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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Jianmin Cui, PhD

Professor on the Spencer T. Olin Endowment

Program affiliation
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Neurosciences

Research summary
Molecular basis of bioelectricity and related diseases in nervous and cardiovascular systems; ion channel function and modulation; discovery of drugs that target ion channels

Key words
allosteric regulation, calcium, drug mechanisms, epilepsy, ion channel, structure-function analysis

Joseph Culver, PhD

Sherwood Moore Professor

Program affiliation
Neurosciences

Research summary
Non-invasive optical measurements for both functional- and molecular- biological imaging

Key words

David Curiel, MD, PhD

Professor

Program affiliation
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Immunology
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology

Research summary
To address the central mandate of gene therapy we engineer adenovirus tropism to allow the achievement of effective gene delivery

Key words
Adenovirus, virotherapy, virus, cancer, gene therapy, vaccine

Yifan Dai, PhD

Assistant Professor

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

Research summary
My lab aims to establish the fundamental principles of intracellular physical chemistry and electrochemical functions of macromolecular complexes, and design synthetic proteins as therapeutics for condensate-dependent diseases.

Key words
molecular biology; physical chemistry; biochemistry; biophysics; synthetic biology; electrochemistry; phase transition; condensates

Zhiyu Dai, PhD

Associate Professor

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

Research summary
My research aims to understand the lung vascular homeostasis and the pathogenesis of pulmonary diseases using novel animal models, integrated pharmacological approaches, genome editing and single cell RNA-sequencing and spatial transcriptomics.

Key words
cardiovascular, lung, vascular, single cell, spatial transcriptomic

Mai Dang, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Neurosciences
Cancer Biology
Immunology

Research summary
The primary research goal of our laboratory is to uncover novel ways to alter the pediatric brain tumor microenvironment to enhance the efficacy of existing treatments and make treatments safer for children.

Key words
brain tumors, cancer, neurology, immunology, imaging

Gautam Dantas, PhD

Professor

Program affiliation
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis
Computational and Systems Biology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology

Research summary
(1) Dynamics, ecology, and evolution of antibiotic resistance, (2) Engineering enhanced probiotics to treat GI disorders, (3) Engineering microbial biofuel catalysts

Key words
anibiotic resistance, synthetic biology, bioenergy, human microbiome, metagenomics, microbial ecology and biodiversity

Nicholas Davidson, MD

Professor

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

Research summary
Mammalian gene expression: Regulation through mRNA editing and RNA stabilization

Key words
gene expression, RNA, cancer, mRNA editing, mRNA stability

Victor Davila-Roman, MD

Professor

Program affiliation
Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Research summary
Noninvasive characterization of heart function in patients with high blood pressure

Key words
imaging, hypertrophy, myocardial bloodflow

Albert Davis, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor

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

Research summary
Understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms of protein aggregation and neurodegeneration in Parkinson disease and dementia with Lewy bodies

Key words

Anthony Dell, PhD

Ecologist

Program affiliation
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Biomedical Informatics and Data Science
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Computational and Systems Biology
Plant and Microbial Biosciences

Research summary
We integrate metabolic, movement, and community ecology to address core and applied ecological and evolutionary questions. Spanning diverse species and habitats, our research links individual physiology to global biodiversity patterns using theory, data, experiments, and field studies. We aim to understand ecological systems, including human impacts, to inform effective management and policy.

Key words
metabolism, movement ecology, community ecology, behavior, species interactions, human-nature interactions, biogeography, global change, computer vision, eco-informatics, complex systems, biodiversity, great river systems, ecological management

David DeNardo, PhD

Professor

Program affiliation
Cancer Biology
Molecular Cell Biology
Immunology

Research summary
Molecular Mechanisms of Immune Regulation of Tumor Progression.

Key words
immunotherapy, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, immunology, inflammation, metastasis, storm

Frederik Denorme, PhD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
General

Research summary
Our lab uses murine stroke models and stroke patient samples to better understand ischemic stroke pathology.

Key words
Stroke platelet neutrophil neurology translational research

Carl DeSelm, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Immunology
Cancer Biology
Molecular Cell Biology

Research summary
Dr. DeSelm clinically focuses on treating lymphoma, and is actively developing novel CAR T cell approaches to treating solid tumors, including lymphoma, pancreatic cancer and glioblastoma.

Key words

Jorge Di Paola, MD

Professor/Division Chief

Program affiliation
Molecular Cell Biology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Research summary
The genetics of bleeding and thrombotic disorders and mechanisms of platelet activation

Key words

Michael Diamond, MD, PhD

Herbert S. Gasser Professor

Program affiliation
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis
Immunology

Research summary
Innate and Adaptive Host Immunity to Viral Infections

Key words
virology, microbial pathogenesis, immunology

Aaron DiAntonio, MD, PhD

Alan A. And Edith L. Wolff Professor

Program affiliation
Neurosciences
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology

Research summary
Neural circuits in development and disease

Key words
axon regeneration, axon degeneration, neurodegeneration, glia, neuronal development and differentiation, neuroinflammation, neuroimmunology, synapse biology, drug screens, metabolism

Patricia Dickson, MD

Centennial Professor

Program affiliation
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Neurosciences

Research summary
Developing therapies and studying the impact of lysosomal storage disorders in animal models and in trials

Key words

Sabine Dietmann, PhD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Biomedical Informatics and Data Science

Research summary
Developing integrative multi-omics and machine learning techniques for single-cell data sets in developmental biology and medicine

Key words
Bioinformatics, Multi-omics, Genomics, Epigenetics, Machine learning

Mary Dinauer, MD, PhD

Professor Emeritus

Program affiliation
General

Research summary
Role of leukocyte NADPH oxidase in innate immunity, inflammation, and autoimmunity

Key words
immunodeficiency, inflammation, ROS, macrophage, molecular medicine, neutrophil, Aspergillus, fungus, autoimmunity, immunology

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