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.

Mentorship 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.

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Joel Perlmutter, MD

Professor

Program affiliation
Neurosciences

Research summary
Pharmacology, physiology and pathophysiology of basal ganglia and movement disorders

Key words
pathogenesis, neuroimaging, physiology, neurobiology, movement disorders, Parkinson disease, dystonia

Steven Petersen, PhD

Professor Emeritus

Program affiliation
General

Research summary
Behavioral and fMRI studies of attention and cognitive development

Key words
attention, language, development, behavior, imaging

Christine Pham, MD

G & EM Magness Professor

Program affiliation
Immunology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Research summary
Immunity and autoimmunity in inflammatory diseases; nanotherapy in the treatment of inflammatory diseases

Key words
autoimmunity, inflammation, innate immunity, nanotechnology, protease

Benjamin Philip, PhD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Neurosciences

Research summary
The interaction between hand dominance, brain lateralization, and rehabilitation following unilateral impairment such as stroke, amputation, or nerve injury

Key words

Jennifer Philips, MD, PhD

Theodore and Bertha Bryan Professor

Program affiliation
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis
Immunology
Molecular Cell Biology

Research summary
Immune Evasion by Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Key words
tuberculosis, host-pathogen interactions, innate immunity, autophagy, lipid metabolism, phagosome maturation, antigen presentation, macrophage

Marco Pignatelli, MD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Neurosciences
Molecular Cell Biology

Research summary
Understanding the synaptic mechanisms by which emotional experiences lead to maladaptive plasticity and the impact of neurotherapeutic drugs on those maladaptive synaptic neuroadaptations

Key words
synaptic plasticity, Optogenetics, cell-type specific pharmacology, patch clamp electrophysiology, rapid-acting antidepressants, motivated behavior, drug addiction and affective disorders

Linda Pike, PhD

Professor

Program affiliation
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Molecular Cell Biology

Research summary
EGF receptor-mediated cell signaling and the control of cell growth

Key words
signal transduction, cell signaling, cancer, EGF receptor

David Piston, PhD

Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. Professor and Head of the Department of Cell Biology & Physiology

Program affiliation
Molecular Cell Biology
Computational and Systems Biology
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Biomedical Informatics and Data Science

Research summary
Studies of the Molecular Pathways of Islet Hormone Secretion

Key words
Diabetes, Biophysics, Systems Biology, Computational Biology, Hyperspectral Imaging, Glucagon

Anya Plutynski, PhD

Associate Professor

Program affiliation
General

Research summary
History and philosophy of biology & medicine, general philosophy of science, biomedical ethics

Key words
cancer, genetics, evolution, risk, modeling

Mary Politi, PhD

Professor

Program affiliation
Biomedical Informatics and Data Science
Human and Statistical Genetics
Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Research summary
Develop and implement effective health communication and decision making interventions in community and clinical settings

Key words

Elizabeth Ann Pollina, PhD

Assistant Professor

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

Research summary
Molecular Mechanisms of Nervous System Longevity and Rejuvenation

Key words
epigenetics, nervous system, DNA repair, aging, rejuvenation

Jay Ponder, PhD

Associate Professor

Program affiliation
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Computational and Systems Biology

Research summary
Computational chemistry, protein engineering, theoretical protein structure and folding

Key words
molecular modeling, protein structure, computational chemistry, molecular dynamics simulation, protein engineering

Cyril Pottier, PhD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
General

Research summary

Key words

Sumanth Prabhu, MD

Tobias & Hortense Lewin Distinguished Professor of Cardiovascular Disease

Program affiliation
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Immunology
Molecular Cell Biology

Research summary

Key words

Amynah Pradhan, PhD

Associate Professor

Program affiliation
Neurosciences
Molecular Cell Biology

Research summary
My lab studies the molecular mechanisms of migraine chronicity, with an emphasis on opioid receptors

Key words
Opioids, pain, migraine, mouse models, neuroplasticity, addiction

Michael Province, PhD

Professor

Program affiliation
Human and Statistical Genetics
Computational and Systems Biology
Biomedical Informatics and Data Science

Research summary
Mathematical development of new statistical genetics methodology for complex traits

Key words
biostatistics, genetic epidemiology, human genetics, mathematical modeling, statistical genetics, systems biology

John Pruett, Jr., MD, PhD

Professor

Program affiliation
Neurosciences
Biomedical Informatics and Data Science

Research summary
The neuroscience of ASD, social cognition and comparative cognition

Key words
fcMRI, fMRI, infant, autism, face perception, visual attention, psychophysics, social cognition, comparative cognition

Sidharth Puram, MD, PhD

Associate Professor

Program affiliation
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Cancer Biology
Computational and Systems Biology
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology

Research summary
Understanding the role of tumor heterogeneity in cancer biology, including its contributions to cancer development, growth, metastasis, and treatment resistance mechanisms, in order to translate these insights into new diagnostics and novel therapeutics

Key words
tumor heterogeneity; single cell; spatial transcriptomics; head and neck cancer; signaling

David Queller, PhD

Spencer T. Olin Professor

Program affiliation
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Research summary
The evolution of sociality, cooperation, and cheating in a eukaryotic microbe, using experimental evolution, genomics, and other approaches

Key words
social interactions, evolution, microbiology, social amoebae, kin selection, moleuclar evolution, multicellularity, development, genomics

Muhammad Rai, PhD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Molecular Cell Biology

Research summary
Understanding the early molecular mechanisms that orchestrate changes in knee joint after injury and lead to the development of osteoarthritis.

Key words