The Biology Department’s Neurobiology group addresses fundamental questions about brain and behavior, from the scale of neurons to whole organisms. Our research spans diverse interests ranging from cellular and molecular mechanisms of synaptic transmission and neuronal excitability; to network-level analyses of sensory and sensorimotor systems; to the neural circuits underlying natural behaviors like reproduction and vocal learning. Our research efforts also contribute to a better understanding of neural pathologies Alzheimer’s and traumatic brain injury.
Faculty laboratories and shared facilities incorporate modern approaches in cellular and molecular biology as well as genetics and genomics. Resources include fluorescence, confocal, and multiphoton imaging; electron microscopy; cellular electrophysiology; and in vivo recordings from neural ensembles during behavior.
Faculty members in the Neurobiology group provide mentorship to graduate students in our Neurobiology program. Additionally, as part of BU’s broader neuroscience community, our faculty members are active in the interdisciplinary Graduate Program for Neuroscience (GPN), the Center for Neuroscience, and the Center for Computational Neuroscience & Neural Technology (CompNet). Other BU centers for neuroscience research and opportunities for collaborative research include the Biomedical Engineering Department, the Photonics Center, and the BUMC Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology.
Faculty with Related Research
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Lynne Chantranupong, Assistant Professor of Biology
Neurobiology, Cell and Molecular Biology, Behavior, Signal transduction, Metabolism, Organellar Biology, Metabolomics, Proteomics
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Jerry Chen, Associate Professor of Biology
Large-scale neuronal networks, sensorimotor integration, decision making, neurodevelopment, non-linear microscopy
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Alberto Cruz-Martín, Assistant Professor of Biology
Neural circuits, Cognitive function, Neurodevelopmental disorders
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Mikel Garcia-Marcos, Professor of Biochemistry and Biology
Intercellular communication, receptor signaling, GTPases, synthetic biology tools, molecular basis of disease, cancer, neurotransmission, embryonic development
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Jeffrey Gavornik, Assistant Professor of Biology
cortical circuits, synaptic plasticity as the basis of learning and memory, the neural representation and processing of time, the biophysical basis of visual perception
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Hengye Man, Professor of Biology
Brain development, neuron morphogenesis, synapse formation, synaptic plasticity, AMPA type glutamate receptor, protein ubiquitination and degradation, autism, Intellectual disability, Alzheimer’s disease
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Kim McCall, Professor of Biology
Drosophila developmental biology, cell death, oogenesis
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Mario Muscedere, Senior Lecturer in Biology; Director, Undergraduate Program in Neuroscience
Science education and undergraduate mentorship, social behavior, neuroethology, behavioral ecology
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Tuan Leng Tay, Assistant Professor of Biology; Assistant Professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology
neurobiology, neuroimmunology, neurodevelopment, neurodegeneration, traumatic brain injury, brain repair, microglia, glia
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James F. A. Traniello, Professor of Biology
behavior, ecology and evolution of social insects; neuroethology; social brain evolution; behavioral development and senescence; evolution of division of labor