Molecular and Cellular Physiology
Contact Information
Faculty and their Research Interest
A pair of synaptically-connected hippocampal neurons used to study mechanisms of long-term potentiation.
The Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology faculty share a common interest in the molecular mechanisms of cell signaling and behavior. A central goal of physiology in the post-genomic era is to understand how thousands of encoded proteins serve to bring about the highly coordinated behavior of cells and tissues. Research in the department approaches this goal at many levels of organization, ranging from single molecules and individual cells to multicellular systems and the whole organism. Areas of study include the structure/function analysis of ion channels and G-protein coupled receptors, and their roles at the cellular, organ, and whole-organism levels; the molecular basis of sensory transduction, synaptic transmission, plasticity and memory; the role of ion channels and calcium in controlling gene expression in neural and immune cells; and the regulation of vesicle trafficking and targeting, cell polarity, and cell-cell interactions in the nervous system and in epithelia. Research programs employ a wide range of approaches, including molecular and cell biology, biochemistry, genetics, biophysics, x-ray crystallography and solution NMR, electrophysiology, and in vitro and in vivo imaging with confocal and multi-photon microscopy.
In addition to a major emphasis on laboratory research, the graduate training program offers graduate level courses in cell biology and physiology, synaptic transmission, ion channels, transmembrane signal transduction, and advanced microscopy; seminars by outside speakers; research seminars by MCP graduate students and postdocs; and an annual 3-day retreat with research presentations by all departmental laboratories. A high degree of interaction among the faculty, post-doctoral fellows and graduate students in the department offers abundant opportunities for collaboration.
For more information contact:
Schantae Wright
Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology
Beckman Center, B100
Stanford, CA 94305-5345
(650) 725-7554
(650) 725-8021 (fax)
schantae@stanford.edu
http://mcp.stanford.edu
Faculty and their Research Interests
Axel Brunger. Structural and biophysical studies of the protein machinery underlying neurotransmission. X-ray crystallography and solution NMR studies of proteins involved in synaptic vesicle exocytosis and endocytosis, and receptor clustering in the post-synaptic neuron. Single-molecule studies of the protein complexes in the context of biological membranes.
Liang Feng. We are interested in the structure, dynamics and function of eukaryotic transport proteins mediating ions and major nutrients crossing the membrane, the kinetics and regulation of transport processes, the catalytic mechanism of membrane embedded enzymes and the development of small molecule modulators based on the structure and function of membrane proteins.
K. Christopher Garcia. Molecular immunology. Biochemical and structural studies of cell-surface receptor/ligand interactions with relevance to human health and disease. Applying biophysical and protein engineering approches to molecular problems in T-cell recognition, B-cell differentiation, innate immunity, and emerging molecules at the interface of immune and nervous systems.
Miriam Goodman. Mechanisms of mechano- and thermo-transduction in C. elegans. Sensory transduction is studied at the molecular, cellular, and behavioral levels, building on the complete wiring diagram of the C. Elegans nervous system, the genome sequence, and on mutants that alter sensory function. Analysis of mutations in sensory transduction complexes using patch clamp recordings of identified neurons in vivo. Structure-function and pharmacological studies of putative transduction channel proteins.
John Huguenard. We are interested in the neuronal mechanisms that underlie synchronous oscillatory activity in the thalamus, cortex and the massively interconnected thalamocortical system. Such oscillations are related to cognitive processes, normal sleep activities and certain forms of epilepsy. Our approach is an analysis of the discrete components (cells, synapses, microcircuits) that make up thalamic and cortical circuits, and reconstitution of components into in silico computational networks.
Brian Kobilka. Molecular structure of adrenergic receptors and conformational changes that mediate signal transduction. Intracellular targeting and trafficking of adrenergic receptors. Analysis of adrenergic subtype diversity in transgenic mice.
Richard Lewis. Calcium signaling mechanisms in lymphocytes. Gene-ration of calcium dynamics by channels, pumps and organelles, and effects of on the specificity of gene expression. Biophysics and regulation of store-operated calcium channels. Imaging T-cell signaling and development in vivo with 2-photon microscopy.
Daniel Madison. Mechanisms of synaptic transmission and plasticity in mammalian hippocampus using electrophysiological techniques. Study of long-term potentiation and mechanisms underlying memory formation in the central nervous system.
Merritt Maduke. Structure and function of ClC-type chloride ion channels. Direct structural studies of overex-pressed bacterial ClC homologues. Mechanistic studies, using macroscopic techniques and single-channel analysis, of eukaryotic ClC channels.
Maxence Nachury. We study the primary cilium, a once-obscure cellular organelle recently "re-discovered" for its role in a number of signaling pathways. Most fascinatingly, defects in cilium biogenesis lead to a variety of hereditary disorders characterized by retinal degeneration, kidney cysts and obesity. We aim to characterize these disorders at the molecular and cellular levels to gain insight into the basic mechanisms of primary cilium biogenesis and to discover novel ciliary signaling pathways.
James Nelson. Mechanisms involved in the development and maintenance of epithelial cell polarity. Molecular and cellular analysis of protein sorting, cell-cell adhesion proteins, and interactions with the cytoskeleton.
Lucy E. O'Brien. Stem cell dynamics during functional adaptation of the Drosophila midgut. Physiological signals and cellular interactions that distinguish stem-based organ remodeling from organ renewal. Impact of tissue architecture on stem cell behavior. Genetic perturbation of stem cell regulation, fixed and live tissue imaging, and quantitative morphometric analysis.
http://www.stemdynamics.org/
Richard Reimer. Reimer Lab interests A primary interest of our lab is to understand how nerve cells make and recycle neurotransmitters, the small molecules that they use to communicate with each other. In better defining these processes we hope to achieve our long-term goal of identifying novel sites for treatment of diseases such as epilepsy and Parkinson Disease. In our studies on neurotransmitter metabolism we have focused our efforts on transporters, a functional class of proteins that move neurotrans.
Anthony Ricci. The auditory sensory cell, the hair cell, detects mechanical stimulation at the atomic level and conveys information regarding frequency and intensity to the brain with high fidelity. Our interests are in identifying specializations associated with mechanotransduction and synaptic transmission leading to the amazing sensitivities of the auditory system. We are also interested in the developmental process, particularly in how development gives insight into repair and regenerative mechanisms.
Greg Scherrer. Our laboratory investigates the cellular and molecular mechanisms of pain and its control by opioids. When chronic, pain is no longer an essential warning system critical to our survival, but a disease that severely affects the quality of life of many patients. We search to identity the neurons that participate in generating the sensation of pain and to uncover the molecular mechanisms that regulate neural activity in pain circuits. One of our goals is to elucidate the mechanisms by which opioids such as morphine generate analgesia and detrimental side effects, including addiction, to develop more efficient and safer analgesics. To this end we combine a variety of experimental approaches including molecular and cellular biology, neuroanatomy, electrophysiology, optogenetics and behavior.
Stephen Smith. Cellular mechanisms of brain development and function. Analysis of dynamic structural aspects of synaptogenesis, synaptic plasticity and patterning of electrical activity in the brain using sophisticated optical imaging techniques.
Thomas C. Sudhof. Molecular physiology of synaptic transmission and synapse formation, from atomic structures to neural circuits and behavior, in health and disease. In this general topic, my laboratory is particularly interested in how calcium triggers release of neurotransmitters from a presynaptic nerve terminal, and how pre- and postsynaptic cell-adhesion molecules mediate synapse formation and specify the properties of synapses. Moreover, my laboratory studies autism as a disease of the neural cell-adhesion molecules neurexins and neuroligins, and examines neurodegeneration induced by molecules such as synuclein, cysteine-string-protein, and APP.
William Weis. Molecular interactions underlying the establishment and maintenance of cell and tissue structure. Biochemical, biophysical and structural analysis of signaling pathways that govern cell fate determination, the architecture and dynamics of intercellular adhesive junctions, and mechanisms of intracellular vesicle trafficking. Carbohydrate-based cell recognition and adhesion in the immune system.