Program Faculty
Program Director
Professor
Graduate Programs: Genetics, Development and Disease & Neuroscience
Research Interests: Gut-brain axis hormones and neuronal circuits underlying obesity, diabetes, hypoglycemia, cancer cachexia, ALS, and learning/memory
Faculty
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Hematopoietic stem cell and leukemia metabolism; metabolites and the stem cell genome
Associate Professor
Graduate Program: Cancer Biology
Research Interests: Diabetes, obesity, metabolic imaging, and tracer techniques
Professor
Graduate Program: Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: NMR spectroscopy and mass spectroscopy in conjunction with the application of stable isotope tracers to study metabolic function
Professor
Graduate Programs: Immunology; Genetics, Development & Disease
Research Interests: Molecular control of inflammatory responses in the intestine, inflammation and cancer progression, regulation of NF-kB activity, COMM.D. proteins
Assistant Professor
Graduate Programs: Cell & Molecular Biology
Research Interests: Signal transduction, mitochondria function, cell growth and proliferation, cancer metabolism
Professor
Graduate Programs: Biomedical Engineering; Genetics, Development & Disease
Research Interests: Cancer, cell polarity, developmental biology, morphogenesis, stem/progenitor cells, tissue engineering and regeneration
Associate Professor
Graduate Programs: Neuroscience; Genetics, Development & Disease
Research Interests: Genetics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD); molecular mechanisms underlying ASD; the ubiquitin proteasome pathway in neurodevelopmental disorders
Assistant Professor
Graduate Program: Genetics, Development and Disease
Research Interests: Spatial and functional genomics and epigenomics, single-cell genomics and epigenomics, computational genomics, high resolution imaging, mammalian spermatogenesis, human fertility and reproduction
Professor
Graduate Program: Cancer Biology; Cell and Molecular Biology
Research Interests: Function and regulation of protein kinases in signal transduction pathways in breast cancer
Ralph DeBeradinis, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Graduate Programs: Cancer Biology; Genetics, Development & Disease
Research Interests: Metabolic pathways that support tumor cell growth and exploiting tumor metabolism to improve imaging and therapy in cancer
Professor
Graduate Programs: Biological Chemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology
Research Interests: Regulation of HMG-CoA reductase and sterol metabolism
Associate Professor
Graduate Programs: Genetics, Development & Disease; Neuroscience
Research Interests: Intracellular lipid surveillance and metabolic stress in age and traumatic brain injury
Professor
Graduate Program: Neuroscience
Research Interests: Functional neuroanatomy of the mammalian hypothalamus
Associate Professor
Graduate Program: Cell and Molecular Biology
Research Interests: Cholesterol and fat metabolism
Professor
Graduate Program: Neuroscience
Research Interests: Molecular mechanisms of circadian rhythms and how they control metabolism
Professor
Graduate Program: Neuroscience
Research Interests: Brain development and Alzheimer's Disease; lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis; physiological functions of the LDL receptor gene family
Professor
Graduate Program: Cell and Molecular Biology
Research Interests: Molecular signaling processes in cardiac hypertrophy and failure; mechanisms of structural, functional, and electrophysiological remodeling, using genetic and surgical mice models
Professor
Graduate Program: Genetics, Development and Disease
Research Interests: Identification of genetic factors contributing to inter-individual differences in the concentration of lipid levels in tissues
Professor
Graduate Program: Cell and Molecular Biology
Research Interests: Hepatic steatosis; lipid metabolism
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Cancer metabolism, nutrient signaling, protein kinases
Assistant Professor
Graduate Program: Cell and Molecular Biology
Research Interests: Renal metabolism; inflammation and sepsis; acute kidney injury
Associate Professor
Graduate Program: Cell and Molecular Biology
Research Interests: Cachexia, lipid metabolism
Associate Professor
Graduate Program: Genetics, Development and Disease
Research Interests: Amino acid metabolism, bone development, osteoporosis, stem/progenitor cells, fracture healing and regeneration
Professor
Graduate Program: Cell and Molecular Biology
Research Interests: Physiology, pathophysiology and pharmacology of nuclear receptors and endocrine FGF
Professor
Graduate Program: Genetics, Development and Disease
Research Interests: Cellular signaling, gene regulation, and epigenetic control in the chromatin environment of the nucleus; biological systems include: reproduction, cancer, inflammation, adipogenesis, stem cells, differentiation
Associate Professor
Graduate Program: Neuroscience
Research Interests: Antipsychotic drug-induced metabolic syndrome; Central and peripheral serotonin systems in energy and glucose metabolism; Fetal programming of metabolic health, New genetic factors behind human obesity
David Mangelsdorf, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair, Department of Pharmacology, In Memoriam, 1958 - 2025
Graduate Program: Cell and Molecular Biology
Research Interests: Mechanism of nuclear hormone receptor action; role of retinoids in cancer; transcriptional regulation of lipid metabolism
Assistant Professor
Graduate Programs: Cancer Biology; Genetics, Development & Disease
Research Interests: Nitrogen metabolism, crosstalk between the metabolome and epigenome, metabolic mechanisms of tumor initiation, synthetic lethality, glioma biology, CRISPR/Cas9-based mouse models of cancer
Professor
Graduate Programs: Genetics, Development & Disease; Neuroscience
Research Interests: Understanding the molecular basis of glycogen malformation in the fatal Lafora epilepsy and devising gene and small-molecule based therapies for this and other childhood neurogenetic disorders
Associate Professor
Graduate Program: Cell and Molecular Biology
Research Interests: Metabolism; mitochondrial diseases; organelle behavior and function
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Regulatory mechanisms impacting structure, function and location of glycogen; Molecular consequences of glycogen storage diseases; Development of treatment strategies on molecular basis of the disease pathogenesis; Engineering proteins for improved Gene Therapy
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Mechanisms of tumorigenesis; Regulation and function of cell surface receptors in lung cancer pathogenesis
Assistant Professor
Graduate Program: Cell and Molecular Biology
Research Interests: Uncover insights into GPCR signal transduction and its physiological function in various metabolic disease models; Development of tool compounds targeted GPCRs and validate the effects as new therapeutic regimen
Professor
Graduate Program: Cell and Molecular Biology
Research Interests: Energy metabolism in the kidney, mechanisms of aging and resilience to acute stressors | vascular biology
Professor
Research Interests: Protein-lipid interactions at membrane interfaces
Kartik Rajagopalan, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Influenza, COVID, Leptin, Adipose
Associate Professor
Graduate Program: Cell and Molecular Biology
Research Interests: Bile acids, cholesterol; diabetes; lipidomics; LXR, FXR, PXR, beta-cell, islet
Danielle Robertson, O.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Graduate Programs: Cell and Molecular Biology; Immunology
Research Interests: Epithelial cell biology, cornea, ocular surface, dry eye, Sjogren’s syndrome, diabetes, exosomes, corneal neuropathy, infectious disease
Professor
Graduate Program: Cell and Molecular Biology
Research Interests: Identification and physiological characterization of novel secretory proteins that serve as potential links between the adipocyte and the processes of whole body energy homeostasis; inflammation and cancer; beta cell biology
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Lysosome biology, mTORC1 signaling, lipid metabolism and sensing, organelle communications
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Metabolism, Cell Fate, Development, Placenta, Pregnancy
Professor
Graduate Program: Neuroscience
Research Interests: Molecular and genetic analysis of the mammalian circadian clock system
Assistant Professor
Graduate Program: Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests: Aging, Cerebral blood flow, Cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen consumption, Cerebrovascular physiology, Mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Forward genetics, Mucosal immunology, Host-microbe interactions, Innate immunity, Vesicle trafficking
Professor
Graduate Program: Neuroscience
Research Interests: Mechanisms of dyslipidemia; Obesity and eating behaviors
Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Mechanisms by which starvation leads to persistence in bacteria; Identifying new regulatory metabolite-RNA and metabolite-protein interactions; Peptide synthesis and protein semi-synthesis
Associate Professor
Graduate Programs: Cancer Biology; Genetics, Development & Disease
Research Interests: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and energy homeostasis
Associate Professor
Graduate Program: Neuroscience
Research Interests: Understanding at a cellular level the neural of control energy balance as well as glucose metabolism, and elucidating how these events may participate in human disease
Professor
Research Interests: Circadian Physiology; Feeding and Light Entrainment of the Circadian System; Live Cell/Tissue Real-Time Imaging; Mouse Models for Human Disorders Caused by Disruption/Disorganization/Misalignment of the Circadian System; Neural Circuit Controlling Feeding and Locomotor Activity Rhythms; Pacemaker Coupling
Professor
Graduate Program: Biological Chemistry
Research Interests: Lipid-mediated signaling reactions, topological regulation of transmembrane proteins, ferroptosis