Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics

A listing of faculty with appointments in Pharmacology and faculty participants in the Biomolecular Pharmacology Program and their research interests follows.

  • Faculty with a primary or secondary appointment in the Department of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics have their names marked with two asterisks (**).
  • Faculty members who are participating in the NIGMS Biomolecular Pharmacology Training Grant have their names marked with one asterisk (*).
  • Faculty who are not accepting PhD students are indicated with a dagger (†).

Visit the faculty site for links to a more detailed description of research interests, a list of representative publications and a picture, where available.

  • David H. Farb, PhD**
    Professor and Chair of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics
    Pharmacological treatments for mental disorders of learning and memory
    dfarb@bu.edu
  • Carmela Abraham, PhD*
    Professor of Biochemistry
    Mechanisms of normal brain aging and the etiology of Alzheimer’s disease
    cabraham@bu.edu
  • Karen N. Allen, PhD*
    Professor of Chemistry
    Protein structure, function, and ligand design
    drkallen@bu.edu
  • Salomon Amar, DMD, PhD*
    Professor of Periodontology & Oral Biology, Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine
    Control of TNF-α and other cytokine gene expression in inflammatory diseases; the role of infection in cardiovascular disease and obesity
    samar@bu.edu
  • David Atkinson, PhD*
    Professor of Physiology and Biophysics
    Plasma lipoproteins: structure and biology
    atkinson@bu.edu
  • Irving J. Bigio, PhD*
    Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering and Medicine, Physics
    Development of minimally-invasive diagnostics and therapeutics based on optical and photonic technologies
    bigio@bu.edu
  • J. Krzysztof Blusztajn, PhD
    Professor of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
    Effects of perinatal availability of an essential nutrient, choline, on brain development and aging in experimental animals
    jbluszta@bu.edu
  • Victoria M. Bolotina, PhD
    Professor of Medicine and Physiology
    Ion channels and mechanisms of calcium signaling
    bolotina@bu.edu
  • Charles Cantor, PhD
    Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Pharmacology (leave of absence), Chief Scientific Officer at Sequenom, Inc.
    Development of novel methods for detection and modulation of cells that express specific nucleic acid sequences
    ccantor@sequenom.com
  • Jiang-Fan Chen, MD, PhD**
    Professor of Neurology and Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics
    Neurobiology of adenosine and the A2A adenosine receptor and the development and treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders
    chenjf@bu.edu
  • Dominic A. Ciraulo, MD*
    Professor and Chair of Psychiatry
    Addiction psychopharmacology
    dciraulo@bu.edu
  • Richard A. Cohen, MD*
    Professor of Medicine
    The biology and pathophysiology of nitric oxide (NO) in the setting of vascular disease
    racohen@bu.edu
  • Geoffrey M. Cooper, PhD*
    Professor and Chair of Biology
    Proto-oncogenes and cell proliferation and survival
    gmcooper@bu.edu
  • Pietro Cottone, PhD**
    Assistant Professor of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics and Psychiatry
    Neurobiological substrates of motivated behaviors including feeding and addiction
    cottone@bu.edu
  • Libin Cui, PhD†**
    Research Assistant Professor of Pharmacology
    Mitochondrial biogenesis and energy metabolism in the CNS
    lcui@bu.edu
  • Charles Delisi, PhD*
    Metcalf Professor of Science and Engineering and Dean Emeritus, College of Engineering
    Computational/mathematical models to analyze changes in gene and protein expression
    delisi@zhome.bu.edu
  • Gerald Denis, PhD**
    Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Medicine, Cancer Research Center
    Effect of the novel transcriptional co-activator, Brd2 in hematological malignancies and obesity
    gdenis@bu.edu
  • Howard Eichenbaum, PhD**
    Professor of Psychology and Pharmacology; Director, Center for Memory & Brain; Director, Cognitive Neurobiology Laboratory; Director, Center for Neuroscience
    Function of the hippocampus and the functional organization of the medial temporal lobe memory system
    hbe@bu.edu
  • Lindsay A. Farrer, PhD*
    Chief, Genetics Program; Professor, Departments of Medicine, Neurology, and Genetics & Genomics, Boston University School of Medicine and Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health
    The genetic basis of complex diseases using genetic mapping methods for locating modifiers of gene expression
    farrer@bu.edu
  • Hui Feng, PhD**
    Assistant Professor of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics and Medicine
    Discovery of genes and pathways for initiation and progression of MYC-related cancers and identification of therapeutic interventions
    huifeng@bu.edu
  • Christopher V. Gabel, PhD**
    Assistant Professor of Physiology & Biophysics and Pharmacology
    Neural regeneration and function
    cvgabel@bu.edu
  • Terrell T. Gibbs, PhD**
    Associate Professor of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics
    Regulation of neurotransmitter receptor function
    tgibbs@bu.edu
  • Thomas D. Gilmore, PhD*
    Professor of Biology
    Role of NF-kB transcription factors in human leukemia and lymphoma
    gilmore@bu.edu
  • Mark W. Grinstaff, PhD*
    Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry and Ophthalmology
    Macromolecular chemistry and tissue engineering
    mgrin@bu.edu
  • James A. Hamilton, PhD*
    Professor of Physiology and Biophysics
    Novel physical approaches to study obesity, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease
    jhamilt@bu.edu
  • Xue Han, PhD**
    Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics
    Discovering design principles for novel neuromodulation therapies
    xuehan@bu.edu
  • David A. Harris, MD, PhD*
    Professor and Chair of Biochemistry
    Molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying human and animal prion diseases
    daharris@bu.edu
  • Michael Hasselmo, PhD*
    Professor of Psychology
    Cortical dynamics of memory-guided behavior
    hasselmo@bu.edu
  • Alan Herbert, MBChB, PhD**
    Associate Professor of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics and Neurology
    Whole genome scans to identify SNPs involved in obesity, addiction and neurological aging
    aherbert@bu.edu
  • Tsuneya Ikezu, MD, PhD**
    Professor of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics and Neurology; Director, Laboratory of Molecular NeuroTherapeutics
    Neuroimmunological modulation of synaptic activities, neurogenesis and cognitive function
    tikezu@bu.edu
  • Kathleen Kantak*
    Professor of Psychology
    Translational research related to drug addiction, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and their co-morbidity
    kkantak@bu.edu
  • Gary B. Kaplan, MD**
    Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics
    Behavioral and the neural mechanisms of addiction
    Gary.Kaplan@va.gov
  • Catherine Klapperich, PhD*
    Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering and Manufacturing Engineering
    Design and engineering of molecular diagnostics
    catherin@bu.edu
  • Conan Kornetsky, PhD**
    Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics
    Reward systems of the brain
    ckornets@bu.edu
  • Vidhya Kumaresan, PhD†**
    Research Assistant Professor of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics
    Neurobiological bases of addiction to psychostimulants
    vidhya@bu.edu
  • Susan E. Leeman, PhD**
    Professor of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics
    Biology of Substance P (SP) and neurotensin
    sleeman@bu.edu
  • Adam Lerner, MD*
    Professor of Medicine and Pathology
    Lymphoid malignancies and the role of focal-adhesion-associated proteins in breast cancer anti-estrogen resistance
    lernwara@bu.edu
  • Jen-Wei Lin, PhD*
    Associate Professor of Biology
    Use of axons at the crayfish neuromuscular junction (NMJ) as a model system to study the excitability of axons
    jenweilin@bu.edu
  • Jennifer I. Luebke, PhD**
    Associate Professor of Anatomy & Neurobiology and Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics
    Electrophysiological and morphological properties of neocortical neurons in the rodent and primate prefrontal cortex across the lifespan
    jluebke@bu.edu
  • Hengye Man, MD, PhD*
    Associate Professor of Biology
    Cellular/molecular mechanisms by which synaptic activity, and thus, neuronal communication is plastically regulated, specifically focusing on AMPA receptor (AMPAR) trafficking, localization and turnover
    hman@bu.edu
  • John A. Porco, Jr., PhD**
    Professor of Chemistry and Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics
    Stereocontrolled synthesis of complex molecule libraries for biological screening
    porco@chem.bu.edu
  • Tyrone M. Porter, PhD*
    Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
    Development of diagnostic and therapeutic ultrasound technology
    tmp@bu.edu
  • Wendy W. Qiu, MD, PhD**
    Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics
    Pathogenesis, risk factors, and behavioral manifestations of Alzheimer’s disease
    wqiu67@bu.edu
  • Katya Ravid, PhD*
    Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry
    Genetic and signaling factors that control lineage commitment and the regulation of the cell cycle
    ravid@biochem.bumc.bu.edu
  • Douglas L. Rosene, PhD*
    Professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology
    Neurobiological basis of normal learning and memory and neurodegenerative diseases
    drosene@bu.edu
  • Shelley J. Russek, PhD**
    Professor of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics
    Brain development and its response to injury or disease
    srussek@bu.edu
  • Valentina Sabino, PhD**
    Assistant Professor of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics and Psychiatry
    Neurobiology of addiction and stress-related disorders
    vsabino@bu.edu
  • Scott Schaus, PhD**
    Associate Professor of Chemistry and Pharmacology
    Novel technologies to investigate cellular processes such as cell cycle regulation, cell proliferation, and intracellular signaling
    seschaus@chem.bu.edu
  • Anurag Singh, PhD**
    Assistant Professor of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics and Medicine
    Mechanisms of transformation and drug resistance in tumor cells
    asingh3@bu.edu
  • Jean-Jacques Soghomonian, PhD*
    Associate Professor of Anatomy & Neurobiology
    Functional neuroanatomy of the basal ganglia and the neurobiological basis of motor control, sensori-motor integration, and learning
    jjsogho@bu.edu
  • Thomas D. Tullius, PhD**
    Professor of Chemistry and Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics
    Chemical probe methods for determining the structure of DNA, RNA, and DNA-protein complexes in solution
    tullius@bu.edu
  • Richard Wainford, PhD**
    Assistant Professor of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics and Medicine
    Role of brain G-alpha subunit protein in central regulation of blood pressure
    rwainf@bu.edu
  • Carol T. Walsh, PhD†**
    Professor of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics
    Not conducting laboratory research
    ctwalsh@bu.edu
  • Kenneth Walsh, PhD*
    Professor of Medicine and Director, Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute
    Signaling- and transcriptional-regulatory mechanisms that control both normal and pathological tissue growth in the cardiovascular system
    kxwalsh@bu.edu
  • David Waxman, PhD*
    Professor of Biology and Medicine
    Regulation of liver P450 gene expression
    djw@bu.edu
  • Benjamin Wolozin, MD, PhD**
    Professor of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics and Neurology
    Pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases
    bwolozin@bu.edu
  • Joyce Y. Wong, PhD*
    Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
    Biocompatibility and control of cellular behavior at the cell-material interface for drug delivery and tissue engineering applications
    jywong@bu.edu
  • Zhigang Xie, PhD**
    Assistant Professor, Departments of Neurosurgery and Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics
    Neural stem and/or progenitor cells (NSPCs) in the treatment of brain injury and degeneration
    zhigang.xie@bmc.org
  • Muhammad Zaman, PhD*
    Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
    Interactions between tumor cells and their three-dimensional microenvironment
    zaman@bu.edu