Melanie Gareau studies the microbiota-gut-brain axis, with a particular focus on the factors that shape the development of the axis during early post-natal life.

Christopher Fraser explores the mechanism and regulation of mRNA translation in humans. Specifically, his lab works to identify and understand the fundamental mechanisms by which mRNAs are preferentially selected for translation and how their translational efficiency is regulated.

Diasynou Fioravante studies the synaptic and cellular neurophysiology of small neural networks in the context of learning and memory. Her lab is particularly interested in understanding the activity-dependent principles that govern the formation of anatomical and dynamic functional microcircuits as well as identifying novel neural networks that regulate learning and memory.

Marc Facciotti works in genetics, systems biology, and synthetic biology. He is currently interested exploring new, more integrated, approaches to engineering mammalian tissues by pursuing questions at the interface between genomic systems and synthetic biology. Facciotti is the program director for an HHMI Inclusive Excellence award and is also invested in creating more inclusive STEM training environments on campus.

Bruce Draper studies the mechanisms that regulate adult stem cell behavior in zebrafish as a model organism. Stem cells, which self-renew as well as give rise to differentiated progeny, seem to play a central role in the biology of cancers, including acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), breast, and brain cancers.

The Elva Diaz laboratory studies molecular and cellular mechanisms of brain development, function and disease in rodent model systems. They focus on two main areas: neural proliferation and synapse development using a combination of molecular, cellular, biochemical, and genomic approaches.

Megan Dennis studies disease genetics, human genomics and evolution. Her main interests lie in identifying previously unexplored genes and variants that contribute to human-specific neurological traits and diseases, developing next-generation sequencing methods to assay regions of the genome that are difficult to study with traditional techniques, and identifying gene variants associated with neurological disorders.

Lillian Cruz-Orengo focuses on sexual dimorphisms in the central nervous system and their role in autoimmunity. She uses the rodent model for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) to elucidate the contribution of the blood-brain barrier to MS sexual-bias.

Sean Collins uses human neutrophils to examine how individual cells process information, make decisions, and enact appropriate responses. To chase a pathogen or migrate to a site of infection, a neutrophil reorganizes its cytoskeleton and moves, even if the input signal is weak. Scientists know very little about how cells accomplish these fundamental processes, and the Collins lab uses imaging and modeling to gain new insights into these phenomena.

Joanna Chiu, 2019 Chancellor's Fellow, studies the animal circadian clock and its control over organismal physiology using biochemical, molecular genetics, and proteomic approaches. Defects in circadian rhythms and clock genes have also been implicated in a wide range of human disorders, including chronic sleep disorders, depression, metabolic syndromes, and susceptibility to cancer and drug and alcohol addiction.