Laboratory of the Cellular Physiology of Neurodegenerative Diseases

With life expectancy increasing, neurodegenerative diseases are taking an ever-increasing toll on society. Several of these diseases are characterized by a selective degeneration of particular classes of neurons. Our laboratory focuses on understanding how the physiology of vulnerable neurons contributes to their degeneration as well as studying adaptive physiological responses to degeneration within neural networks.

Our research focuses on Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease. We study it using genetic and other models of the disorders. We also are interested in the cellular physiology of neurons and circuits in the Basal Ganglia. Our work combines neurophysiological experiments, advanced imaging techniqes and mathematical modeling.

We are currently seeking excellent and highly motivated graduate students/post-docs to join the lab.