Neuroscience

UC Davis' inter-disciplinary research programs in neuroscience pursue discoveries in brain function, development, aging, and disease in several different institutes and centers. The following faculty members in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine play key roles in the Alzheimer's Disease Center, the M.I.N.D Institute for autism research, the Institute for Pediatric Regenerative Medicine, the Neurotherapeutic Research Institute, and the Davis campus' Center for Mind and Brain and Center for Neuroscience.  In addition to clinico-neuropathological studies, we conduct lab-based biochemical, cell/molecular biological studies, animal models, and translational research. We also bank and provide brain specimens for research on neurodegenerative disorders, autism, fragile X syndrome, schizophrenia, aging periventricular leukomalacia, and brain tumors.

Lee-Way Jin M.D., Ph.D. serves in several different leadership roles as Director of Neuropathology, Director of the Neuropathology Core for the Alzheimer's Disease Center, Director of the Brain & Tissue Bank at the M.I.N.D. Institute, and Director of the UC Davis site of the University of California Pediatric Neuropathology Consortium. Dr. Jin's research focuses on neurobiology and neuropathology of Alzheimer's disease and autism, with emphasis on glial pathology and preclinical drug development. Dr. Jin is also a member of the Neuroscience Graduate Program, the Autism Research Training Program, and the Pharmacology Training Program.

Hwai-Jong Cheng M.D., Ph.D. serves as Director of the Diagnostic and Research Electron Microscopy Core Laboratory. Employing status-of-art genetic, molecular, cellular and microscopic techniques, Dr. Cheng studies how neural circuitry is built during development and how adult-generated neurons are integrated into the pre-existing neural network. His research also exploits the pathological basis underlying aging brain and neurological diseases such as schizophrenia and autism. He holds a joint appointment in the Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior in the College of Biologic Sciences and is an in-house faculty member in the Center for Neuroscience. Dr. Cheng is a member of the Neuroscience Graduate Group, the Biochemistry, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology Graduate Group, and the Molecular and Cellular Biology Training Grant.

Joshua W. Miller, Ph.D., and Ralph Green, M.D., Ph.D., investigate the influence of nutritional factors on neurological and cognitive function and the risk of dementia in older adults. They also participate in collaborative studies with the M.I.N.D. Institute exploring the links between nutritional factors and the risk of autism. Dr. Miller also serves as Director of the Alzheimer's Disease Center Serum, Plasma, and DNA bank.

William Ellis, M.D. is a neuropathologist and one of the department's most long-standing faculty members. His research focuses on two major causes of dementia that are often interrelated: Alzheimer's disease and ischemic vascular disease. He serves as a medical advisor for Alzheimer's disease family support groups for the Alzheimer's Association of Greater Sacramento, Alzheimer's Association of Marin and the Alzheimer's Society of Sacramento, and provides education at Napa State Hospital and Holderman Memorial Hospital in addition to trainees in several different programs at UC Davis.

Jeffrey Gregg, M.D. serves as Director of the Gene Expression Shared Resources for the M.I.N.D. Institute. His research focuses on identifying biomarkers and genetic aberrations in children with autism utilizing various genomic technologies, such as blood genomics, SNP arrays, CGH arrays, and ChiP-on-ChiP arrays.

Claudia Greco, M.D. is a neuropathologist. She is a key member of the research team studying Fragile X associated tremor/ataxia syndrome.  

Veronica Martinez-Cerdeno, Ph.D. is a member of the Institute for Pediatric Regenerative Medicine. Her research focuses on neural development including the genetic and epigenetic regulation of neural stem cell differentiation during normal development and perturbations in this regulation in developmental and neuropathological disorders. 

Konstantinos Zarbalis, Ph.D. is a member of the Institute for Pediatric Regenerative Medicine.  His research focuses on forebrain development with an emphasis on migration, differentiation, and connectivity of cortical neurons. Additional projects center on craniofacial development, including orofacial clefting and incomplete skull development for which relevant models are available.