Laboratories associated with the Neurobiology track investigate the genetic, molecular, and cellular mechanisms that underpin how the brain and body grow, sense the world around them, and ultimately create behavior. Current research is focused on cellular and molecular mechanisms related to drug addiction, mood disorders, neuroendocrinology, neuroimmunology, brain development, sexual differentiation, and language production and learning and memory.


School of Neuroscience
Identifying druggable targets for treating addiction

School of Animal Sciences
Gut microbiota and synaptic communication

School of Animal Sciences
Neurobiology of appetite adjustment

School of Neuroscience
Brain development and emotional dysfunction

VCOM, Center for One Health Research
Novel therapeutics for neurological disorders

School of Neuroscience
Neuronal representation of space and time

Fralin Biomedical Research Institute
Synaptic Function

Fralin Biomedical Research Institute
Cellular and molecular mechanisms of synaptogenesis

School of Animal Sciences
Cellular signaling pathways of energy metabolism

Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise
Genetic and neurological basis of body weight control

School of Neuroscience
Molecular mechanisms driving chronic pain

School of Neuroscience
Resilience to stress and mood disorders

School of Neuroscience
Neural circuits of motivation and attention

School of Animal Sciences
Molecular and cellular biology of memory formation

Department of Biological Sciences
Molecular mechanisms of circadian biology

Department of Biomedical Sciences & Pathobiology
Animal models of altered brain maturation

School of Neuroscience
Neuronal circuitry of thermoregulation

School of Neuroscience
Astrocyte function in health and disease

School of Neuroscience
Mitochondrial dysfunction in neurodegeneration

Fralin Biomedical Research Institute
Neural circuit mechanisms and stress neurobiology

Department of Biomedical Sciences & Pathobiology
Consequences of acute and chronic brain injury

School of Neuroscience

Department of Biomedical Sciences & Pathobiology
Epigenetic networks in development and disease