Faculty

DBBS mentors and educators are key to our training mission. Those who serve as primary mentors are DBBS Program Members, and others who participate in the educational mission are General Members. Learn about DBBS Faculty Membership »

To provide a supportive learning environment for our trainees, many DBBS-affiliated faculty have completed eight or more hours of CIMER-based mentorship training with a trained facilitator, as indicated below with a profile badge.

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Find faculty of interest by entering a name, program or expertise keyword in the search bar; selecting a PhD program from the drop-down menu; or selecting the last name initial from the A-Z filter.

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Feng Sheng Hu, PhD

Richard G. Engelsmann Dean of Arts & Sciences and Lucille P. Markey Distinguished Professor

Program affiliation
Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Research summary
Understanding patterns and mechanisms of long-term ecosystem dynamics under changing climatic conditions

Key words
ecosystem ecology, quaternary paleoecology, climatic change and biotic response, soil and sediment biogeochemistry

Andrew Huang, MD, MPH

Professor

Program affiliation
General

Research summary
Corneal epithelial wound healing, neovascularization and stromal dystrophies

Key words
amyloid, epithelial cells, protein folding, siRNA, stem cells, vision

Cheng Huang, PhD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Neurosciences
Molecular Cell Biology
Computational and Systems Biology

Research summary
Our lab deciphers how fruit flies learn, memorize, and make decisions using state-of-the-art optical imaging techniques

Key words
Voltage imaging, computational modeling, learning system, memory processing, Drosophila melanogaster

Henry Huang, PhD

Associate Professor

Program affiliation
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis

Research summary
Molecular biology of Sindbis virus; antiviral drug design; monocyte differentiation

Key words
RNA, virology, genome analysis, evolution, antiviral targeting

James Huettner, PhD

Associate Professor

Program affiliation
Molecular Cell Biology
Neurosciences
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology

Research summary
Glutamate receptors, synaptic transmission and stem cell differentiation

Key words
stem cells, differentiation, synapse biology, receptor, ion channel

Mark Huffman

Professor

Program affiliation
General

Research summary
I seek to improve global cardiovascular health across the spectrum of disease prevention through rigorous research, including the development, adaptation, and implementation of evidence-based interventions, practices, and policies into routine practice at scale.

Key words
global cardiovascular health, dissemination and implementation science, trials, health systems, policy

Jing Hughes, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Molecular Cell Biology
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology

Research summary
Cilia functions in islet cell crosstalk, beta cells in diabetes, live-cell microscopy

Key words
islet, primary cilia, imaging

Scott Hultgren, PhD

Helen L. Stoever Professor

Program affiliation
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis
Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Molecular Cell Biology

Research summary
Interdisciplinary approach combining genetics, genomics, biochemistry, structural biology, high-resolution imaging, animal models, clinical studies and combinatorial chemistry to determine key aspects of bacterial pathogenesis and apply our knowledge to development of new therapeutics.

Key words
antibiotic-sparing therapeutics, host-pathogen interactions, bacterial pathogenesis, drug and vaccine development, multi-drug resistant E. coli, MRSA, Enterococcus, Acinetobacter, Klebsiella, urinary tract infections (UTI)

Benjamin Humphreys, MD, PhD

Joseph Friedman Professor

Program affiliation
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology
Computational and Systems Biology

Research summary
Define cell hierarchies in kidney injury and repair and thereby identify the critical cell types in kidney repair and fibrosis

Key words
Stem cells, regenerative medicine, scRNA-seq, scATAC-seq, spatial transcriptomics, fibrosis, gene editing, iPS cells

David Hunstad, MD

Arnold W. Strauss, MD, Endowed Professor

Program affiliation
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis

Research summary
Sex differences, virulence factors, and novel therapeutics in E. coli urinary tract infections

Key words
bacterial pathogenesis, Escherichia coli, host-pathogen interactions, innate immunity, novel therapeutics, urinary tract infection, kidney, pyelonephritis, sex differences

Laura Ibanez, PhD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Research summary
Our lab is focused on developing new, minimally invasive tools for rapid and accurate diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases during the pre-symptomatic phases and predicting of outcomes during the acute phase of ischemic strokes.

Key words

Shin-ichiro Imai, MD, PhD

Professor

Program affiliation
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology
Neurosciences
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Molecular Cell Biology

Research summary
Understanding the molecular mechanism of aging and longevity in mammals

Key words
aging, longevity, hypothalamus, metabolism, NAD biosynthesis, Sirt1, NAMPT, NAD World

Masatoshi Inoue, PhD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Neurosciences
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Molecular Cell Biology
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology

Research summary
Our research program integrates protein engineering and systems neuroscience to address previously inaccessible questions about brain function, particularly in the area of social behavior.

Key words
Social Behavior, Protein engineering, Optics, Neural dynamics, Genetically encoded optical tools

Sayaka Inoue, PhD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Neurosciences
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology
Molecular Cell Biology

Research summary
We aim to understand neural basis controlling behaviors in females across the lifespan

Key words
neurobiology, behavior, hormone, plasticity, maturation, aging, optogenetics, calcium imaging, and circuit tracing

Joseph Ippolito, MD, PhD

Associate Professor

Program affiliation
Cancer Biology
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Molecular Cell Biology
Neurosciences

Research summary
Precision medicine through metabolism-based imaging and therapy: from laboratory to clinical translation

Key words
cancer, metabolism, imaging, sex differences, body composition

Meredith Jackrel, PhD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Molecular Cell Biology
Neurosciences

Research summary
Protein folding and misfolding, and the engineering and application of protein disaggregases to reverse misfolding

Key words
protein folding and misfolding; intrinsically disordered proteins, phase separation, and neurodegenerative disease; protein chaperones; protein engineering; amyloid; yeast models of protein misfolding

Sanjay Jain, MD, PhD

Associate Professor

Program affiliation
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Biomedical Informatics and Data Science

Research summary
Interactions between the nervous and genitourinary systems during development, molecular basis for heterogeneity in progenitors and their lineage commitments in the GU tract, injury and regeneration using animal models, mechanisms of malformations using organoids from iPSCs

Key words
cell fate, gene expression, genomics, disease models, growth factor signaling, kidney, bladder, innervation, stem cells, organogenesis, nervous system development, birth defects

Aimee James, PhD, MPH

Associate Professor

Program affiliation
Human and Statistical Genetics
Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Research summary
Cancer prevention and control, health disparities and community-based research

Key words

James Janetka, PhD

Professor

Program affiliation
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Cancer Biology
Molecular Cell Biology
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis

Research summary
The rational structure-based drug design and synthesis for cancer and infectious disease

Key words
protease, kinase, cancer, infection, lectin, chemistry, synthesis, drug discovery, peptidomimetic, inhibitor

Andrew Janowski, MD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis

Research summary
Characterization of human diseases associated with novel viral infections

Key words
Virology, microbiology, pathogen discovery, host-virus interactions, viral immunity, astroviruses, encephalitis, myocarditis, viral RNA structures

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