{"id":782,"date":"2015-01-07T16:06:16","date_gmt":"2015-01-07T21:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/neuroscience.uchc.edu\/\/?page_id=782"},"modified":"2025-12-12T14:37:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T19:37:35","slug":"faculty-information","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/neuroscience\/program-overview\/faculty-information\/","title":{"rendered":"Research Rotations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Below is a list of the Neuroscience Program faculty, with their contact information and a brief description of their research interests. To see if a faculty member is currently available for a lab rotation or to see details of other faculty research and current laboratory rotation opportunities and projects, this can be found at the Graduate School faculty directory website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Name<\/strong><\/td>\nContact<\/strong><\/td>\nLocation<\/strong><\/td>\nResearch<\/strong><\/td>\n\u00a0<\/b><\/td>\n\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n\u00a0<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Srdjan D. Antic, M.D.<\/a><\/td>\nantic@uchc.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

860-679-8468<\/td>\n

Main Building<\/p>\n

E3052<\/td>\n

Dendritic integration of synaptic inputs; dopaminergic modulation of dendritic excitability.<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Byoung-Il Bae, Ph.D.<\/a><\/td>\nbbae@uchc.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

860-679-8955<\/td>\n

Main Building<\/p>\n

L4075<\/td>\n

We aim to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying human cerebral cortical development.<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jenna Bartley, Ph.D.<\/a><\/td>\njbartley@uchc.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

860-679-8322<\/td>\n

Main Building<\/td>\nTranslational research into human aging with a focus on how immune responses and physical function.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Alice Burghard, Ph.D<\/a>.<\/span><\/td>\nburghard@uchc.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

860-679-2241<\/td>\n

Main Building<\/p>\n

L3042<\/td>\n

Neurons and neural circuits in the auditory system.\u00a0 Tinnitus and hearing loss.\u00a0 Therapy for hearing loss and tinnitus.\u00a0 Using morphology, electrophysiology, and \u00a0molecular biology.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Manuel Castro-Alamancos, Ph.D.<\/a><\/td>\nmcastro@uchc.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

860-679-7390<\/td>\n

Main Building<\/p>\n

E4041<\/td>\n

Synaptic, cellular and network mechanisms involved in sensorimotor information transmission, coding and storage during motivated behaviors.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Stephen J. Crocker, Ph.D.<\/a><\/td>\ncrocker@uchc.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

860-679-8750<\/td>\n

Main Building<\/p>\n

E4054<\/td>\n

Brain injury\/repair;\u00a0neurodegenerative diseases;\u00a0neuroinflammation;\u00a0myelin injury;\u00a0neural stem cell differentiation; signal transduction;\u00a0glia;\u00a0matrix metalloproteinases\/inhibitors.<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Breno Diniz, M.D., Ph.D. <\/a><\/td>\ndiniz@uchc.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

860-679-2476<\/td>\n

Main Building<\/p>\n

L3091<\/td>\n

How age-related changes in biological processes (the Pillars of Biological Aging) affect the development and outcomes of late-life mental and neuropsychiatric disorders and how it translates into the repurpose or development of novel interventions to treat and prevent these disorders across the lifespan.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Samantha Fortin, Ph.D.<\/a><\/td>\nsafortin@uchc.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

860-679-4231<\/td>\n

Main Building
\nL3080<\/td>\n		Behavioral neuroscience; neuropharmacology; in vivo recordings; neural control of energy balance; impact of obesity on cognition; novel pharmacological strategies for neurodegenerative disorders.<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Andres D. Grosmark, Ph.D.<\/a><\/td>\n\u00a0grosmark@uchc.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

860-679-3041<\/td>\n

Main Building<\/p>\n

E4018<\/td>\n

Local circuitry in the hippocampus, and how its functions during active behaviors and during passive memory consolidation. \u00a0Also, circuit mechanisms of long-term memory deficits in mouse models for schizophrenia.<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rosaria Guzzo, PhD<\/a><\/td>\nguzzo@uchc.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

860-679-3026<\/td>\n

Main Building<\/p>\n

E4032<\/td>\n

Epigenetic mechanisms underlying pluripotent stem cell differentiation, musculoskeletal development, and tissue homeostasis.<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jaime Imitola Herrera, M.D.<\/a><\/td>\nimitola@uchc.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

860-679-3186<\/td>\n

<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Eric S. Levine, Ph.D.<\/a><\/td>\neslevine@uchc.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

860-679-2145<\/td>\n

Main Building<\/p>\n

E3053<\/td>\n

Synaptic plasticity; role of endogenous cannabinoids and nerve growth factors in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex.<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Yuanhao \u201cJames\u201d Li, Ph.D.<\/a><\/td>\njali@uchc.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

860-679-3836<\/td>\n

Main Building<\/p>\n

E3014<\/td>\n

Development of the central nervous system; cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying formation of the mammalian cerebellum.<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
David Martinelli, Ph.D.<\/a><\/td>\ndavidmartinelli@uchc.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

860-679-2271<\/td>\n

Main Building<\/p>\n

L4003<\/td>\n

Genetics, cell biology, biochemistry, and behavioral neuroscience in synaptic adhesion proteins and their role in neuropsychiatric disease.<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Royce Mohan, Ph.D.<\/a><\/td>\nmohan@uchc.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

860-679-2020<\/td>\n

Main Building<\/p>\n

L4023<\/td>\n

Developing treatments for conditions and diseases of the eye that involve angiogenesis, fibrosis and gliosis.\u00a0Developed first pharmacological probe of type III intermediate filaments (IFs), demonstrating the effective targeting of vimentin and glial fibrillary acidic protein by the natural product withaferin A.<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Patrick Murphy, Ph.D.<\/a><\/td>\npamurphy@uchc.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

860-679-282<\/td>\n

Main Building<\/p>\n

E3501<\/td>\n

Unraveling the complex interplay between recruited immune cells and the endothelial lining of the vasculature in chronic inflammation, with a focus on alternative splicing and changes in the sub-endothelial matrix as critical determinants of that interaction.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Timothy Spellman, Ph.D.<\/a><\/td>\ntspellman@uchc.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

860-679-8114<\/td>\n

Main Building<\/p>\n

L3077<\/td>\n

P<\/span>hysiological substrates of executive functioning within higher-order association areas of the brain.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Feliks (Ephraim) Trakhtenberg, Ph.D.<\/a><\/td>\ntrakhtenberg@uchc.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

860-679-7819<\/td>\n

Main Building<\/p>\n

L4005<\/td>\n

Neuroregeneration: Integrating molecular, genetic, bioinformatic, and translational approaches in studying neuronal development, towards engineering gene therapy and nanotechnology-based therapeutics for regenerating injured nerve\/brain tissues and connections.<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sebnem N. Tuncdemir, Ph.D.<\/a><\/td>\ntuncdemir@uchc.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

860-679-2057<\/td>\n

Main Building<\/p>\n

L4001<\/td>\n

How neural circuits that encode specific features of contexts are organized in adults and developmental mechanisms by which this network is formed.<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rajkumar Verma, Ph.D.<\/a><\/td>\nraverma@uchc.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

860-679-4552<\/td>\n

Main Building<\/p>\n

E5050<\/td>\n

Stroke research, Drug target validation, behavioral pharmacology and neuroimmune interaction.<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Zhao-Wen Wang, Ph.D.<\/a><\/td>\nzwwang@uchc.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

860-679-7659<\/td>\n

Main Building<\/p>\n

L4017<\/td>\n

Molecular mechanism of neurotransmitter release regulation, and molecular mechanisms of gap junction function, assembly and regulation using\u00a0C. elegans<\/em>\u00a0as a model system.<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Yulan Xiong. Ph.D.<\/a><\/td>\nyxiong@uchc.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

860-679-4116<\/td>\n

L4087<\/td>\nMechanisms underlying aging and neurodegenerative diseases, with specific emphasis on Parkinson\u2019s disease (PD).\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Riqiang Yan, Ph.D.<\/a><\/td>\nriyan@uchc.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

860-679-3527<\/td>\n

L4040C<\/td>\nFocuses on the study of how Alzheimer\u2019s disease patients develop the pathologies in their brains and explores therapeutic treatment for this most common neurodegenerative disease.<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lixia Yue, Ph.D.<\/a><\/td>\nlyue@uchc.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

860-679-3069<\/td>\n

Main Building<\/p>\n

EG024<\/td>\n

Calcium signaling mechanism and its physiological\/pathological functions in various systems.<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Below is a list of the Neuroscience Program faculty, with their contact information and a brief description of their research interests. To see if a faculty member is currently available for a lab rotation or to see details of other faculty research and current laboratory rotation opportunities and projects, this can be found at the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"parent":511,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-14 21:44:53","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/782"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=782"}],"version-history":[{"count":54,"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/782\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7761,"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/782\/revisions\/7761"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/health.uconn.edu\/neuroscience\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}