College of Veterinary Medicine - Cornell University

Neuroscience

Neuroscience encompasses the study of the nervous system. At Cornell, scientists use many different model organisms to study a wide variety of questions in neuroscience. For example: What are the genes that determine how the brain develops? What are the signaling molecules and channels that determine how neurons within the brain communicate with one another? How does the brain interpret sensory signals from the periphery? How does the brain control muscle movements and organ function? And how does the brain react to changes in an organism's environment? At Cornell, scientists use molecular, cellular, and organismal approaches to study these and other questions in order to understand how the nervous system is able to accomplish its many functions. 

Faculty	research area(s)	Graduate Field Membership (Biological & Biomedical Sciences Fields in bold)
Gregory M. Acland	canine hereditary disorders of the eye	Comparative Biomedical Sciences
Klaus W. Beyenbach	mechanism and regulation of electrolyte transport across epithelia, from genotype to genotype	Comparative Biomedical Sciences; Molecular & Integrative Physiology; Environmental Toxicology
Richard A. Cerione	signal transduction growth factor receptors; protein structure; drug design and chemical biology; signaling cues that direct cell proliferation, differentiation and development	Comparative Biomedical Sciences; Pharmacology; Biochemistry, Molecular & Cell Biology; Chemistry & Chemical Biology; Biophysics
Ruth Collins	pharmacology; cancer cell biology; small GTPase regulation of intracellular traffic and cellular growth control	Comparative Biomedical Sciences; Microbiology; Pharmacology; Biochemistry, Molecular & Cell Biology; Genomics; Neurobiology & Behavior
Robin L. Davisson	molecular mechanisms of determining normal cardiovascular function and pathogenesis of certain cardiovascular diseases; central neural control of blood pressure and autonomic function; molecular determinants of cardiac disease; molecular pathophysiology of preeclampsia	Molecular & Integrative Physiology; Pharmacology; Environmental Toxicology
David Deitcher	molecular mechanisms of neurotransmitter release; molecular neurobiology and neurogenetics; mechanisms of neurotransmitter and neuropeptide release; synaptic development	Genetics, Genomics and Development; Neurobiology & Behavior
Matthew DeLisa	molecular biotechnology; protein biogenesis and folding pathways; protein engineering	Comparative Biomedical Sciences; Microbiology; Biomedical Engineering; Chemical Engineering
Norm G. Ducharme	equine sports medicine; upper respiratory tract	Comparative Biomedical Sciences
Joseph Fetcho	motor control with a focus on hindbrain and spinal cord; optical and genetic approaches for studying neuronal structure and function; regeneration	Pharmacology; Neurobiology & Behavior
Ron Harris-Warrick	neurobiology and behavior; neuromodulation of neural networks in lobster and mouse spinal cord; molecular manipulation of ion channels in neurons	Cognitive Science; Neurobiology & Behavior
Toshi Kawate	structures and mechanisms of membrane proteins that regulate extracellular signaling	Pharmacology
David Lin	axon guidance and target selection during development of mouse olfactory systems using genetics in vitro and genomic approaches; developmental biology; olfaction; axon guidance	Comparative Biomedical Sciences; Molecular & Integrative Physiology; Pharmacology; Biochemistry, Molecular & Cell Biology; Genetics, Genomics and Development; Genomics; Neurobiology & Behavior
Manfred Lindau	cellular and molecular biophysics; mechanisms of exocytosis and endocystosis in cell biology; electrochemistry; membrane fusion; fluorescence microscopy; image processing	Pharmacology; Applied Physics; Biomedical Engineering; Biophysics; Neurobiology & Behavior
Maurine Linder	regulation of cell signaling by protein lipidation	Pharmacology
Ellis Loew	physiology of vision; sensory biophysics; sensory ecology and nutritional ophthalmology	Molecular & Integrative Physiology; Neurobiology & Behavior
Linda Nowak	neurosciences; cellular physiology; receptor pharmacology; membrane biophysics	Comparative Biomedical Sciences; Molecular & Integrative Physiology; Pharmacology; Neurobiology & Behavior
Kimberly O'Brien	calcium metabolism and bone health; control of maternal/fetal nutrient; partitioning and cellular mineral transport; micronutrient status in international settings; development of mass spectrometric methodology; pediatric bone health; pregnancy and mineral metabolism in adolescents	Molecular & Integrative Physiology; Nutrition
Robert E. Oswald	ion channel receptor/ligand interactions; NMR and molecular dynamics; molecular neurobiology and biophysics; neurotransmitter receptors and signal transduction	Comparative Biomedical Sciences; Pharmacology; Biophysics; Neurobiology & Behavior
Chris B. Schaffer	advanced optical techniques used to observe and manipulate in vivo biological systems with the goal of developing microscopic scale understanding of normal and disease-state physiological processes	Molecular & Integrative Physiology; Biomedical Engineering; Neurobiology & Behavior
Carolyn Sevier	signalling of cellular oxidative stress; molecular mechanisms used by cellular pathways that sense and signal redox imbalances within the cell	Molecular & Integrative Physiology; Pharmacology
Holger Sondermann	structural biology; cell signaling; biochemistry; biophysics	Pharmacology; Biochemistry, Molecular & Cell Biology; Biophysics
Gary R. Whittaker	Pathogenesis of influenza viruses, coronaviruses and arenaviruses. Host range and receptors, activation of membrane fusion, macrophage- and neuro-tropism, anti-viral therapeutics, diagnostic tests, virus-bacteria co-infections	Comparative Biomedical Sciences; Immunology & Infectious Disease; Microbiology; Pharmacology; Biochemistry, Molecular & Cell Biology