UCONN HEALTH
Neuroscience Department
Exploring Minds, Illuminating Futures
Neurobiology of Disease Research
Basic Neuroscience Research
Welcome From The Chair
Riqiang Yan, PhD
The Department of Neuroscience has a rich history of research excellence since it had been formally established by Dr. Richard Mains in the year 2000. Currently, we have 26 faculty members, who are actively funded their research from various sources including the federal grants and philanthropic support. Our faculty and their laboratories utilize an interdisciplinary approach to research with the goal of understanding the normal function and disorders of the nervous system that may hold the key to developing novel therapies. We nurture an exceptionally collegial academic environment with high level of interaction and collaboration among laboratories in the Department and with other laboratories at UConn Health Center and at the UConn Storrs campus, all of which make the Department of Neuroscience a vibrant and dynamic place to do science.
Upcoming Events
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Jan
9
Doctoral Dissertation Oral Defense of Kiranmayi Vedantham 2:00pm
Doctoral Dissertation Oral Defense of Kiranmayi Vedantham
Thursday, January 9th, 2025
02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Low Learning Center (UConn Health)
“Melatonin Promotes Sleep by Activating BK Channels through MT1 in the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus.”
Presenter: Kiranmayi Vedantham, Wang Lab
Major Advisor: Zhao-Wen Wang, PhD
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Jan
16
Neuroscience Seminar Series - Georgia Zarkada, MD/PhD 11:00am
Neuroscience Seminar Series - Georgia Zarkada, MD/PhD
Thursday, January 16th, 2025
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Low Learning Center (UConn Health)
Sponsored by the Kim Family Fund
“Brain-specific mechanisms of angiogenesis and barriergenesis.”
Presenter: Georgia Zarkada MD/PhD, Assistant Professor Department of Physiology and Neurobiology University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
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Jan
23
Neuroscience Seminar Series - David Martinelli, PhD 11:00am
Neuroscience Seminar Series - David Martinelli, PhD
Thursday, January 23rd, 2025
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Low Learning Center (UConn Health)
Sponsored by the Kim Family Fund
“The pleiotropic C1Q-like proteins regulate both neuronal synapses and oligodendrocyte maturation.”
Presenter: David Martinelli, PhD, Assistant Professor Department of Neuroscience, UConn Health, Farmington, CT
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Jan
30
Neuroscience Seminar Series - Sonu Singh, PhD 11:00am
Neuroscience Seminar Series - Sonu Singh, PhD
Thursday, January 30th, 2025
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Low Learning Center (UConn Health)
Sponsored by the Kim Family Fund
Presenter: Sonu Singh, PhD, Post Doctoral Fellow, Bae Lab Department of Neuroscience UConn Health, Farmington, CT
Program Resources
Helpful contacts and series of milestones as you progress toward obtaining a Doctor of Philosophy degree from UConn Health.
ExplorePhD in Biomedical Science
Our graduate students receive comprehensive interdisciplinary training in all areas of neuroscience and perform translational research at the highest level.
ExploreStudy Abroad Program
Held in Salamanca, Spain, this course is for graduate students in Neuroscience and Hearing Research and upper-level undergraduate students.
ExploreDepartment and Program News
- New Approach Could Help Alzheimer’s Research – Yan LabDevelopment of Alzheimer’s disease pathology is contributed from oligodendrocytes. UConn School of Medicine Professor and Chair of Neuroscience Riqiang Yan, Associate Professor of Neuroscience Xiangyou Hu, and their colleagues suggest a big data approach in the Nov. 17 issue of Molecular Degeneration. Collecting data on oligodendrocytes in systems biology research—those studies that look at large numbers of […]Posted on December 6, 2024
- Next generation miRNA inhibitors for the treatment of strokeVerma lab in collaboration of Bahal lab from Storrs campus has published their new finding about leveraging the benefits of advanced gamma Peptic Nucleic Acid based miRNA-141 inhibitor for the treatment of ischemic stroke. Their finding was published in the journal Molecular Therapy: Nucleic Acid. In this work first author Dr Sanjeev Kumar Yadav found […]Posted on November 4, 2024
- A new NIH grant to treat stroke injuryLiang and Verma’s lab recently made headlines with their new NIH grant, featured on the front page of the Hartford Courant’s Sunday edition (10-12-2024) and highlighted on UConn news. Dr. Verma is collaborating with Dr. Liang on a project aimed at developing new stroke therapies using purinergic receptor P2X4 inhibitors. The NIH has awarded a […]Posted on October 23, 2024
- Dr. Milicevic publishes a research paper in *Scientific Reports(https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-70319-4) Calcium imaging is a crucial and widely-used tool in modern systems neuroscience for monitoring neuronal activity. Typically, researchers assume that calcium transients reflect action potential firing. However, new findings by Milicevic et al. reveal that the strongest optical signals are generated when an action potential occurs on top of a plateau potential. Additionally, their […]Posted on October 8, 2024