Physiology | Research Interests

Name	Email	PhD Program
Burns, Ella EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Cell Biology, Genetics, Physiology	“I am interested in studying the pathogenesis of muco-obstructive lung diseases—in particular, cystic fibrosis. At present, my interest centres on the role of chronic hypoxia on the development of CF lung disease. With this, I am also very interested in the epigenetic components of pathogenic changes in CF lung disease, with a focus on elucidating the impact of chronic hypoxia on such, and in turn, proposing novel treatment strategies/disease modelling techniques. Further, I would also like to pursue research on CFTR expression and regulation in the lung.”
Jimenez, Alli EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Biochemistry, Biophysics, Physiology	“I am interested in using biochemistry and biophysics to investigate mechanisms underlying certain disease states. In particular, I find the mechanics of protein folding and dynamics to be very intriguing.”
Roetcisoender, Jake EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Cell Biology, Cell Signaling, Physiology	“I’m interested in doing research in cell biology, specifically in signaling pathways and cellular organization. I’m fascinated by organellar interactions and deciphering how this interplay along with extracellular signals shape cells in different pathologies.”
Xi, Gang WEBSITE EMAIL PUBLICATIONS	PHD PROGRAM Cell Biology & Physiology RESEARCH INTEREST Autoimmune Disorders, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Cell Signaling, Diabetes, Physiology, Signal Transduction, Translational Medicine	My research focuses on signal transduction, proteins posttranslational modification, and protein/protein interaction under varieties of stress/disease conditions. One of my major research areas is vascular smooth muscle signal transduction under hyperglycemic and oxidative stress conditions. Most recently, regulation of vascular smooth muscle cells phenotypic switch under hyperglycemic/uremic conditions was funded by NIH. In addition, I investigate autoantigens that are responsible for autoimmune diseases, such as MCD/FSGS, which make the precise diagnosis and individualized treatment plan possible.
Hwang, Janice EMAIL PUBLICATIONS	PHD PROGRAM Cell Biology & Physiology RESEARCH INTEREST Aging/Alzheimer's, Diabetes, Human Subjects Research, Medical Imaging, Metabolism, Neurobiology, Physiology, Translational Medicine	My group is interested in understanding the effects of obesity and diabetes on the brain, particularly related to cerebral function and energetics. We conduct physiology based, mechanistic human and rodent studies to investigate fundamental questions such as how does the brain sense various nutrients (sugar, fat, etc), how does metabolic disease, sleep, aging impact brain function and metabolism? Using classic human metabolic techniques including hyperinsulinemic and hyper/hypoglycemic clamps coupled with advanced neuroimaging modalities including 1H and 13C magnetic resonance spectroscopy, functional MRI, and PET-CT imaging, my group has shown that glucose transport capacity into the human brain can be modified by factors such as obesity and insulin resistance as well as hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia and glycemic variability. We also have interests in using novel human imaging modalities to understand how obesity and diabetes impact neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration.
McCauley, Heather WEBSITE EMAIL PUBLICATIONS	PHD PROGRAM Cell Biology & Physiology RESEARCH INTEREST Developmental Biology, Gastrointestinal Biology, Metabolism, Molecular Mechanisms of Disease, Physiology, Regenerative Medicine, Stem Cells	The McCauley Lab is interested in how the food we eat changes our physiology. Rare, nutrient sensing cells in the intestine called enteroendocrine cells secrete hormones in response to environmental cues that orchestrate systemic metabolism. How these cells regulate their neighbors in the gut is not well understood. We use mouse models which lack enteroendocrine cells and human pluripotent stem cell derived intestinal organoids to discover new roles for these master metabolic cells in the regulation of intestinal physiology and function. Enteroendocrine cells are dysregulated in inflammatory bowel disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity, and loss of enteroendocrine cells results in malabsorptive diarrhea with poor survival. Our research has the potential to improve human health for a wide segment of the global population.
Guardia, Charly WEBSITE EMAIL PUBLICATIONS	PHD PROGRAM Cell Biology & Physiology RESEARCH INTEREST Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Developmental Biology, Developmental Disorders, Disease, Metabolism, Microscopy/Imaging, Molecular Mechanisms of Disease, Physiology, Structural Biology	The human placenta is the first organ to develop after fertilization and is the least studied! We hope to change this by using a multidisciplinary approach. From iPSC-derived trophoblasts in culture to mouse models and human placenta tissue, the Placental Cell Biology Group at NIEHS answers fundamental questions about placenta cell and developmental biology. Our lab uses a range of microscopy (cryo-EM, fluorescence), recombinant protein production, and -omics techniques. The goal of our research is to understand how autophagy controls placenta development, differentiation, and function.
Kim, Boa WEBSITE EMAIL PUBLICATIONS	PHD PROGRAM Cell Biology & Physiology, Pathobiology & Translational Science RESEARCH INTEREST Cardiovascular Biology, Cardiovascular Disease, Cell Biology, Metabolism, Microscopy, Molecular Mechanisms of Disease, Physiology	Endothelial cells, which comprise the innermost wall of all blood vessels, are involved in a broad range of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases that represent a global challenge with high morbidity. Endothelial cell metabolism is an active process, and altered endothelial metabolism drive disease progression. The research in my lab focuses on the molecular mechanisms of endothelial cell metabolism and how they affect cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
Williams, Morika WEBSITE EMAIL PUBLICATIONS	PHD PROGRAM Neuroscience, Pathobiology & Translational Science RESEARCH INTEREST Behavior, Neurobiology, Pharmacology, Physiology, Translational Medicine	Early life and adult pain can have drastic effects on neurodevelopment and overall quality of life. In the Williams’ Pain, Aging, and Interdisciplinary Neurobehavioral (P.A.I.N.) Lab, our research focuses on behavioral neuroscience and the mechanisms of neurobiology and neurophysiology of pain processing, with a special emphasis on the neonatal. The ultimate research goal is to better understand, recognize, and alleviate pain in the newborn to improve the quality of life in adulthood by uncovering new assessment tools and interventional strategies. Our research interests include the mechanisms of neurobiology and neurophysiology of pain processing, neonatal pain, chronic pain, neurobehavior, osteoarthritis, translational medicine, anesthesia/analgesics, and evoked and non-evoked pain assessment tools. The P.A.I.N. Lab has both pre-clinical and clinical studies to help close the gap in translation.
Hantman, Adam EMAIL PUBLICATIONS	PHD PROGRAM Cell Biology & Physiology, Neuroscience RESEARCH INTEREST Behavior, Neurobiology, Physiology	The Hantman Lab is interested in how functions emerge from network activity in the nervous system. Particularly, we study how the nervous system generates patterns of activity that control our bodies in the world. Our approach combines genetics, anatomy, physiology, perturbations, and a dynamical systems approach.

Research Interest: Physiology