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An Alphabetized List of PAgesAn Alphabetized List of PAges
  Faculty Research Interests    
     
 

Animal Well-Being and Human-Animal Interactions
Behavioral
Cancer
Cardiovascular & Muscle Physiology
Central Nervous System
Cognitive Neuropsychology
Disease
 

 

Drug Abuse and Interactions
Eating Controls
Endocrine System
Exercise Physiology

Motor Control
Neural Plasticity
Reproduction
Sleep
Vision and Hearing

 

VCAPP:
Faculty Contact List

Neuroscience:
Faculty Contact List


ANIMAL WELL-BEING AND HUMAN-ANIMAL INTERACTIONS

Ruth C. Newberry (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/newberry.asp) - “I study factors affecting the behavior and well-being of animals, with a focus on identifying environmental enrichment strategies that minimize aggression, cannibalism and other injurious behaviors.”

Jaak Panksepp (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/depts-vcapp/Panksepp-endowed.asp “I am the founder of the now rapidly expanding scientific specialty called Affective Neuroscience.   My research interests are devoted to understanding the basic brain mechanisms that allow organisms to have various affective feelings, especially emotional ones that are important for understanding psychiatric disorders in both humans and other animals.   This knowledge should help us to understand the comfort zones by which all animals live their lives, and give us better ideas for all kinds of emotional distress including those that result in drug addictions.  Our research focuses on the instinctual emotional behaviors of animals, while accepting the importance of experienced lives in understanding what brains really do.”


BEHAVIORAL

Rebecca Craft (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/craft.asp) - “My research goals are to determine whether the rewarding effects of drugs differ in females vs. males, whether females’ and males’ perception of drug effects differ, whether any of the effects of commonly used psychoactive drugs differ between the sexes, and the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of such sex differences.”

Dennis G. Dyck (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/dyck.asp) - “My laboratory focuses on clinical management of schizophrenia and immunological responses to the chronic stresses of care-giving.”

Patricia Talcott (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/talcott.asp) “My current position involves teaching in the veterinary curriculum and providing diagnostic toxicology service to Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory and the University of Idaho's Analytical Sciences Laboratory. The veterinary toxicology service currently receives over 1300 cases per year, totaling more than 4,100 tests. These cases come from all over the Northwest and include submissions involving all animal species.”

Jay Wright (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/wright.asp)- “My research program concerns memory dysfunction, such as that seen with Alzheimer’s disease. I am developing new drug therapies in an attempt to reduce memory problems.”


CANCER

Patrick Gavin (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/people-vcs/faculty/gavin.asp)  - “My interests are in the area of diagnosis of brain and spinal disorders via magnetic resonance imaging, treatment of brain tumors with radiation, and normal brain tissue tolerance to radiation.”


CARDIOVASCULAR AND MUSCLE PHYSIOLOGY

Ken Campbell (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/campbell.asp) - “I study the relation between contraction systems (muscle), the mechanical load against which contractile systems must work, and the excitation systems (nervous system and other bioelectric generators such as cardiac pacemakers) that drive contraction.  This triad of physiologic systems (muscle-load-excitation) co-evolved according to the outcomes of interactions that favored the survival of the organism.  Articulation of aspects of interactions that lead to favorable functional outcomes (i.e., enhanced mechanical energy exchange between the organism and its environment) becomes the center piece of a deeper understanding of the integrated organism and the foundations for a biomimetic engineering.”

Murali Chandra (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/chandra.asp) - “My research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms responsible for regulation of the contractile machinery of heart muscle cells and how myofilament remodeling is linked to pathogenesis of heart diseases.”

Wenji Dong (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/dong_w.asp) - “Research in my laboratory focuses on the cardiac muscle regulation at the healthy and diseased states. Specifically, we study the regulatory mechanism of cardiac thin filament in response to protein phosphorylation and cardiomyopathy mutations of contractile proteins. We also are interested in developing a next-generation biosensor to detect multiple cardiac biomarkers for heart disease diagnosis.”

Henk Granzier (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/granzier.asp)  - “My research focuses on understanding the role of the giant protein titin in providing shape and elasticity to cells and it explores the role of titin and related proteins in modulating cardiac contraction and heart disease.”

Michael B. Laskowski (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/laskowski.asp) - “My lab researches the development and regeneration, mechanisms of target recognition and synapse formation with muscle by growing and regenerating motorneurons.”

Bryan K. Slinker (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/slinker.asp) - “I study the regulation of cardiac function, cardiac angiotensins, and biostatistics.”


CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM (CNS)

Stacia B. Moffett (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/moffett.asp) - “Research in my lab focuses on invertebrate neurobiology, CNS regeneration and behavioral recovery.”

James O. Schenk (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/schenk.asp) - “I study neurochemistry, in vivo and in vitro measurements of neuro-transmitters and transmitter uptake mechanisms.”


COGNITIVE NEUROPSYCHOLOGY

Maureen Schmitter-Edgecombe (http://www.wsu.edu/~schmitte/) – “My research focuses on evaluating attention and memory issues in both neurological normal (i.e., both young and older adults) and clinical populations (e.g., closed-head injury, Parkinson's disease).”


DISEASE

Mark DeSantis  (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/desantis.asp) - “The cells of the nervous system can develop incorrectly, get sick, or be injured.  Sometimes they die; sometimes they recover or our bodies compensate.  I am seeking to understand what is going on with cells and the body during those times.”

Joe Harding (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/harding.asp) - “My research focuses on the development of new treatment options for neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and stroke.”

Steve Simasko (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/simasko.asp)  -  “The goal of the research in my laboratory is to develop physiological insights, from the cellular and molecular level to the integrated behavior of the whole animal, into the processes that influence diseases with significant behavioral components, such as obesity and addiction.”


DRUG ABUSE & INTERACTIONS

Yan Dong (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/ydong.asp) - “Our long-term research interest is to understanding the neural mechanisms through which the brain perceives, differentiates, and prioritizes the motivational signals. We use drug addiction as the animal model. Our central hypothesis is that repeated exposure to strong incentive stimuli, such as cocaine intake, rewires the microcircuits within the brain reward pathway, leading to pathological prioritization of drug-related motivation. We employ multidisciplinary approaches including in vitro and in vivo electrophysiological recordings, molecular manipulations, biochemical assays and behavioral tests to examine this hypothesis.”

Barbara Sorg (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/sorg.asp)  - “I am examining the effects of stress and cocaine on the brain and behavior.  I also study how certain environmental chemicals effect the brain and behavior.”

Mike Morgan (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/morgan.asp)  - “The goal of my research is to determine the neural mechanisms underlying pain modulation and morphine tolerance.”

Raymond M. Quock (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/quock.asp) - “Our research program focuses on elucidating pharmacological mechanisms of anxiety and pain control.”


EATING CONTROLS

Robert and Sue Ritter  (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/ritter-r.asp OR http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/ritter-s.asp) -  “Our research focuses on eating disorders associated with brain function.”

Suzanne M. Appleyard (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/Appelyard_S.asp) - “The main focus of my lab is to determine how neuronal circuits control energy balance and whether these pathways are altered during disease states such as obesity.”


ENDOCRINE SYSTEM

Hurbert Schwabl (http://www.crb.wsu.edu/3FacultyPages/Schwabl.html) – “My research is in environmental physiology with focus on the role of the endocrine system in physiological and behavioral responses of animals, in particular of birds, to the environment.


EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY

Sally E. Blank (http://www.spokane.wsu.edu/academic/health_sciences/exercise_science/faculty_SBlankbio.asp) - “My research focuses on stress physiology and the role of exercise stress in mechanisms regulating immunity and skeletal muscle metabolism.”

E. Carolyn Johnson (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/johnson_c.asp) - “My research targets control of angiogenesis, the role of angiogenesis in atherosclerosis and the effects of different stressors such as exercise and hypoxia on microvascular growth.”


MOTOR CONTROL

David Lin (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/lin.asp) - “I study the contribution of muscle and spinal reflex properties for the control of posture and movement. The research in my laboratory extends from single muscle fibers to human postural control.”

Leslie Sprunger (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/sprunger.asp)  - “Normal, coordinated movement requires complex interactions between body and brain.  My lab uses an integrative approach to study neural control of movement, movement disorders, and the role of genetic mechanisms known to influence the severity of neurologic disease.”

Anita Vasavada (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/vasavada.asp) - “My research explores the interaction of musculoskeletal biomechanics and neural control in both normal and diseased states.  In particular, I use computer modeling and motion analysis to study control of head movements and basal ganglia disorders such as Parkinson's disease.”


NEURAL PLASTICITY

Krzysztof Czaja (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/czaja.asp) - “The research interest of our group is to investigate functional, chemical and structural plasticity involved in cell survival or death within the nervous system. Our major efforts are devoted to the study of postnatal adaptive changes of neural circuits to intrinsic or extrinsic inputs.  Most of our work is concentrated on primary sensory neurons using cell biology, molecular biology and neuroanatomy.”


REPRODUCTION

Heiko Jansen (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/jansen.asp) - “Research in my laboratory centers around understanding how the brain controls reproduction.  Specifically, we study the brains of seasonal breeders because these species undergo an annual (reversible) cycle of fertility and infertility.  Our goal is to identify the neural processes leading to these profound physiological changes in an effort to facilitate reproductive function.”

Catherine M. Ulibarri (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/ulibarri.asp) - “I am studying the molecular, behavioral and neuroanatomical aspects of sexual differentiation.”


SLEEP

Greg Belenky (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/belenky.asp) - “We conduct laboratory and field studies of sleep and performance in humans.”

Lynn Churchill (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/churchill.asp) - “I investigate how different regions of the brain play a role in sleep function.”

James Krueger (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/krueger/krueger.asp) - “Humans spend about 27 years of our life asleep.  Therefore, sleep and associated problems are clearly of direct importance to the quality of our life. A necessary step in determining the function of sleep is to find out how the brain produces sleep. My laboratory is looking into the biochemical mechanisms responsible for sleep and sleep function.”

David Rector (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/rector.asp) – “My lab is focused on mechanisms of high level sensory processing performed by the brain and in developing novel neurophysiological and imaging techniques for whole animal recordings.”

Hans P. A. Van Dongen (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/hans_vandongen.asp) - “My research focuses on the neurobehavioral effects of sleep deprivation and the underlying sleep/wake and circadian regulatory mechanisms, through laboratory experiments as well as mathematical modeling.”


VISION & HEARING

Robert Patterson (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/patterson.asp) - “My research centers around basic visual mechanisms of depth and motion perceptions.  This research is important to the development of synthetic vision (virtual reality) displays in human engineering.”

Christine Portfors (http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/portfors/portfors_home.html) – “In my laboratory we are studying the neural mechanisms used by bats and mice to analyze complex sounds such as communication sounds. We use a variety of neurophysiological, neuroanatomical and behavioral techniques to study the auditory system of these animals.”

Deborah Stenkamp (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/stenkamp.asp) - “My lab is researching the cellular and molecular mechanisms of vertebrate retinal development.”

Michael Varnum (http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/research_vcapp/varnum.asp) - “I am investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying the activity of ion channels that are vital to vision and olfaction.  Current experiments are directed toward understanding the functional basis for identified retinal diseases that been linked to mutations in the genes encoding these proteins.”

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