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Faculty are listed by Department within their Research Areas,
with descriptions of their active projects.


DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY

MICHAEL J. BAUM
Professor of Biology; PhD, McGill University

Research Interests: I study the steroidal control of brain and behavioral sexual differentiation in ferrets and mice. This work employs immunocytochemistry, computer-assisted imaging analysis, radioimmunoassay of sex steroids and reproductively relevant neuropeptides, intra-cranial administration of neurotoxins, neural tract tracing compounds and other pharmacological agents, as well as the observation and registration of reproductive and olfactory behaviors.


GLORIA V. CALLARD
Professor of Biology; PhD, Rutgers University

Research Interests: Molecular and cellular physiology of aromatase (estrogen synthetase), estrogen and androgen receptors, and genomic mechanisms of steroid action in the brain, pituitary, and retina; structure of the aromatase gene(s) and promoters, and transcriptional control mechanisms; regulation of the aromatization reaction; consequences of neuroestrogen formation and estrogen receptor occupancy for neural gene expression, neuronal growth, and differentiation.

TIM GARDNER,Assistant Professor of Biology; Ph.D.- Rockefeller University, NY.
Research Interests: The Gardner lab studies the assembly and function of neural circuits, focusing on the well-defined pathways for vocal learning in songbirds. A first priority is the quantitative description of vocal behavior. The lab also explores physiological recordings and circuit perturbations in singing birds, in-vivo imaging, and theoretical models for self-assembly of neural systems.



ROBERT E. HAUSMAN
Professor of Biology; PhD, Northwestern University

Control of gene expression in the developing CNS and muscles. Specifically, the roles of the cellular microenvironment in cell determination and expression of cell-type specific genes. Current investigation of an example of autocrine cell-cell signaling via a diffusible signal molecule and the role of a specific cell recognition (adhesion) molecule in control of gene expression in developing chick skeletal muscle and retina.


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DEPARTMENT OF COGNITIVE AND NEURAL SYSTEMS

STEPHEN GROSSBERG
Wang Professor of Cognitive and Neural Systems, Professor of
Mathematics, Psychology, and Biomedical Engineering;
Director, Center for Adaptive Systems; Chairman, Department of
Cognitive and Neural Systems; PhD, Rockefeller University

Research Interests: Development of neural models of learning, recognition, memory, vision, audition, speech, cognition, reinforcement, attention, adaptive sensory-motor control, and biological rhythms. Systematic analysis and prediction of behavioral and brain data in both normal and clinical patients. Applications to outstanding technological problems.


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DEPARTMENT OF PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOPHYSICS

J. FERNANDO GARCIA-DIAZ
Associate Professor; PhD, Universidad de Malaga, Spain

Research Interests:Electrophysiology of membrane transport; expression and regulation of ion channels; development of cochlear ganglion neurons.


ANATOMY AND NEUROBIOLOGY

JULIE SANDELL
Associate Professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology; PhD,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Research Interests:Normal aging produces cognitive impairment. My lab is interested in discovering the biological bases for this impairment. We use molecular biology to look for changes in gene expression in the brains and retinae of impaired animals, and we use light and electron microscopy to look for structural changes in the central nervous system that might be related to cognitive impairment. We are particularly interested in teasing apart the changes that are related to age alone from those that are related to cognitive status. Ultimately we would like to know what allows some individuals to age "successfully", while others are severely impaired. I also have long-standing interests in normal and abnormal retinal anatomy, and the role of GABA in neuronal development.

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