Members

Augustin is particularly interested in the flow of information through the cortico-basal ganglia circuits and how this flow is disrupted with alcohol and substance use disorder. The lab uses an integrative approach combining physiology, behavior and optical imaging techniques.

Contact: shana.augustin@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=54054

Dong's laboratory has focused on a continuous and integrated program of investigating genetic alterations and environmental effects on neurodevelopment and aging, and their relevance to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders, particularly Alzheimer’s disease. The group's ongoing NIH-funded projects aim to discover novel molecular genetics and epigenetic mechanisms underlying neuropsychological disorders, using human antemortem clinical assessments and postmortem tissues, as well as animal models. The findings from the translational work will help in the development of new therapeutic strategies to slow disease onset and prevent progression.

Contact: h-dong@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=18086

The Lerner Lab studies the neural circuit basis of motivation, reward learning and decision-making. The group is interested in how individual differences in neural circuits compel different types of interaction with the world. They are particularly interested in the neural circuits driving the release of neuromodulators such as dopamine and serotonin, as these chemical systems are the targets of many drugs of abuse as well as of many psychiatric medications.

Contact: talia.lerner@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=35766

Li completed his PhD in neuroscience with Thomas Jhou, PhD, at the Medical University of South Carolina, studying circuit mechanisms underlying punishment processing. In 2019, Li started his postdoctoral training with Kay Tye, PhD, at the Salk Institute, focusing on how neurotensin guides valence assignment in the amygdala during associative learning.

Contact: haoli@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.psychiatry.northwestern.edu/faculty/profile.html?xid=57460

Meltzer's current research interests include 1. development of novel drugs for treatment and prevention of psychosis, depression, opioid abuse, and age associated cognitive impairment; 2. behavioral and neurochemical studies of antipsychotic, antidepressant, cognitive improving, and anti-suicide drugs; and 3. genetic biomarkers.

Contact: h-meltzer@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=21819

To probe the neural basis of neuropsychiatric disease and neuropharmacological efficacy, Parker's research team performs large-scale recordings of striatal activity using miniaturized fluorescence microscopes and two-photon microscopy in transgenic mice to selectively record from genetically defined neuronal subpopulations. They combine these tools with viral genetic and pharmacological manipulations in healthy animals and animal models of neuropsychiatric diseases to better understand both normal and aberrant striatal function.

Contact: jones.parker@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=43245

In an effort to identify more efficacious therapeutics, the lab investigates the mechanistic impact of previously understudied contributing factors, including social stress and neuro-immune signaling on discrete neuronal circuits and how they give rise to aberrant behavioral phenotypes associated with stress-related mental health disorders.

Contact: rpatel@salk.edu

Faculty Page: https://reeshapatellab.org/

The Patel Lab believes that advances in understanding the pathophysiology of complex multifactorial diseases, such as depression, addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder, require a multidisciplinary approach. Their research group utilizes a variety of research techniques including ex vivo electrophysiology, functional anatomy, optogenetics, calcium imaging, biochemistry and animal behavior to tackle fundamental questions regarding the nature of psychiatric diseases.

Contact: sachin.patel@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=53854

The group's mission is to uncover the molecular and cellular mechanisms whereby neurons communicate with each other within brain circuits and how they malfunction in neuropsychiatric disorders and then to use this knowledge to develop new therapies for such disorders.

Recent developments in human genomics have uncovered mutations and variants associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. These gene sets are highly enriched in synaptic molecules, pointing to synapses as being one of the key cellular substrates in their pathologies. Hence they are investigating the synaptic functions and pathogenic mechanisms of important risk factors for autism, intellectual disability, epilepsy, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and Alzheimer's disease.

Epilepsy and seizure disorders often co-occur with autism and intellectual disability. Shared genetic risk factors associated with both epilepsy and neurodevelopmental disorders could provide an entry point into investigations of such mechanisms. Penzes' team has uncovered mechanisms whereby neurodevelopmental disorder risk factors also regulate ion channel homeostasis and excitatory/inhibitory balance in neuronal circuits.

Using proteomics, the research group has discovered that a large number of neuronal membrane proteins undergo ectodomain shedding. This "sheddome" is detectable in the cerebrospinal fluid and is enriched in synaptic proteins and disease risk factors. Unexpectedly, such ectodomains have novel biological functions in regulating properties of brain circuits. They aim to understand the biological functions of the synaptic sheddome and to develop new therapeutics and biomarkers.

Small GTPases, such as Rac1 and Ras, and their direct upstream regulators, GEFs and GAPs, control synapse development, maturation and plasticity. Genes encoding proteins in this pathway are highly enriched in mutations in intellectual disability, autism, epilepsy, schizophrenia and bipolar disease. Pharmacological targeting of these pathways could reverse synaptic deficits in these and other disorders.

Contact: p-penzes@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=16355

Rosas-Vidal is currently working on two distinct projects: 1. understanding how decreases in the endocannabinoid 2-AG lead to increased fear generalization to novel stimuli and how neurons in the prelimbic prefrontal cortex regulate this process and 2. basomedial amygdala to BNST circuit regulating fear and anxiety states, and how these are modified following stress.

Contact: luis.rosasvidal@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.nm.org/doctors/1851745269

Shankman's research focuses on the relation between depression and anxiety disorders, with an emphasis on neurobehavioral processes that are common, versus specific, between the two. Shankman is the principal investigator and co-investigator on multiple NIH-funded projects.

Contact: stew.shankman@northwestern.edu

Faculty Page: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/faculty-profiles/az/profile.html?xid=42385