Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Track
PLEASE NOTE: THE IBS Program is no longer accepting students. Students interested in the IBS program should apply through the new Graduate Program in Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences. The Clinical and Translational Sciences track listed below has not changed. These pages were left for those students who were accepted into the IBS program before Fall 2016.
Track Leader-Dr. David Davies
Syed Ali, Ph.D.(Pharmacology and Toxicology, and National Center for Toxicological Research)
Neurotoxicology.
Sali@nctr.fda.gov
Steven Barger, Ph.D.(Geriatrics, and Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences) Web profile
Cell biology of Alzheimer’s disease; transcriptional regulation in neurons.
bargerstevenw@uams.edu
Helen Benes, Ph.D.(Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences) Web profile
Insect models (fruitflies, mosquitoes) to study molecular basis for regulated gene activity, in response to gender, nutrition, aging and oxidative stress, for insight into human reproductive development, diseases of aging, including cardiac ischemia.
beneshelen@uams.edu
John F. Bowyer, Ph.D.(Pharmacology and Toxicology, and National Center for Toxicological Research)
Identification of gene expression changes as they relate to both neuronal damage and the subsequent repair mechanisms in brain regions histologically observed to be altered by either neurotoxic insults or strong pharmacological stimuli from chemical exposures.
john.bowyer@fda.hhs.gov
Jason Y. Chang, Ph.D.(Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences) Web profile
Neuronal programmed cell death, neurotoxicity of cholesterol oxides
ChangJasonY@uams.edu
Yuzhi Chen, Ph.D. (Geriatrics, and Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences)Web profile
Protein degradation and signaling in Alzheimer’s disease; stem cell development in neurodegeneration and cancer.
ChenYuzhi@uams.edu
Gwen V. Childs, Ph.D.(Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences) Web profile
Neuroendocrine regulation of growth and reproduction.
ChildsGwenV@uams.edu
Marie Chow, Ph.D. (Microbiology and Immunology) Web profile
The research program uses RNA viruses to study host physiological processes (such as RNA interference), the cell biology of the virus replication cycle (such as virus entry and exit) and the role of virus-induced immune responses in neurodegenerative diseases (such as post-polio syndrome).
chowmarie@uams.edu
Parimal Chowdhury, Ph.D. (Physiology and Biophysics) Web profile
Mechanism of Nicotine- induced Exocrine Pancreatic injury in an Animal Model
PChowdhury@uams.edu
Lawrence E. Cornett, Ph.D.(Physiology and Biophysics) Web profile
Adrenergic receptors.
CornettLawrenceE@uams.edu
David L. Davies, Ph.D.(Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences) Web profile
Pathogenesis of ethanol and trauma related brain damage.
DaviesDavidL@uams.edu
Gerald A. Dienel, Ph.D.(Neurology, and Physiology and Biophysics)
Brain metabolism.
GADienel@uams.edu
Paul D. Drew, Ph.D.(Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences) Web profile
Neuroimmunology, with emphasis on multiple sclerosis.
drewpauld@uams.edu
Sherry Ferguson, Ph.D. (Pharmacology and Toxicology)
My research interests are in psychopharmacology, behavioral teratology, and behavioral toxicology. Using nonhuman primates, rodents, and minipigs as models for humans, my work focuses on behavioral endpoints after drug or toxicant exposure. More recently, I have begun a study at Arkansas Children’s Hospital to assess behaviors of children..
sherry.ferguson@fda.hhs.gov
Edgar Garcia-Rill, Ph.D.(Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences) Web profile
Disorders of the reticular activating system and sleep, schizophrenia, depression, PTSD, spinal cord injury.
garciarilledgar@uams.edu
Paul Gottschall, Ph.D.(Pharmacology and Toxicology) Web profile
Research in the laboratory investigates how changes in the structure of the extracellular matrix in the nervous system affects function. Specifically, proteolytic cleavage of extracellular matrix proteins can markedly influence the behavior of neurons and glia, and, depending on the nature of these changes, impact neurological disease in a positive or negative manner.
pegottschall@uams.edu
Sue Griffin, Ph.D.(Geriatrics, and Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences)Web profile
Our interest centers on the influence of neuroinflammatory cytokines, in particular interleukin-1, in the genesis and progression of neurodegenerative diseases such Alzheimer’s disease, Dows syndrome, AIDS, and Parkinson�s disease.
GriffinSueT@uams.edu
Abdallah Hayar, Ph.D.(Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences) Web profile
Role of synchronized bursting activity in olfactory bulb processing of sensory input.
abdallah@hayar.net
Cynthia (Cindy) J.M. Kane, Ph.D. (Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences) Web profile
Regulation of glial-neuronal interactions in the CNS during normal and abnormal brain development.
KaneCynthiaJ@uams.edu
Kim E. Light, Ph.D. (Pharmaceutical Sciences) Web profile
My research program is aimed at developing neuronal systems and the alterations to development that result subsequent to exposures to alcohol and other drugs. Our current approach involves immunofluorescence labeling of specific cellular structures, at various developmental times, followed by confocal microscopy analysis of structural neuronal features characteristic of normal developmental as well as specific drug-induced alterations.
LightKimE@uams.edu
Angus MacNicol, Ph.D.(Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences) Web profile
Cell cycle control, gene expression, early vertebrate development, signal transduction.
macnicolangus@uams.ed
Melanie C. MacNicol, Ph.D.(Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences)Web profile
Signal transduction and mRNA translation in neurons.
MacnicolMelanie@uams.eduu
Mark S. Mennemeier, Ph.D.(Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences)Web profile
Neural mechanisms of neglect.
MSMennemeier@uams.edu
S. Michael Owens, Ph.D. (Pharmacology and Toxicology) Web profile
The research program is aimed at discovering monoclonal antibody-based medications for the treatment of medical problems caused by drug abuse.
mowens@uams.edu
Merle G. Paule, Ph.D. (Pharmacology and Toxicology, and National Center for Toxicological Research)
Neurotoxicology.
mpaule@nctr.fda.gov
Kevin D. Phelan, Ph.D.(Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences) Web profile
Mechanisms underlying synaptic transmission between developing and adult neurons.
phelankevind@uams.edu
Paul L. Prather, Ph.D.(Pharmacology and Toxicology) Web profile
Opioid and cannabinoid receptor signaling mechanisms; cell biology and therapeutic drug development for neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
PratherPaulL@uams.edu
Robert D. Skinner, Ph.D.(Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences) Web profile
Spinal cord injury and locomotion pattern generators; midlatency auditory evoked potentials in human brain diseases and the startle response in an animal model.
SkinnerRobertD@uams.edu
William Slikker, Ph.D.(Pharmacology and Toxicology, and National Center for Toxicological Research)
Neurotoxicology.
WSlikker@uams.edu
William D. Wessinger, Ph.D.(Pharmacology and Toxicology) Web profile
My research interests are in the behavioral pharmacology of drug abuse and the mechanisms of drug dependence and addiction. We are currently conducting research to test antibody-based medications designed to stop or prevent methamphetamine self-administration and/or relapse to methamphetamine use.
wessingerwilliamd@uams.edu
Patricia Wight, Ph.D. (Physiology and Biophysics) Web profile
Developmental, cellular and molecular neurobiology; regulation of gene expression; proteomics.
pwight@uams.edu
Xuming Zhang, Ph.D.(Microbiology and Immunology) Web profile
To elucidate the mechanisms and regulation of coronavirus RNA synthesis, the molecular pathogenesis of coronavirus-induced neurodegenerative diseases, and virus-host cell interactions.
ZhangXuming@uams.edu
Fang Zheng, Ph.D. (Pharmacology, Interdisciplinary Toxicology) Web profile
Molecular and cellular mechanisms of excitotoxicity related to neurological disorders, with an emphasis on glutamate receptors.
zhengfang@uams.edu
