This program provides opportunities for students to contribute to neurobiology research. Neurobiology encompasses the broad topic of how cell signaling allows the brain to adapt to a changing environment. Cell signaling refers to the process by which living cells detect and respond to a variety of signals. This area has become prominent in many of the life sciences as it represents a basic biological process integral to information transfer and integration of functions of biological organisms.
Research areas include: signal molecules and their receptors; signal transduction pathways; signaling in development, cell differentiation, memory formation and retrieval, cellular mechanisms mediating neuroplasticity in the visual and auditory systems; alterations in cell signaling mediating and resulting from neuroplastic processes; and molecular basis of neuroplastic behavioral changes produced by exposure to environmental and pharmacological stimuli. Approaches and tools utilized by the mentors and students in these projects include: DNA and protein sequencing, peptide synthesis and purification, oligonucleotide synthesis, molecular imaging, mass spectrometry, NMR and light spectrometry, biomolecular computing, organic synthesis, and laser confocal imaging.