neurobio.drexelmed.eduDepartment of Neurobiology & Anatomy - Drexel University College of Medicine

Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy - Drexel University College of Medicine For a better experience, click the icon above to turn off Compatibility Mode, which is only for viewing older websites. 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The Department has 36 faculty members, including 22 with funded research laboratories. The Department has a wide variety of research grants with over $10 million in annual total costs, as well as several endowments. Recent grant awards include a T32 NIH Training Grant in Spinal Cord Injury, numerous NIH and DoD grants, and several Foundation grants. As of 2020, the Department is ranked 27 in NIH funding among similar departments of all medical schools in the U.S (source: Blue Ridge Inst for Medical Research). For individuals interested in a career in the neurosciences, the Department offers postdoctoral training in various laboratories and graduate student training through the Neuroscience Graduate Program . Research Centers Research in the Department is organized into four major research centers each of which comprises a critical mass of faculty and trainees whose collaborative research forms a multidisciplinary community. Research centers promote a highly interactive and collaborative environment that encourages training and research beyond the confines of one laboratory, thus providing flexibility and diversity in the training process. Centers: Marion Murray Spinal Cord Research Center (MMSCRC) : Emphasis on understanding spinal circuitry and mechanisms, and promoting regeneration, neuroprotection and recovery of function after spinal cord injury. Center for Systems and Behavioral Neuroscience : Assesses monoaminergic and peptidergic regulation of behavior, substance use disorders, traumatic brain injury and neuropsychiatric disorders. Center for Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience : Focused on cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases and disorders. Center for Computational Neuroscience : Employs computational models of neural circuitry to understand motor behaviors (breathing, walking, reaching) especially those organized spinally and through pattern generation, to suggest new experiments and to understand pathologies and therapies. Additional research areas include: Joint Neuroengineering Initiative with the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems at Drexel University . The Neuroengineering Initiative emphasizes use of engineering methods to quantitatively analyze CNS function and create new therapies. Bone biology research with an emphasis on bone quality, structure and adaptation during growth, aging and disease. Education In addition to graduate student (MS, PhD, MD/PhD) education, the department is responsible for the teaching of several major courses for medical students including Gross Anatomy, Medical Neuroscience and Microanatomy with laboratory components. Based on the experience and resources offered in these classes, our educators developed online remediation courses that, in the last seven years, have served medical students from more than 40 medical schools and offered a collaborative Artistic Anatomy course for art students, which is one of its kind in the U.S. and was featured on the Emmy-nominated WHYY-TV’s (PBS) Friday Arts program in a story called "The Gross Lab." Learn more about: Summer Gross Anatomy Summer Medical Embryology Summer Medical Microanatomy Summer Medical Neuroscience Faculty Highlight Liang Oscar Qiang, MD, PhD Dr. Qiang completed his MD and MS at Nantong University in 2000 and 2003, respectively, and his PhD at Drexel in 2009. His dissertation was "Functional Analyses of Microtubule Severing Proteins in the Central Nervous System." He then did postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Asa Abeliovich at Columbia University Medical Center, where he studied pathological mechanisms and potential therapeutic approaches Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. He is currently using human organoid technology to study several neurological disorders. Student Highlight Trevor Smith, BS Trevor is a 4th year PhD candidate in the laboratory of Dr. Simon Giszter . He was recently awarded an F31 fellowship from the National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke which focuses on how the spinal cord facilitates movement through combinations of primitive motor elements or ‘modules.’ By investigating module structure and facilitation, Trevor’s research will help to identify biological constraints in motor control and will guide strategies for motor rehabilitation after injury. Trevor volunteers as a TA for Medical Neuroscience and demonstrates gross neuroanatomy during high school tours of Drexel University College of Medicine. Outside of the lab, Trevor enjoys hiking, writing and exercising. Recent Alumnus Brielle Ferguson, PhD Brielle Ferguson, class of 2017, conducted her postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University and is now an assistant professor at Harvard University . She is cofounder of BlackInNeuro and was named one of Forbes’ 30 under 30 Scientists . While at Drexel in Dr. Wen-Jun Gao’s laboratory , she received a Dean’s Fellowship and an F31 Fellowship. News & Announcements 2024 Golden Apple Award Winners Announced The annual Golden Apple Awards recognize outstanding service, teaching and mentoring by Drexel University College of Medicine faculty and professional staff. The honorees are nominated by each class of medical students who vote to determine the award winners. Read more. Neurobiology & Anatomy Chair Itzhak Fischer, PhD, to Step Down July 1 After a distinguished 33-year career at the College of Medicine and its predecessor institutions, Itzhak Fischer, PhD , is stepping down as chair of the Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy on July 1, 2024, though he will stay on as a tenured professor in the department. Dr. Fischer joined the faculty of the Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1991 from Harvard Medical School. Read more. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Announces Recent CURE Grant Recipients The Commonwealth Universal Research Enhancement (CURE) Program funds collaborative biomedical research that aims to improve the health of Pennsylvanians. Read more. Estrogen and Brain Injury Researchers in the College of Medicine who have studied traumatic brain injuries for...