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.

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.
Aaron Norris, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
- Email: norrisa@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Neurosciences
Research summary
Neurobiology at the intersections of stress, sleep, metaboslim, and sedation
Key words
Dmitri Nusinow, PhD
Assistant Member
- Email: dnusinow@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Molecular Cell Biology
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Research summary
Circadian clock regulation of physiology and development in plants.
Key words
Plant Biology, circadian rhythms, biochemistry, genetics, Arabidopsis, mass spectrometry, chronobiology
Regis O`Keefe, MD, PhD
Fred C Reynolds Professor and Head of the Department of
- Email: rokeefe@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Molecular Cell Biology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Research summary
Cartilage research, bone repair, skeletal development, cancer and inflammatory diseases of bone
Key words
Cartilage research, bone repair, skeletal development, cancer and inflammatory diseases of bone
Karen O`Malley, PhD
Professor
- Email: omalleyk@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Neurosciences
Molecular Cell Biology
Research summary
Mechanisms underlying the specification, regulation, and neurodegeneration of dopaminergic and glutamatergic systems
Key words
apoptosis, bioinformatics, gene expression, neurobiology, signal transduction, transgenic
Yusuke Okuno, PhD
Assistant Professor
- Email: okuno@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Neurosciences
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Research summary
Okuno Lab investigates how water molecules interact with protein surfaces and explores the underlying mechanisms of protein folding and aggregation through NMR spectroscopy.
Key words
Biophysics, NMR, solvent, protein hydration, aggregation, reverse micelles
Kenneth Olsen, PhD
George William and Irene Koechig Freiberg Professor
- Email: kolsen@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Research summary
Plant evolutionary biology, molecular population genetics, genetics of adaptation, phylogeography
Key words
evolution, genetics, plant biology, population genetics, molecular evolution
John Olson Jr., MD, PhD
William K. Bixby Professor and Head of the Department of Surgery
- Email: jaolson@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Cancer Biology
Molecular Cell Biology
Research summary
Understanding endocrine tumor formation
Key words
David Ornitz, MD, PhD
Alumni Endowed Professor
- Email: dornitz@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology
Molecular Cell Biology
Neurosciences
Research summary
Regulation of lung, skeletal, and cardiovascular development, injury response, and regeneration by Fibroblast Growth Factors
Key words
cell signaling; development; fibroblast growth factors; mouse models; stem cells, regeneration; pulmonary hypertension; alveologenesis; endocrine signaling
Miranda Orr, PhD
Associate Professor
- Email: orr.m@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Neurosciences
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology
Molecular Cell Biology
Computational and Systems Biology
Immunology
Research summary
Key words
Anthony Orvedahl, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
- Email: aorvedahl@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Immunology
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis
Research summary
Understanding factors that regulate host immune responses to infectious and sterile triggers of severe inflammation
Key words
Jeramia Ory, PhD
Assistant Professor
- Email: oryjeramia@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
General
Research summary
Key words
fungi, bioinformatics, copper, mentoring, inclusion,
Philip Osdoby, PhD
Professor
- Email: osdoby@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology
Molecular Cell Biology
Research summary
Bone remodeling cell and molecular events of osteoclast activity and development
Key words
extracellular matrix, bone biology, development, aging, osteoclast
Hysell Oviedo, PhD
Assistant Professor
- Email: hysell@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Neurosciences
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology
Computational and Systems Biology
Research summary
My research program aims to understand the neural circuits that underlie vocal communication processing and investigate how these circuits are disrupted in neuropsychiatric disorders.
Key words
Auditory System, Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Mouse Models, Communication Processing, Development
Russell Pachynski, MD
Associate Professor
- Email: rkpachynski@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Cancer Biology
Immunology
Molecular Cell Biology
Research summary
Key words
Camillo Padoa-Schioppa, PhD
Professor
- Email: camillo@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Neurosciences
Research summary
Neurobiology of economic decisions
Key words
decision making, neuroeconomics, neurophysiology, computational neuroscience, prefrontal cortex
Dave Pagliarini, PhD
Hugo F. and Ina C. Urbauer Professor
- Email: pagliarini@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Molecular Cell Biology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Computational and Systems Biology
Research summary
We seek to understand the cellular and biochemical underpinnings of mitochondrial dysfunction in human diseases. Our work integrates large-scale methodologies with traditional biochemistry and cell biology to investigate the modulation, adaptation, and basic metabolic function of mitochondria.
Key words
Mitochondria, Protein biochemistry, Genetic screening, Metabolism, Biosynthesis, Orphan protein function, Proteomics, Metabolomics, Kinases and phosphates, Metabolic disease, Systems biochemistry
Stephen Pak, PhD
Associate Professor
- Email: stephen.pak@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
General
Research summary
High-throughput drug discovery using C. elegans models of protein aggregation disorders
Key words
Himadri Pakrasi, PhD
George William and Irene Koechig Freiberg Professor
- Email: pakrasi@wustl.edu
Program affiliation
Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Research summary
Systems and Synthetic Biology of photosynthetic organisms
Key words
Bioenergy, membrane proteins, photosynthesis, redox processes, systems biology, synthetic biology