SUMMARY OF VISION STATEMENTS AND RESEARCH STRENGTHS
3.4.14
Department / Vision / Research Strengths
Neuroscience / Focus on four disorders of the brain:
  • Neurodegeneration
  • Epilepsy
  • Obesity
  • Autism
Collaboration with local biotech and pharma companies / Translational strength in synaptic and glial biology:
  • GABA synaptic transmission
  • Astrocyte to neuronal synaptic signaling
  • Epilepsy
  • Synapse formation & neurodevelopmental disorders
  • Synaptic defects and neurological diseases
Facility/techniques strength:
  • CNR core
  • Wide range of behavior assays
  • Unique set of mouse tools for characterizing drug targets and developing drug assays
  • Experience with industrial partners

IPP / Blended discipline approach leading to collaborative study of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.
New chair and associated recruitments will influence future research interests / Pathogenesis and treatment of chronic diseases that are characterized by inflammation and immune system reactions
  • Obesity
  • Other inflammatory diseases including asthma, allergy, osteoarthritis
  • Autoimmune diseases

DMCB / Facilitate discovery of novel therapeutics targeting molecular mechanisms underlying human disease. Understanding cell function as it relates to cancer and other diseases of development. / Three major themes:
  • Tumor stem cells and metastasis
  • Signaling in development & disease
  • Structural biology & structure-based drug discovery
Specific foci:
  • Breast cancer
  • Brain cancer
  • Inflammation
  • Neuronal development & disease
  • Repair and degeneration
  • Structural and chemical biology
  • DNA tumor viruses

SUMMARY OF VISION STATEMENTS AND RESEARCH STRENGTHS
3.4.14
Department / Vision / Research Strengths
MBM / Four priorities
  • Improved TB/TB-HIV interventions
  • Engineer human microbiome to
  • Food and waterborne infectious diseases
  • Emerging nosocomial diseases
/ TB: novel technologies to model mycobacterial survival and drug sensitivity, directed toward development of more effective treatment and prevention
Microbiome: experienced research group focused on investigating growth and physiology of microbes that cause infection, interactions among microbes, new methodologies to change microbiome, mechanisms of pathogenesis
Food & Waterborne Diseases: mechanism and host response, development of diagnostics, prophylactics and therapeutics
Nosocomial Diseases: mechanisms of virulence, response of host to microbial infection, mechanisms of multidrug resistance and alternative anti-infection strategies, development of new technologies to interrogate nosocomial pathogens
PHCM / Improve health of populations, particularly vulnerable ones, through focus on specific diseased-based patient populations as well as groups defined by exposure status, both domestic and global.
Focus on practical applications that produce positive behavior change, decrease in risk exposure, improved access to care and optimization of health for all. /
  • Environmental health
  • Health care delivery and equity
  • Relationship of animal health, environmental health and human health (One Health)
  • Nutritional status and outcomes in vulnerable populations
  • Validation of tools to address issues in nutrition research
  • Asian health
  • Health literacy
  • Technology and health outcomes
  • Infectious disease,inflammatory exposures/outcomes
  • [International health—redundant to all above, which are both domestic and global, but want to emphasize]