Andrew Russo, PhD

Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Neurology

Dr. Russo's research interest is the molecular basis of migraine. The hallmark of migraine is altered sensory perception coupled with a debilitating headache. Clinical studies have established that the neuropeptide calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a key player in migraine. Using mouse models, we have shown that CGRP acts both centrally and peripherally to induce light aversive behavior analogous to photophobia. CGRP also induces pain indicated by facial grimace and reduced voluntary movement. Our lab is currently using genetic and optogenetic tools to identify the neural pathways responsible for CGRP-induced photosensitivity and pain. We are also exploring how CGRP is elevated by cortical spreading depression, which is associated with migraine aura and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Recently, we have begun translational studies testing photosensitivity in migraine patients and veterans with mild TBI. Our overall goals are to develop effective diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for migraine and post-traumatic headache.

Rasna Sabharwal, PhD

Internal Medicine

Research in the Sabharwal Lab is directed towards understanding neurohumoral regulatory mechanisms in health and disease.  Ongoing projects investigate the role of renin-angiotensin system, sympathetic nervous system, and hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal axis in muscular dystrophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, dilated cardiomyopathy and stress-induced sudden death.  We utilize multidisciplinary and state-of-the art approaches such as radiotelemetry, echocardiography, in vivo viral gene transfer, optogenetics etc. to assess cardiovascular and autonomic functions, sleep-wakefulness patterns, behavior and neural circuitry in genetically modified mice.  Our ultimate goal is to identify novel therapies that can be translated to yield better clinical outcomes in neuromuscular and neurodegenerative diseases, cardiomyopathies and psychosocial disorders. 

Kelly Schieltz, PhD

Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics

Dr. Schieltz is an Assistant Professor and psychologist in Pediatric Psychology, Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, who specializes in the assessment and treatment of severe challenging behavior (e.g., self-injury, aggression, property destruction) displayed by children with and without developmental disabilities. Her programmatic research is focused in two areas that span the applied and translational research continuum in applied behavior analysis. The focus of her applied research is on coaching and training parents in their homes in-vivo and via telehealth to conduct behavioral treatments with their young children with developmental disabilities who engage in severe challenging behavior. Her translational research focuses on the application of Behavioral Momentum Theory to further understand and facilitate the long-term maintenance (i.e., behavioral persistence) of adaptive behavior (e.g., communication, academic responding) when treatment is disrupted, and the evaluation of changes in prefrontal brain activity (via fNIRS) during behavioral assessments and treatments of severe challenging behavior. 

Mark Schultz, PhD

Pediatrics

The Schultz lab uses induced pluripotent stem cell derived excitatory neurons and mouse models to explore protein homeostasis in the brain. The research group focuses on Niemann-Pick type C disease, a rare neurovisceral disorder caused mainly by NPC1 gene mutations. NPC1 encodes a complex glycoprotein which is essential for moving cholesterol out of lysosomes. Many of the disease causing NPC1 mutants misfold in the ER and are swiftly degraded by the proteasome and ER-autophagy. If ER degradation is prevented, these mutants still function when reaching lysosomes, exporting cholesterol. This observation has spurred the interest of the Schultz lab in acquiring a comprehensive understanding of the process of NPC1 degradation, with the ultimate goal of using this knowledge to develop proteostasis (protein homeostasis) modulators to restore the function of the mutated versions of NPC1.

David Shaha, MD

Neurology

Dr. Shaha is Director of the Sleep Lab in the Department of Neurology. He is interested in clinical interventions to address sleep disorders as well as understanding the impact of sleep on human performance.

Madeline Shea, PhD

Biochemistry, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics

The Shea Lab studies how allosteric interactions govern calcium-mediated signal transduction pathways essential to human health. The group dissects distinct roles of the domains of the essential calcium receptor protein calmodulin (CaM) to understand molecular mechanisms of regulation of voltage-gated ion channels, the Ser/Thr phosphatase calcineurin, the NMDA receptor, CaMKII, the ryanodine receptor and other target proteins found in neurons and muscle.  They develop and apply quantitative approaches of biophysical chemistry (including NMR, fluorescence, crystallography, CD, hydrodynamics, footprinting) to probe the linkage between energetic and structural determinants that control binding of calcium and drugs to CaM, and the resulting domain-specific conformational changes of CaM that control its regulation of protein targets.  The Shea Lab discovered the role of order-disorder transitions on the cooperativity within and between CaM domains, and explores how those are influenced by target interactions.

Susan Shen, MD, PhD

Psychiatry

The Shen lab seeks to bridge basic science and health services research by exploring the intersection of nature and nurture in mental health. We draw upon tools and perspectives from diverse fields (including neuroscience, genomics, and environmental health) to dissect the complex interplay between genes and the environment. We are especially interested in how early-life and cumulative exposures influence later-life outcomes for mood disorders, psychosis, substance use, and neurodegenerative disorders. By identifying cellular endophenotypes and their molecular correlates, we aim to advance the detection and treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders.

Kathleen Sluka, PT, PhD

Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science

Dr. Sluka's laboratory studies the peripheral and central mechanisms of chronic musculoskeletal pain, and non-pharmacological treatment for chronic pain. These studies involve the use of animal models of muscle pain developed and characterized in Dr. Sluka's laboratory, as well as projects in human subjects. We use a variety of techniques to address these questions including cell culture, molecular biology, genetic manipulations, behavioral pharmacology, and standard clinical trial methodology. Our overall goals are to improve the management of pain for people with a variety of musculoskeletal pain conditions by discovering the underlying mechanisms that lead to the development of chronic pain, discovering new therapies for pain management, and improving the use of currently available treatment for pain.

Greta Sokoloff, PhD

Psychological and Brain Sciences

Humans sleep the most when they are young and yet very little is known about why. Importantly, during infancy we spend more time in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep than at any other time in our life. Dr. Sokoloff is interested in understanding the role of sleep, especially REM sleep, in early brain development. Her work has found that the movements that accompany REM sleep, myoclonic twitches, result in strong activation of sensorimotor systems – activation that is rarely observed when infant rodents are awake. Following decades of research investigating the role of twitching on the development of the sensorimotor system in infant rodents, we are now investigating twitching in human infants. With an understanding of the quantity and patterning of twitches in early postnatal development, in concert with neural activity, we hope to leverage REM sleep twitches as an early assessment of brain and spinal cord function in typically and atypically developing human populations.

Levi Sowers, PhD

Pediatrics

 Dr. Sowers' research focuses on the pathophysiology of migraine in preclinical models, with an emphasis on the neural circuitry underlying photophobia and pain. His recent work concentrates on cerebellar-thalamic networks and how CGRP and CGRP-producing neurons within these networks contribute to headache-like hypersensitivity. He is also the cofounder and co-host of the Vets First podcast, which communicates research to Veterans. 

Hanna Stevens, MD, PhD

Psychiatry

The Psychiatry and Early Neurobiological Development Lab (PENDL) in the Iowa Neuroscience Institute seeks to understand molecular and cellular aspects of early brain development and their relevance to psychiatric disorders. We are particularly interested in understanding how prenatal stress, environmental exposures, and genes that play a role in early development have an impact on childhood behavior and act as risk factors for multiple psychiatric disorders. 

We use mostly basic science techniques including molecular, cellular, neuroanatomical, and behavioral assessment of mouse models. Specific mechanisms currently being examined in the lab are embryonic neuronal migration, telomere biology and oxidative stress, embryonic neurogenesis, fibroblast growth factor signaling, and branched chain amino acid metabolism. We also examine risk factors during prenatal development in family cohorts. Our goal is to advance mental health prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disorders across the lifespan. We particularly focus on the high risk times of pregnancy and early development. 

Edwin M. Stone, MD, PhD

Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences

Research in the Stone Lab is focused on the diagnosis, mechanistic understanding, and treatment of a wide variety of inherited retinal diseases. Specifically, we are working to develop: 1) cost effective, sensitive and specific genetic tests; 2) strategies for creating transplantable retinal tissues from patient-derived iPSCs (for cell-based treatment as well as for rapidly and inexpensively assessing the performance of new therapeutic vectors in human cells); and, 3) an assortment of immune-deficient animal models of inherited retinal disease that can be used for testing the viability and functionality of genetically-corrected, iPSC-derived retinal cells.

Lane Strathearn, MBBS, PhD, FRACP

Pediatrics

Dr. Strathearn is a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Iowa, Director of the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, and Physician Director of the Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD). His research focuses on the neurobiology of mother-infant attachment, including longitudinal studies of parents and infants, examining maternal brain and oxytocin responses to infant face and cry cues, using functional MRI and behavioral observation. His most recent NIH grants support research into maternal brain responses of drug-addicted mothers, and the potential role of intranasal oxytocin to enhance parental caregiving responses. As co-director of the University of Iowa Autism Center, he is also interested in developmental, behavioral and genetic risk markers for autism and has conducted eye tracking research in children with autism.

Sabrina Tan, MD

Internal Medicine

The Tan laboratory focuses on viral neurol immunology in two areas. They study immune responses to the human polyomavirus JC (JCPyV), a virus that infects most people for life but only causes diseases in persons with a compromised immune system. JCPyV reactivation in the brain causes the often fatal progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). There is currently no effective treatment for PML. The lab work on how specific subsets of Natural Killer (NK) cell and T cells can mediate potent anti-viral responses against JCPyV and protect immunocompromised patients against PML. A second focus area is the immune and inflammatory response to viruses in the CNS. The current model is the SIV and SARS-CoV-2 infection of rhesus macaques brains. They use immunohistology methods to analyze the brain samples from macaques with viral infections and with immune modulators.

Seth Tomchik, PhD

Associate Director for Research Training and Development

Neuroscience and Pharmacology

The Tomchik Lab focuses on two major areas of research: (1) learning and memory, and (2) neuronal effects of the genetic disorder neurofibromatosis type 1.  These are related, as we seek to understand both how the brain encodes memory in normal conditions, as well as to understand how fundamental features of brain plasticity are altered in disorders that affect brain function.

Dan Tranel, PhD

Neurology, Psychological and Brain Sciences

Research in the Tranel laboratory is aimed at understanding brain-behavior relationships in humans, at systems level. Two main approaches are used: (1) the lesion method, in which brain-damaged patients are studied with neuropsychological procedures to determine how certain lesion sites are related to certain cognitive and behavioral deficits; and (2) functional imaging, including PET and fMRI, in which the brain activation in normal subjects is measured while the subjects are performing various tasks. Specific topics that Tranel is working on currently include: brain networks; retrieval of conceptual knowledge; retrieval of words and lexical knowledge; emotion and decision-making; nonconscious processing; acquired disorders of social conduct; memory; and psychophysiology. Tranel's research has been continuously funded for more than three decades.

Yuriy M. Usachev, PhD

Neuroscience and Pharmacology, Anesthesia

Chronic pain management remains one of the most serious public health problems. The Usachev Lab uses an array of molecular biological and genetic techniques, combined with patch-clamp recordings and fluorescent imaging of intracellular Ca2+, Na+ and pH changes in pain-conducting neurons (called nociceptors), as well as behavioral studies to address two broad sets of questions related to chronic pain pathogenesis. The first set of questions focuses on relatively rapid changes to nociceptor excitability and synaptic transmission that are induced by proinflammatory mediators generated by immune and glial cells at the site of injury or inflammation, and mediated via phosphorylation of so-called pain channels, including TRPV1, TRPA1 and voltage-gated Na+ channels Nav1.7, 1.8 and 1.9. We are particularly interested in the role of the complement system factors C3a and C5a in regulating nociceptor excitability and function. The second set of questions examines the long-term changes to the nociceptor molecular composition and function in response to injury or inflammation, and involves alterations in gene expression. 

Michelle Voss, PhD

Psychological and Brain Sciences

Research in the Voss Lab examines the neurobiological mechanisms associated with cognitive aging and age-related neurological diseases, and how to effectively intervene for improved cognition and quality of life. One line of research focuses on determining the effects of physical activity and sedentary behavior on the brain and cognition across the lifespan. A parallel line of studies examines age-related individual differences in the neurobiological mechanisms of skill acquisition and associative memory. We also bring these two interests together by examining how physical activity affects learning and memory. We examine neural mechanisms using non-invasive neuroimaging techniques, such as structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging at MRRF.

Edward A. Wasserman, PhD

Psychological and Brain Sciences

Dr. Wasserman's research concerns the comparative psychology and neurobiology of learning, memory, and cognition. Together with colleagues at The University of Iowa, The Ohio State University, and University College, London, he has an ongoing federally-funded project entitled, “Development and Neurobiology of Categorization.” They have several aspirations: (1) to document ontogenetic and phylogenetic changes in categorization, (2) to link brain development with the development of categorization in humans, (3) to develop and test animal models of category learning, and (4) to use animal models for examining the neurobiology of categorization.

Joshua Weiner, PhD

Associate Director for Education and Outreach

Biology

The Weiner Lab is focused on identifying the molecular mechanisms regulating neural circuit formation in the developing brain. We utilize a variety of transgenic mouse models, generated using Cre/LoxP and CRISPR/Cas9 techniques, as well as cell line, neuronal, and glial cultures, protein biochemistry, transcriptomics, and confocal microscopy. Many current projects center around protocadherins, diverse cell adhesion molecules that we've shown are critical for neuronal survival, dendrite arborization, and synaptogenesis. We are also identifying functions for a poorly-understood nuclear protein, Akirin2; mice lacking this protein in the nervous system exhibit microcephaly, ataxia, defective neuronal and glial differentiation, and dysregulation of genes involved in circuit formation. Our work, funded by the NIH, March of Dimes, and other private organizations, is relevant to a wide variety of neurodevelopmental disorders associated with autism and intellectual disability.

Jan Wessel, PhD

Neurology, Psychological and Brain Sciences

The Wessel Lab is interested in how humans carry out and maintain goal-directed behaviors; specifically, we investigate how the cognitive system resolves challenges to this goal. Common examples of such challenges are unexpected events and action errors. We investigate the dynamic interplay between brain networks that subserve the monitoring of the external and internal environment, the evaluation of action outcomes, and the adaptation of ongoing behavior and cognition in the short and long term. To investigate these networks, we utilzie a wide arsenal of human neuroscience methods (EEG, ECoG, Deep-brain stimulation, TMS, fMRI, computational modelling, autonomic measures). Furthermore, we study how pathological processes, brain lesions, and (ab)normal aging affect these networks.

Florence Williams, PhD

Chemistry

The Williams lab in the Department of Chemistry applies organic synthetic expertise to questions of cellular biology.  One area of focus is natural products which have been identified as neurotrophic – causing growth, proliferation and/or differentiation in neuron or neuron progenitor cells.  We synthetically produce the natural product molecules as well as variants which allow for structure-activity-relationship studies and cross-linking mechanistic studies.  Moreover, we perform biochemical analyses using PC-12 cell lines in order to elucidate signal transduction pathways.  Another area of interest is the development of bioorthogonal reactions – reactions that are exquisitely selective, where the reagents react only with each other and do not react with anything naturally present in a cell.  Bioorthogonal reactions allow for the control of a single bond forming process despite complex physiologically relevant environments and can be used for applications ranging from ligations to synthetic post-translational modifications.

Kristan Worthington, PhD

Biomedical Engineering

The Worthington Lab is interested in using biomaterials to help study and treat various diseases and conditions. We are currently using high-resolution 3D printing to create degradable scaffolds to deliver iPSC-derived photoreceptor cells to the retina. We are also studying ways in which we can fine-tune the release of proteins and small molecules from these precision biomaterials and developing stem cell culture strategies to streamline the differentiation of neural cells.

William Xu, MD

Anesthesia

Dr. Xu is interested in exploring the neurophysiological mechanism of acupuncture analgesia, including how and why acute pain, chronic pain and inflammation can be regulated by acupuncture treatment. Clinically, he is focused on using acupuncture to promote the ERAS ( Enhanced Recovery After Surgery) in perioperative medicine, how acupuncture can be used to improve the rehabilitation of PTSD, neurotrauma, stroke, fibromyalgia  and muscle fatigue. He also studies the neurological mechanism of DBS ( Deep Brain Stimulation) in movement disorders and other neurological/Psychiatric diseases like migraine, addiction, depression etc.