Life Sciences Faculty


Expertise: Cognitive neuroscience, executive function, neuromodulator systems (dopamine, acetylcholine), aging

Expertise: Developmental neurobiology (lab website)

Expertise: Cellular Organization and Behavior in the Archaea domain of life (lab website)

Expertise: Regulation of Protein Phosphatases and the Evolution of Cellular Signaling (lab website)

Human spatial orientation and motor control.

Oscillating chemical reactions and pattern formation in reaction-diffusion systems. Mathematical modeling of biochemical kinetics and neural systems.

Expertise: Neural development and behavior (lab website)

Single-molecule Biochemistry and Biophysics. Transcription and RNA processing. Cytoskeletal networks and regulation.

Expertise: Cytoskeletal mechanisms controlling cell morphogenesis (lab website)

Expertise: Biochemistry of synaptic plasticity (lab website)

Expertise: Cognitive and social neuroscience; influence of age and culture on memory. (lab website)

Expertise: Self-control; empathy and environmentalism. (lab website)

Repair of broken chromosomes and triggering of the DNA damage response.

Expertise: Antimicrobial design; targeted protein degradation; TSC2 activators; enzyme structure-function studies. (lab website)

Development and application of reactive and polarizable force fields as efficient replacements for quantum mechanics in simulations of reactions in complex media. Solid-state NMR studies of structure and function in membrane proteins and bio-inspired materials.

Computer science, FinTech, machine learning, image processing, bioinformatics, biomedical informatics, intelligent education.

Expertise: Uncovering fundamental molecular mechanisms of virus translocation across biological membranes (lab website)

Neural mechanisms of learning and memory-guided behavior in the mammalian brain.

Mechanisms for control of mitochondrial protein activity, quality, and lifespan.

Neural dynamics of gustatory perception and learning.

Dynamics of enzymes. Magnetic resonance methods.

Condensed matter theory and quantitative biology; application of condensed matter physics models to problems in molecular and cell biology such as regulation of gene expression and chromosome structure.

Chemical glycobiology and organic chemistry.

Spatial orientation, human movement control, adaptation to unusual force environments.

Genetics and molecular biology of bacteria and yeast.

Modulation of Neural Networks.

Physiological genomics of the mammalian neocortex.

Structure-function studies of visual pigments and other cell surface receptors.

Mapping the functional repertoire of (bio)inorganic systems and protein metallocofactors; paradigms of (bio)catalysts relevant to the human health and environment.

Expertise: Molecular mechanisms of synaptic development (lab website)

Self-assembly of chemical and biological systems. Transient interactions in solution by NMR. NMR of soluble proteins. Protein stability and folding by NMR and mutagenesis.

Expertise: Biophysical mechanisms underlying flow generation by cilia arrays (lab website)

Complex fluids and biological physics; programmable self-assembly of soft materials; colloidal interactions and phase transitions; DNA nanotechnology; self-organization of active matter; optical trapping and single-molecule science.

Circadian Rhythms, Behavior, and Gene Expression

Chemical energy in biochemistry. Solid-state NMR of biological nanocomposites.

Visual perception, cognitive processes, particularly visual memory, navigation of complex environments, imitation of seen actions, age-related changes in cognitive function.

Behavioral and neuronal development in C. elegans.

Synthesis of natural products, new synthetic methods, free radical chemistry, Lewis acid induced reactions, ketene cycloadditions.

Cognitive processes, adolescent development, developmental psychopathology.

Evolution, structure, and function of macromolecular complexes.


Activity-dependent regulation of neuronal properties.

New molecular materials and nanomaterials for the exploration in biomedicine (e.g., molecular drug delivery, cancer therapy, biomedical diagnostics, and biomimetics) and other fundamental problems in nanoscience and biological science.

Non-precious metal catalysis directed towards organic synthesis. Translational synthetic chemistry. Discovery of new disease targets and therapeutic probes in human biology.
Teaching Faculty

Comparative Anatomy, Evolution, Physiology, BiomechanicsComparative Anatomy, Evolution Physiology, Biomechanics

Evolution, genetics, epigenetics, history of science, and science education.


Teaching Genetics and Genomic and Molecular Biotechnology.