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Our Team Overview 
 

The 72 laboratories that make up the Hope Center include more than 400 scientists: In addition to the head of each laboratory, there are graduate students, postgraduate fellows, technicians, and others who ensure that the research can move forward.

Hope Center Faculty

Beau Ances MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Neurology

Theraputic Strategies for HIV Associated Neurocognitive Impairment
Robert H. Baloh M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurology

Neurodegenerative diseases of the peripheral nervous system
Randall Bateman M.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurology

Alzheimer's disease: Pathophysiology, biomarkers, predictive diagnostics and treatments
Philip V. Bayly Ph.D.
Hughes Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Biomechanical factors in traumatic injury to the brain and spinal cord
Kendall Blumer Ph.D.
Professor of Cell Biology and Physiology

David L. Brody M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurology

Translational research in traumatic brain injury
Janice E. Brunstrom M.D.
Associate Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics; Director of the Pediatric Neurology Cerebral Palsy Center at St. Louis Children's Hospital

Motor disorders arising from injury to the developing brain
Guojun Bu Ph.D.
Professor of Pediatrics and Cell Biology & Physiology

LDL receptor family members in human disease
Nigel Cairns Ph.D., MRCPath
Research Associate Professor of Neurology and Pathology & Immunology; Director, Betty Martz Laboratory for Neurodegenerative Research

Protein misfolding, inclusion formation and neurodegeneration in Frontotemporal Dementias
Valeria Cavalli Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology

Axonal Transport, Injury Signaling and Nerve Regeneration
Zhou-Feng Chen Ph.D
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology

Joseph C. Corbo
Assistant Professor of Pathology & Immunology

Anne H. Cross M.D.
Professor of Neurology; Manny and Rosalyn Rosenthal and Dr. John Trotter MS Center Chair in Neuroimmunology; Director, Multiple Sclerosis Center

Neuroimmunology related to multiple sclerosis
C. Michael Crowder M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Developmental Biology

Fundamental mechanisms of neuronal cell death following hypoxic injury
Ralph G. Dacey Jr M.D.
Henry G. and Edith R. Schwartz Professor and Chair of Neurological Surgery

Marc I. Diamond MD
Associate Professor of Neurology

Therapeutic Mechanisms in Human Disease: Polyglutamine Disease Pathogenesis and Protein Misfolding in Tauopathy
Aaron DiAntonio M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Developmental Biology

Mechanisms of synaptic structure and function during development
Hans H. Dietrich Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery

Regulatory mechanisms of cerebrovascular microcirculation
Gerald W. Dorn II MD
Philip and Sima K. Needleman Professor of Medicine

Caridiac Disease and Signaling Pathways for Heart Cell Growth and Death
Alex S. Evers M.D.
Henry E. Mallinckrodt Professor and Head of Anesthesiology; Professor of Internal Medicine and Developmental Biology

Molecular mechanisms of anesthetics in the nervous system
Anne M. Fagan Niven Ph.D.
Research Associate Professor of Neurology

Biomarkers, and mechanisms of apoE4 action in Alzheimer's Disease
Simon J. Fisher Ph.D., M.D.
Assistant Professor of Medicine - Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Lipid Research

Carl Frieden Ph.D.
Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics

Protein folding, structure
James E. Galvin M.D., M.P.H.
Assistant Professor of Neurology

Clinical and pathological correlates of neurodegenerative disease
Robert W. Gereau Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology

Roles of mGluRs in Pain Plasticity
Jeffrey M. Gidday Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery

Endogenous mechanisms of vascular and parenchymal protection in CNS ischemia.
Alison M. Goate D.Phil.
Samuel and Mae S. Ludwig Chair in Psychiatry; Professor of Neurology and Genetics; Hope Center Steering Committee

Linkage and association studies to uncover genetic susceptibility to neuropsychiatric disease.
Mark P. Goldberg M.D.
Professor of Neurology, Neurobiology, and Biomedical Engineering; Director of the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders

Mechanisms of ischemic injury and recovery in white matter axons and glia.
Christina Gurnett M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurology

Genetic basis of epilepsy
Phyllis I. Hanson M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Cell Biology and Physiology

Protein-protein and protein-membrane interactions in neuronal membrane trafficking.
Erik D. Herzog Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biology

Molecular mechanism of circadian rythms
Robert O. Heuckeroth M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Pediatrics

Molecular mechanisms of neuronal development
David M. Holtzman M.D.
Andrew B. and Gretchen P. Jones Professor and Chairman of Neurology; Professor of Molecular Biology; Hope Center Steering Committee

Cellular/Molecular/Biomarkers studies of Alzheimer's disease and neonatal brain injury.
Mark Jacquin Ph.D.
Professor of Neurology

Molecular mechanisms of mammalian sensory system development, plasticity and repair.
Sanjay Jain M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine (Renal) and Pathology & Immunology

GFL-Ret mediated mechanisms in the development, repair and regeneration of the nervous and urogenital systems
Eugene M. Johnson Ph.D.
Professor of Neurology and Developmental Biology; Hope Center Steering Committee

Biological function and pharmacological potential of GFL neurotrophic factors
Robyn S. Klein M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine

Molecular basis of inflammation-associated dysfunction in viral and autoimmune encephalitides
Vitaly Klyachko PhD
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Cell Biology and Physiology

Raphael Kopan Ph.D.
Professor of Internal Medicine and Developmental Biology

Studies of cell fate determination in mammalian system with focus on Notch mediated signal transduction.
Paul T. Kotzbauer M.D., Ph.D
Assistant Professor of Neurology

Mechanisms of neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease and related disorders.
Jin-Moo Lee M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Neurology

Understanding the molecular pathogenesis of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage
Mingjie Li M.D., Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor of Neurology

Susan Mackinnon M.D.
Shoenberg Professor, Chief, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Allograft and the Effects of GDNF on Peripheral Nerve Regeneration
Steven J. Mennerick Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Anatomy & Neurobiology

Physiology of glutamate and GABA neurotransmission in the CNS.
Jeffrey D. Milbrandt M.D., Ph.D.
James S. McDonnell Professor and Head of the Department of Genetics, Professor of Neurology; Professor of Pathology & Immunology and Internal Medicine; Hope Center Steering Committee

Axonal degeneration, regulation of myelination, neuronal energetics and mitochondrial function in neuropathy and neurodegenerative disease
Timothy M. Miller M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurology

ALS therapeutics
Jeanne M. Nerbonne Ph.D.
Alumni Endowed Professor of Developmental Biology

Molecular mechanisms controlling the function, expression and properties of voltage-gated K channels in cardiac and neuronal cells
Karen L. O'Malley Ph.D.
Professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology

Mechanisms underlying the specification, regulation, and neurodegeneration of dopaminergic and glutamatergic systems.
David M. Ornitz M.D., Ph.D.
Alumni Endowed Professor and Interim Chair of Developmental Biology

FGFs in lung, skeletal, cardiovascular and CNS development and function
Rohit V. Pappu Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Alzheimer's disease; biophysics; mathematical modeling; thermodynamics
Joel S. Perlmutter M.D.
Elliot H. Stein Professor of Neurology; Professor of Radiology and Anatomy & Neurobiology; Head of the Movement Disorders Section

Pharmacology, physiology and pathophysiology of basal ganglia and movement disorders.
Alan Pestronk M.D.
Professor of Neurology and Pathology; Director of the Neuromuscular Division

Diagnosis, pathogenesis and treatment of immune, hereditary and degenerative neuromuscular disorders
David R. Piwnica-Worms M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Radiology and Developmental Biology

Molecular imaging of gene expression and protein function in vivo; multidrug resistance transporters; metallopharmaceuticals
Narendrakumar Ramanan Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Anatomy & Neurobiology

Joshua B. Rubin M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

Biology and treatment of pediatric brain tumors
Shelly E. Sakiyama-Elbert Ph.D.
Joseph and Florence Farrow Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Tissue and cellular engineering approaches to neurological diseases
Mark S. Sands Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Genetics

Pathophysiology and novel therapies for lysosomal storage diseases
Anneliese M. Schaefer J.D., Ph.D.
Director, Office of Neuroscience Research; Research Assistant Professor of Neurology

Pathological changes of axons, motor units, and neuromuscular junctions in motor neuron disease
Bradley L. Schlaggar M.D., Ph.D.
A. Ernest and Jane G. Stein Associate Professor of Developmental Neurology

The development and plasticity of human cognition and language
Robert E. Schmidt M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Pathology & Immunology; Director, Neuropathology Division

Pathogenetic mechanisms of diabetic and age-related autonomic neuropathy
B. Joy Snider M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurology

Mechanisms of protein degradation and intracellular calcium homeostasis in neurodegenerative disorders
Sheng-Kwei (Victor) Song Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Radiology

Development of non-invasive imaging of central nervous system white matter
Paul H. Taghert Ph.D
Professor of Anatomy & Neurobiology

Circadian neurobiology and developmental neurobiology
Liu Lin Thio M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurology

Glycine receptors in the central nervous system
Heather L. True-Krob Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Cell Biology & Physiology

Protein misfolding and aggregation of prion proteins
Conrad Chris Weihl M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurology

Protein degradation pathways and their relation to aging, muscle weakness, and neurodegeneration
Michael Wong M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics

Cellular mechanisms of epileptogenesis and seizure-induced brain injury
David F. Wozniak Ph.D.
Research Professor of Psychiatry

Role of NMDA receptors in neuropathologic changes and cognitive decline
Gregory F. Wu MD, PhD


Dendritic Cells and Inflamation in the Central Nervous System
Kelvin A. Yamada M.D.
Associate Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics

Modulation and derangements of synaptic transmission at central nervous system synapses
Gregory J. Zipfel M.D.
Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery and Neurology

Role of amyloid-B peptide and cerebral amyloid angiopathy in neurovascular dysfunction, ischemic brain injury and subarachnoid hemorrhage
Charles F. Zorumski M.D.
Samuel B. Guze Professor and Head of Psychiatry; Professor of Anatomy & Neurobiology