MCO Faculty

Developing approaches to aid neuronal regeneration in the context of neurodegenerative diseases of the cortical output circuitry; modulating neuronal function in psychiatric diseases affecting cortical microcircuitry

Elucidation and study of biosynthetic pathways and enzymes as well as the development of synthetic methods that are compatible with microbial chemistry.

Sensory biology and cell physiology

The molecular and neural circuit basis of behavioral individuality.

Gene regulation, epigenetics and single-cell technologies

Ecology and evolution of microbial symbioses.

Cellular fat metabolism and inter-organelle communication

Real-time systems analysis of signal transduction and genetic networks at the single cell level

Combining optics, protein engineering, chemistry, electrophysiology, simulation, and theory, at the levels of individual molecules, single cells, and whole, genetically modified, organisms.

Molecular mechanisms underlying viral genomic RNA – host interactions

Mechanisms of membrane-associated cell biological processes.

Evolutionary dynamics, experimental evolution, population genetics (On sabbatical 2023-24)

Molecular and neural architecture of social behavior circuits

Computational and quantitative biology

Mechanisms of parasitic behavior manipulation across molecules, cells and circuits.

Synaptic plasticity: cellular mechanisms, development of functional networks and links to behaviour

Evolution of molecular and developmental mechanisms controlling cell fate decisions

High resolution dynamic and spatial studies of prokaryotic cellular organization

Structural biology of signaling and transport through biological membranes

Microbial eco-systems biology; Microbial physiology; Marine biogeochemistry (On sabbatical 2023-24)

Study of the mechanics of biomolecules, and more generally the role of physical and evolutionary forces in shaping biological systems

Experience-dependent brain development; critical periods

The genetic basis of adaptive morphology and behavior.

Evolutionary, ecological, and genetic basis of speciation

Development and Regeneration of the Mammalian Skin

C. elegans genetics of intercellular RNAi signaling

Mechanisms of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance

Chromosomes: motion, mechanics, DNA dynamics and spatial patterning

Evolution of floral developmental genetic pathways

Development of the nervous system, synaptic plasticity, behavior and evolution

Development of chemical and molecular biology tools to allow new measurements and perturbations in biological systems; study mechanisms of gene regulation and dysregulation in cancer.

Synaptic structure and competition

Chemical and synthetic biology, molecular evolution

mathematical sciences

Study evolution, hybridization, and speciation - mainly in butterflies (Not accepting graduate students 2023-2024)

Virus biophysics; imaging techniques for studying self-assembly

Reproductive and regenerative biology

Neuronal cell biology, neural circuits and olfaction

Quantitative studies of biological self-organization, and the architecture and dynamics of subcellular structures

Force-induced denaturation of DNA, sequence heterogeneity and the dynamics of motor proteins, population growth and mutation in disordered media

Understanding and harnessing the complexity of plant chemistry and metabolism

Theoretical and experimental studies of self-assembly, DNA/chromosome structure, homology recognition, Roles for Mechanical Force Probes Using Single Molecules

Multicolor and time-resolved electron microscopy of cell signaling

System biology, decision making, neurobiology

Evolutionary forces in humans and pathogens

Circuits and Behavior

Small molecule probes and therapeutics controlling gene expression, epigenetics, and cell states

Development, Regeneration, Evolutionary Biology

Neurobiology of perception and decision making

Uncovering the intrinsic and extrinsic regulators of stem cell function, and revealing how changes in stem cell activity impact tissue regeneration throughout life

Non-coding RNA biology, imprinted gene expression regulation, neurobiology

Discovering principles governing regenerative success in tetrapods

Development and application of chemical proteomic methods to study the interactions of therapeutics, natural products, and metabolites within the cellular proteome

Molecular and circuit mechanisms underlying behavior and plasticity

Single-molecule and super-resolution studies of cellular processes

Neural mechanisms underlying motor sequence learning (On sabbatical Fall 2023)

Microbial development and gene regulation

Chromosome segregation, yeast sex, and evolution

Computational methods to identify functional genomic sequences and structures. Quest for conserved RNA structures

Assembly and function of neural circuits in the visual system (currently not taking students)