei - Motor control, Biomechanics, Bioengineering |
Faculty
Allyson Friedman - Co-Chair
Hunter College (Biology)
afriedman@genectr.hunter.cuny.edu
Ekaterina Likhtik - Co-Chair
Hunter College (Neuroscience)
elikhtik@genectr.hunter.cuny.edu
John Martin
City College of New York (Physiology & Pharmacology)
jmartin@ccny.cuny.edu
Orie Shafer
Advanced Science Research Center (Neuroscience Initiative)
oshafer@gc.cuny.edu
Hysell Oviedo
City College of New York (Neuroscience)
hoviedo@ccny.cuny.edu
Dan McCloskey
College of Staten Island (Neuroscience)
dan.mccloskey@csi.cuny.edu
Carolyn Pytte (alternate member)
Queens College (Neuroscience)
carolyn.pytte@qc.cuny.edu
Students
Mary Regis Shanley—Student Representative to Executive Committee
Hunter College
Nora Awadallah
CUNY School of Medicine
Yuka Miura
Hunter College