Darshan Attmaram's research on cell heterogeneity in microdissected rat nephron segments received an "Honorable Mention" by the APS Physiological Omics Interest Group at the Physiology Summit 2024.
Investigation of the interaction between aging, ovarian hormones, and elastin haploinsufficiency on cardiovascular regulation by the kidney
A team of investigators from CWRU (Rossana Occhipinti, PhD and Walter Boron, MD, PhD), UCSD (Maryann Martone, PhD and Jeffrey Grethe, PhD) and University of Auckland (Peter Hunter, PhD, Bernard deBono, MD, PhD, and David Nickerson, PhD) has been recently awarded a five-year Research Education Grant (R25) from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). The grant, “FAIR DOs: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable Development of Open Simulations”, will support the development of a research education program in computational modeling of the neural regulation of transport processes by digestive and renal epithelia, as we leverage teaching structures at CWRU as well as Stimulating Peripheral Activity to Relieve Conditions (SPARC)-generated resources.
The ultimate goal of the program is to train the next generation of researchers and clinicians in the use and development of FAIR computational models, thereby promoting a spirit of openness and collegiality within the NIDDK-funded research community.
Marnie Williams recived the annual Recknagel Award
Katie Dominic and Chelsea Chen received the annual Grade Point Award
George R. Dubyak, Ph.D. and Brandon Miller, a doctoral candidate who is advised by and a member of the lab of Dr. Dubyak, have had the paper "NLRP3 selectively drives IL-1β secretion by Pseudomonas aeruginosa infected neutrophils and regulates corneal disease severity" published in Nature Communications (2023) 14:5832.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41391-7
Congratulations to Marnie Williams for her T32 training award in Molecular Pharmacolology
This Friday October 20th at 2:00 PM, we will have the Recknagel Symposium in the E-501 lecture hall. A reception will follow afterwards for those who attend the symposium.
Congratulations to Taylor Benske for her receipt of the Trainee Professional Development Award from the Society for Neuroscience, 2023
Taylor is pursuing her PhD in Dr. Mu's Lab.
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This year’s Cleveland National Air Show at Burke Lakefront Airport was headlined by the USAF Thunderbirds Jet Demonstration Team. These exceptional pilots routinely provide inspiring displays of elite aviation for the American public. The Thunderbirds graciously provided several members of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics with VIP tickets to the Cleveland National Air Show.
Xin Qi, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, was nominated by School of Medicine dean Dr. Stan Gerson and selected by a committee of her faculty peers to receive the 2023 Faculty Distinguished Research Award.
The award will be presented during the keynote session of Case Western Reserve University's Innovation Week on September 26, 2023.
Pita Segura, Ph.D., a postdoc in the lab of Dr. Nami Tajima, has been awarded a postdoctoral fellowship by the American Heart Association for the project, “Activation and Inhibition mechanism of Kainate receptors”, beginning July 1, 2023.
Changping Zhou, Ph.D., a postdoctoral scholar in the lab of Dr. Nami Tajima, has had published the review “Structural Insights into NMDA Receptor Pharmacology” in Biochemical Society Transactions/Portland Press. Changping Zhou and Nami Tajima.
Tommy Blossom was awarded The Mark Smith Outstanding Research Performance Prize for his time within the Dr. Decker/Dr. Damato laboratory for demonstrating great interest, dedication, initiative and involvement in all research activities.
The abstract “Single-cell transcriptional phenotypes linked to anatomical localization of fructose transporters in rat proximal tubule segments” by Ronghao Zhang and Agustin Gonzalez Vicente, Ph.D. was selected as Abstract of Distinction by the APS Epithelial Transport Interest Group at the 2023 American Physiological Society Summit in Long Beach, CA.
Dr. Gonzalez-Vicente also won the Junior Faculty Epithelial Transport Group Poster Presentation Award.
Students can now earn a masters degree in medical physiology along with a certificate in aerospace physiology. Students should apply to the Masters In Medical Physiology program and the Certificate in Aerospace Physiology.
The Department of Physiology and Biophysics proudly announces a new Aerospace Physiology Graduate Certificate.
The Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA) has awarded Dr. Elizabeth Damato the Arnold D. Tuttle Award for her recent publication “Characterizing the Dose Response of Hyperoxia with Brain Perfusion.” Her co-authors include Seth J. Fillioe; Ian S. Vannix; Lily K. Norton; Seunghee P. Margevicius; Jessica L. Beebe; and Michael J. Decker.
Dr. Decker presented the Russell M. Wright Memorial Keynote lecture at the 38th Annual Clinical Conference of the American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine.
Jeffrey Schelling, M.D., a professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, has received a Scholar-Innovator award from the Harrington Discovery Institute to develop a novel drug to treat diabetic kidney disease.
NIH has recommended funding of Dr. Tajima’s administrative supplement request for two GPU workstations, with a notice of award forthcoming.
Dr. Michael Decker and Dr. Lisa Damato present the new Aerospace Physiology Graduate Certificate in New Orleans at the 93rd Annual Aerospace Medical Meeting.
Congratulations to Xi (Chelsea) Chen
Xi (Chelsea) Chen, a BSTP student in the lab of Dr. Tingwei Mu, received the Paul Berg and Harland Wood Distinguished Graduate Fellowship, awarded to one 1st-year BSTP student each year
Dr. Boron and Dr. Occhipinti are part of a six person investigative team that has been awarded a five-year Research Education Grant (R25) from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney disorders.
The Department hosted Dr. Michael Joyner of the Mayo Clinic as the guest lecturer for the 7th Annual Matthew N. Levy lecture on Thursday, November 17, 2022 at 4:00 p.m. in SOM E-501.
The title of Dr. Joyner's lecture was "Exercise & Experiments of Nature".
Dr. Decker and Dr. Damato visit Eielson AFB to work with aviators facing the extreme environments of northern Alaska.
The Department held its annual retreat on Thursday and Friday, October 27 and 28, 2022 at the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, OH.
Facutly, postdocs, doctoral students, M.S. students on a research track, and research staff attended.
The retreat included the annual Recknagel Symposium, a poster session, and a data blitz.
Retreat poster session winners in the doctoral student competition for first, second, and third place, respectively, were Natalie Taylor, Koyal Ansingkar, and Morgan Jamal. In the postdoctoral poster competition winners were Amita Sahoo, Ph.D., Bo Sun, Ph.D., and Di Hu, Ph.D. for first, second, and third place, respectively.
Image: https://www.kalahariresorts.com/ohio/more-info/gallery/
The Department of Physiology and Biophysics annual Recknagel Symposium took place at the annual department retreat on Thursday, October 27, 2022.
Four of the Department’s second year doctoral students, Cassandra Barone, Tristan Carmeci, Joshua Holmes, and Beverlee Wood presented from their first year research laboratory rotations. Cassandra Barone was the winner of the Recknagel presentation competition and Joshua Holmes received the Ph.D. Student Academic Award.
The department established the annual Recknagel Symposium in memory of Professor Richard Recknagel, who was Chair of the Department of Physiology from 1976 until 1986 and an admired thinker and investigator who took a keen interest in mentoring young students and faculty.
Alethia Dixon, a doctoral student in the lab of Dr. Patrick Osei-Owusu, has had two papers accepted for publication:
“The susceptibility of cardiac arrhythmias after spinal cord crush injury in rats”. Exp Neurol. 2022 Nov; 357:114200. Fernandes S, Oatman E, Weinberger J, Dixon A, Osei-Owusu P, Hou S. doi:10.1016/j.expneurol.2022.114200. Epub 2022 Aug 8. PubMed PMID: 35952765.
“Enhanced membrane binding of oncogenic G protein αqQ209L confers resistance to inhibitor YM-254890”. J Biol Chem. 2022 Sep 26;:102538. Randolph CE, Dwyer MB, Aumiller JL, Dixon AJ, Inoue A, Osei-Owusu P, Wedegaertner PB. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102538. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 36174676.
Alethia also won a poster award at the American Heart Association Hypertension Scientific Sessions held in San Diego, September 7-10, 2022.
Dr. Damato's presentation at the International Conference of Aerospace Medicine in Paris, France.
Fatigue associated with military flight: Near cortical spectroscopy measurements may predict vulnerability towards cognitive fatique.
Dr. Decker presenting at the International Conference of Aerospace Medicine in Paris, France
Dr. Li has had the paper, "Cryo-EM structure of disease-related prion fibrils provides insights into seeding barriers“, accepted for publication.
Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, DOI: 10.1038/s41594-022-00833-4; publication date: September 12, 2022
Qiuye Li1, Christopher P. Jaroniec2, Witold K. Surewicz1
Dr. Li is a postdoc in the lab of Dr. Wïtold Surewicz.
1Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
2Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
Yutong Shang, a senior Ph.D.student mentored by and in the lab of Dr. Xin Qi has had the paper "A CHCHD6-APP axis connects amyloid and mitochondrial pathology in Alzheimer’s disease" accepted for publication by Acta Neuropathologaic, as first author.
Shang YT, Sun XY, Chen XQ, Wang QQ, Wang EJ, Miller E, Xu R, Pieper AA, Qi X
The Department hosted its annual Cleveland Guardians summer baseball outing on Friday, September 2, 2022 at 7:10 p.m. at Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland. The Seattle Mariners won the game, 6 - 1.
The Department hosts the baseball outing at the beginning of each new academic year to welcome our new graduate students and to provide an enjoyable evening for returning students, faculty, and staff. Tickets are complimentary for our students and department associates, and the Terrace Club is reserved for our attendees.
The Department welcomed its Master of Science in Medical Physiology program 2022 entering class.
Orientation was held on Thursday and Friday, August 25 and 26, and classes began on Monday, August 29.
Best wishes to our newest students!
Thanks everyone for coming to the DBP Summer Picnic. The food was great and the softball and other games were so much fun.
August 14, 2022 is the deadline for submitting applications for the MS in Medical Physiology Program (Post-Bacc Program). The admissions committee will review your application once it is complete and all application materials are received. If you have any questions, please contact the program at msmpadmissions@case.edu. Contact us if you need assistance.
The MS in Medical Physiology Program announces the creation of an Area of Concentration (AOC) in Aerospace Physiology. Students can apply to participate in this new field in Spring 2023.
Dr. Romani had numerous papers accepted for publication:
Pancreatic cancer is vulnerable to allosteric IDH1 inhibition under conditions present in the tumor microenvironment.
The Relationship between Obesity and Pre-eclampsia: Incidental Risks and Identification of Potential Biomarkers for Pre-eclampsia.
Dr. Damato’s presentation: Blood Serum Profiles of T-6A Texan II Instructor Pilots Across a One-week Flying Schedule
Dr. Decker’s presentation: Mechanisms Contributing to Increasing Fatigue Levels May Extend Beyond the Usual Suspects of Diet and Sleep
Preparations underway for the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility to train astronauts for the Artemis mission to Mars.
The Medical Physiology Graduation Reception was held Saturday, May 14, 2022
Congratulations to all of our Graduates!
Koyal Ansingkar, medical physiology student at Case Western Reserve University, collaborated with physiology and biophysics professor Michael Decker to write an award-winning grant proposal on airman systems.
Ansingkar is pursuing her Master of Science in Medical Physiology. Learn more about the program.
Matthias Kretzler, M.D., the Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis Professor of Medicine/Nephrology and a Professor of Computational Medicine amd Bioinformatics at the University of Michigan Medical School, gave the ninth Department of Physiology and Biophysics Ulrich Hopfer Lecture on Monday, March 7, 2022 at 4:00 p.m. in SOM E-501.
Members of the lab of Dr. Xin Qi have had the paper "ATAD3A oligomerization promotes neuropathology and cognitive deficits in Alzheimer's disease models" accepted for publication by Nature Communications
Nitish Rana, a doctoral student mentored by and in the lab of Theresa Pizarro, Ph.D., publicly defended his doctoral dissertation on Thursday, January 27, 2022 at 1:00 p.m. in SOM E-501.
The title of Dr. Rana's dissertation is "Non-pyroptotic Gasdermin B (GSDMB) Regulates Epithelial Restitution and Repair, and is Increased in IBD."
The members of his doctoral committee were Dr. Pizzaro, George Dubyak,, Ph.D., Sudha Chakrapani, Ph.D., and Fabio Cominelli, M.D., Ph.D., of the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and Andrei Ivanov, Ph.D. of the Lerner Research Institute of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
We wish Dr. Rana well in his future career!
Howard A. Rockman, M.D., the Edward S. Orgain Distinguished Professor of Cardiology and a professor of Medicine and of Cell Biology at the Duke University School of Medicine gave the Department's sixth Matthew N. Levy Lecture on Thursday, October 28, 2021 at 4:00 p.m. in SOM E-501.
The Department will host the 35th annual meeting of the Ohio Physiological Society on Friday and Saturday, September 17-18, 2021 at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Global Center for Health Innovation in downtown Cleveland.
The meeting is headlined "Molecular, Cellular & Integrative Physiology".
The keynote address, "Genes, physiology, and fertility at high altitudes", will be given by Cynthia Beall, Ph.D., a Distinguished University Professor, the Sarah Idell Pyle Professor of Anthropology, and the Co-Director of the Center for Research on Tibet at Case Western Reserve University.
Department of Physiology and Biophysics assistant professor Nami Tajima, Ph.D is the 2020-2022 president of the Ohio Physiological Society.
The OPS is a chapter of the American Physiological Society.
https://physiology.case.edu/events/symposia-and-endowed-lectures/2021-ops-35th-annual-conference/
The Department hosted its annual Recknagel Symposium within the context of its annual retreat at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, September 17, 2021 at Center for Global Health Innovation in downtown Cleveland.
After a one year hiatus, the Department will resume hosting its annual retreat on Friday, September 17, 2021 from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Center for Global Health Innovation in downtown Cleveland.
Facutly, postdocs, Ph.D. and M.S. graduate students, and research staff will attend.
Tingwei Mu, Ph.D., an Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, was awarded tenure by the University Board of Trustees, effective July 1, 2021.
The Department hosted its annual Cleveland Indians baseball outing on Friday, August 20, 2021. The Indians beat the Los Angeles Angels 9 - 1 at Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland.
The Department hosts the baseball outing at the beginning of each new academic year to welcome our new graduate students and to provide an enjoyable evening for returning students, faculty, and staff. Tickets are complimentary for our students and department associates, and the Terrace Club is reserved for our attendees.
Di Hu, Ph.D., a postdoc in the lab of Dr. Xin Qi, has had the paper “Small-molecule suppression of calpastatin degradation reduces neuropathology in models of Huntington’s disease” accepted for publication in Nature Communications.
Di Hu, Xiaoyan Sun, Anniefer Magpusao, Yuriy Fedorov, Matthew Thompson, Benlian Wang, Kathleen Lundberg, Drew J. Adams and Xin Qi
The paper will be published online on September 6.
http://www.nature.com/ncomms / DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-25651-y
After a one-year break, the Department hosted its annual summer picnic on Thursday, August 5, 2021 from 4:00-8:00 p.m. at the Cleveland Metroparks North Chagrin Reservation in Willoughby Hills.
Students and spouses, children, partners, and significant others of Department associates also attended..
The menu included offerings from Kim's Catering and the local establishment East Coast Custard.
Activities included softball, with several teams organized by faculty, students and other Department associates.
We are grateful for a successful event.
August 1, 2021 is the deadline for submitting applications for the MS in Medical Physiology Program (Post-Bacc Program). The admissions committee will review your application once it is complete and all application materials are received. If you have any questions, please contact the program at msmpadmissions@case.edu. Contact us if you need assistance.
Paulina Getsy, a doctoral candidate mentored by and in the lab of Dr. Stephen Lewis publicly defended her doctoral dissertation on Friday, June 11, 2021 at 2:00 p.m.
The title of Dr. Getsy's dissertation is "Ventilatory Responses after Loss of Chemoafferent or Sympathetic Inputs to Respiratory-Control Structures".
The defense was presented remotely, via Zoom.
Seth Fillioe, Ph.D., a postdoc in the lab of Dr. Michael Decker, has been selected to be part of the School of Medicine Translational Fellows Program for his project entitled, “Translating serum markers of fatigue into a real-time sensor worn by aviators”.
The lab of Rajesh Ramachandran, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, has had the manuscript, “NMR identification of a conserved Drp1 cardiolipin-binding motif essential for stress-induced mitochondrial fission” accepted for publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA.
The article will be published online in a few weeks.
Mukesh Mahajan*, Nikhil Bharambe*, Yutong Shang*, Bin Lu*, Abhishek Mandal*, Pooja Madan Mohan, Rihua Wang, Jennifer C. Boatz, Juan Manuel Martinez Galvez, Anna Shnyrova, Xin Qi, Matthias Buck, Patrick C.A. van der Wel, and Rajesh Ramachandran†.
*equal contribution
†corresponding author
The Medical Physiology Graduation Reception was held Friday, May 28, 2021, at 4:00 PM via Zoom.
Congratulations to all our Graduates!
Joseph LaManna, Ph.D., a Professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, has had the following chapters published in Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology (May 2021):
The Department will host an Open House for all students, parents, and undergraduate advisors interested in learning more about the M.S. in Medical Physiology Post-Bacc program on Saturday, April 17, 2021. This will be held via Zoom.
For more information: https://physiology.case.edu/education/department-open-house/
Qiuye Li, Ph.D., a Postdoctoral Scholar and doctoral student alumnus in the lab of Dr. Wïtold Surewicz, and Michael Babinchak, Ph.D., a third year M.D. candidate and also a Surewicz lab doctoral student alumnus, have had the paper “Cryo-EM structureof amyloid fibrils formed by the entire low complexity domain of TDP-43“ published in Nature Communications.
Nature Commun 12, 1620 (2021)
The Medical Physiology program will held its annual retreat at the Tinkham Veale University Center Ballroom on Thursday-Friday, January 28-29, 2021. Medical Physiology students attended sessions and seminars on preparing applications for professional school.
Cassandra Barone, a doctoral student in the Center for Aerospace Physiology, headed by Dr. Michael Decker, has been name a Solar System Ambassador in the Solar System Exploration program of NASA Science.
Join our TAs (current students and alumni) as they answer all your questions about the student experience in Case Western's Medical Physiology Program. Learn more about the curriculum, enrichment experiences, advising/ support services, life in Cleveland, and more during this casual virtual event.
The Department of Physiology and Biophysics held its annual Recknagel Symposium on Monday, December 14, 2020 from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Doctoral students who entered the program over the last year presented research from their lab rotations.
The department established the annual Recknagel Symposium in memory of Professor Richard Recknagel, who was Chair of the Department of Physiology from 1976 until 1986 and an admired thinker and investigator who took a keen interest in mentoring young students and faculty.
The event was held remotely, via Zoom.
Solomiia Boyko, a Ph.D. student mentored by Dr. Wïtold Surewicz, has had the paper "Regulatory mechanisms of tau protein fibrillation under the conditions of liquid-liquid phase separation” published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA.
Dr. Fraser Moss and Dr. Walter Boron have had published in the Journal of Physiology their paper "Carbonic anhydrases enhance activity of endogenous Na-H exchangers and not the electrogenic Na/HCO3 cotransporter NBCe1-A, expressed in Xenopus oocytes" (https://doi.org/10.1113/JP280143) and the associated perspective article on their research "The devil is in the C-tail: a NBCe1-carbonic anhydrase bicarbonate transport metabolon?" (Jeppe Praetorius) (https://doi.org/10.1113/JP280143).
The American Physiological Society has recognized for distinction in scholarship the authors of the paper "Rapid measurement of cardiac neuropeptide dynamics by capacitive immunoprobe in the porcine heart" published in the American Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology.
Nicholas Kluge*, Michael Joseph Dacey, Joseph Hadaya, Kalyanam Shivkumar, Shyue-An Chan*, Jeffrey Laurence Ardell, and Corey Smith*
DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00674.2020
*Smith lab member
Eva Gilker, a first year Ph.D. student in the lab of Dr. Walter Boron, was the winner of the Morning Group One poster award at the 43rd Biomedical Graduate Student Symposium on November 9, 2020. The symposium is sponsored by the CWRU Graduate Student Council.
Michael Babinchak, Ph.D.*, Benjamin Dumm and Solomiia Boyko, in the lab of Dr. Wïtold Surewicz had the paper,
“Small molecules as potent biphasic modulators of protein liquid-liquid phase separation”
accepted for publication in Nature Communications 11, 5554 (2020)
W. Michael Babinchak, Benjamin K. Dumm, Sarah Venus, Solomiia Boyko, Andrea A. Putnam, Eckhard Jankowsky & Wïtold K. Surewicz
https:/ /doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19211-z
*Dr. Babinchak was a doctoral candidate in the Surewicz lab who graduated in March 2020.
Yuan Cai is a Ph.D candidate in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics doctoral program mentored by and in the lab of Dr. Christopher Ford, formerly an associate professor in the Department and now a professor at the University of Colorado - Denver and an adjunct here, publicly defended his doctoral dissertation via Zoom at 12:00 noon EDT/10:00 a.m. MDT on Friday, October 30, 2020.
Yuan's dissertation is titled "Striatal acetylcholine-dopamine interactions in physiology and pathophysiology".
Yuan transferred from Dr. Ford's lab at Case to his new lab at UC-Denver when Dr. Ford moved to Denver in September 2017.
He is heading to a postdoc position at MIT.
The lab of Corey Smith, Ph.D. has had two papers accepted for publication:
“Fast in vivo detection of myocardial norepinephrine levels in the beating porcine heart”
American Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology
Shyue-An Chan, Marmar Vaseghi, Nicholas Kluge, Kalyanam Shivkumar, Jeffrey Ardell, Corey Smith
~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Rapid measurement of cardiac neuropeptide dynamics by capacitive immunoprobe in the porcine heart”
Nicholas Kluge, Michael Dacey, Joseph Hadaya, Kalyanam Shivkumar, Shyue-An Chan, Jeffrey L. Ardell, Corey Smith
American Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology
Sandip Basak, Ph.D., Arvind Kumar, Ph.D., and Eric Gibbs, Ph.D., postdocs in the lab of Dr. Sudha Chakrapani, have had the paper
"High-resolution structures of multiple 5-HT3AR-setron complexes reveal a novel mechanism of competitive inhibition"
accepted for publication in eLife.
Sandip Basak, Arvind Kumar, Steven Ramsey, Eric Gibbs, Abhijeet Kapoor, Marta Filizola, and Sudha Chakrapani
Postdoctoral scholars Rihua Wang, Ph.D. and Di Hu, Ph.D. and Senior Research Assistant Xiaoyan Sun, members of the lab of Professor Xin Qi, Ph.D. are authors of the paper, "Oligodendroglial glycolytic stress triggers inflammasome activation and neuropathology in Alzheimer’s disease", which has been accepted for publication in Science Advances. Xinwen Zhang, Ph.D., a former visiting scholar in the Qi lab, was also an author.
Authors: Xinwen Zhang, Rihua Wang, Di Hu, Xiaoyan Sun, Hisashi Fujioka, Kathleen Lundberg, Ernest R. Chan, Quanqiu Wang, Rong Xu, Margaret E. Flanagan, Andrew A. Pieper and Xin Qi
Members of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics Center for Aerospace Physiology lab, led by Associate Professor Michael J. Decker, Ph.D., have had published the paper,
“Neurovascular and cortical responses to hyperoxia: enhanced cognition and electroencephalographic activity despite reduced perfusion”
Journal of Physiology 598.18 (2020) pp 3941–3956
Elizabeth G. Damato, Tod A. Flak, Ryan S. Mayes, Kingman P. Strohl, Aemilee M. Ziganti, Alireza Abdollahifar, Chris A. Flask, Joseph C. LaManna, Michael J. Decker
Sudha Chakarpani, Ph.D. has been appointed the Director of the Cleveland Center for Membrane and Structural Biology (CCMSB).
Dr. Chakrapani is the Joseph T. Wearn, M.D. University Professor in Medicine, Professor of Physiology and Biophysics, and the Director of the Cryo-Electron Microscopy Core at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
Walter Boron, M.D., Ph.D., the David N. and Inez Myers/Antonio Scarpa Professor and Chair of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, was honored for his recent appointment as a Distinguished University Professor at the Fall University Convocation on Wednesday, August 26.
Joseph C. LaManna, Ph.D., the Silber Professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, has been inducted as a Fellow of the American Physiological Society.
The rank of Fellow is reserved to honor distinguished leaders who have demonstrated excellence in science, have made significant contributions to the physiological sciences, and who have served the Society.
August 1, 2021 is the deadline for submitting applications for the MS in Medical Physiology Program (Post-Bacc Program). The admissions committee will review your application once it is complete and all application materials are received. If you have any questions, please contact the program at msmpadmissions@case.edu. Contact us if you need assistance.
Patrick Osei-Owusu, Ph.D., F.A.H.A. has joined the faculty of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, effective July 1, 2020.
Dr. Osei-Owusu comes to us from the Drexel University College of Medicine, where he was an associate professor.
Best wishes to our newest faculty member!
Members of the labs of Dr. Walter Boron and Dr. Ardeschir Vahedi-Faridi, in collaboration with the research group of Dr. Emad Tajkhorshid at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, had the paper Aquaporin-7: A Dynamic Aquaglyceroporin With Greater Water and Glycerol Permeability Than Its Bacterial Homolog GlpF published in Frontiers in Physiology | Membrane Physiology and Membrane Biophysics on June 30, 2020.
Front Physiol 11:728, 2020.
Fraser J. Moss, Paween Mahinthichaichan, David T. Lodowski, Thomas Kowatz, Emad Tajkhorshid, Andreas Engel, Walter F. Boron and Ardeschir Vahedi-Faridi.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2020.00728/full
Congratulations to Arvind Kumar, Ph.D. and Sandip Basak, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow and a postdoctoral scholar, respectively, in the lab of Dr. Sudha Chakrapani, on the acceptance of their paper "Mechanisms of activation and desensitization of full-length glycine receptor in lipid nanodiscs".
Nature Communications
Arvind Kumar, Sandip Basak, Shanlin Rao, Yvonne Gicheru, Megan L. Mayer, Mark S.P Sansom, and Sudha Chakrapani
These associate professors have been promoted to full professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, effective July 1, 2020:
The Department hosted an Open House for all students, parents, and undergraduate advisors interested in learning more about the M.S. in Medical Physiology Post-Bacc program on Saturday, June 20, 2020. The event was held via Zoom.
For more information: https://physiology.case.edu/education/department-open-house/
Dynamin Superfamily GTPases: Methods and Protocols, edited by Rajesh Ramachandran, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, was published on June 12, 2020.
The book is one of the series "Methods in Molecular Biology“ (Book 2159). Dr. Ramachandran has been invited to do a second volume, as well.
Humana; 1st ed. 2020 edition
ISBN-10: 1071606751
ISBN-13: 978-1071606759
Rajesh Ramamchandran, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, has been awarded an R21 grant by the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke for a period of two years, effective June 1, 2020, for the research "Conformational Dynamics of the Dynamin PH domain in Synaptic Vesicle Endocytosis".
Josh Holmes, an undergraduate research assistant in the lab of Dr. Julian Stelzer, was selected as the outstanding 2020 graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Josh was a Physics major with a concentration in biophysics and a 4.0 GPA.
He will continue as a research assistant in Dr. Stelzer’s lab and to work on projects in the Department of Physics in the coming year while applying to medical school.
Image/content: https://thedaily.case.edu/meet-eight-of-cwrus-outstanding-2020-graduates/ (05-15-20)
The Medical Physiology Graduation Reception was held on Saturday, May 16, 2020, at 3:00 PM via Zoom.
Congratulations to all our Graduates!
Xin Qi, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, has been awarded an R01 grant from the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke for the research "Proteostasis dysregulation and alpha-synuclein", effective May 1, 2020.
The Department will host an Open House for all students, parents, and undergraduate advisors interested in learning more about the M.S. in Medical Physiology Post-Bacc program on Saturday, April 18, 2020. A full day of activities is scheduled.
For more information: https://physiology.case.edu/education/department-open-house/
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO A FUTURE DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED
The Department of Physiology and Biophysics and the Department of Neurosciences will jointly host Dr. Roger Nicoll, a professor of Cellular Molecular Pharmacology at the University of California - San Francisco School of Medicine, as the guest lecturer at a School of Medicine Frontiers in Biological Sciences Lecture on Wednesday, April 15, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. in SOM E-501.
The title of Dr. Nicoll's lecture is "In search of the molecules of memory."
A reception for Dr. Nicoll will be held prior to the lecture.
Tingwei Mu, Ph.D., an associate professor in the department of Physiology and Biophysics, has been awarded an R01 grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for the research "Assembly Chaperone Complex for Membrane Proteins in the Endoplasmic Reticulum", effective May 1, 2020.
Elizabeth G. (Lisa) Damato, Ph.D., R.N., A.P.R.N., an associate professor at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, has received a secondary faculty appointment in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, effective April 1, 2020.
Qiuye Li, a Ph.D. candidate mentored by and in the lab of Dr. Wïtold Surewicz, remotely publicly defended his doctoral dissertation on Tuesday, March 31, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. in SOM E-501.
The title of Qiuye's defense is "Structural studies of pathogenic protein aggregates".
Michael Babinchak, a Medical Scientist Training Program Ph.D. candidate mentored by and in the lab of Dr. Wïtold Surewicz, remotely publicly defended his doctoral dissertation on Friday, March 20, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. in SOM E-501.
The title of Michael's dissertation is "Pathological aggregation and liquid-liquid phase separation of TDP-43 in neurodegenerative disease."
Dr. Rajesh Ramachandran, an associate professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, will have published Dynamin Superfamily GTPases: Methods and Protocols, of which he is the editor, on July 5, 2020.
The book is one of the series "Methods in Molecular Biology" (Book 2159)
Humana; 1st ed. 2020 edition
ISBN-10: 1071606751
ISBN-13: 978-1071606759
Robert M. Carey, M.D., M.A.C.P., Dean Emeritus and Professor of Medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, gave the 8th Annual Ulrich Hopfer Lecture on Monday, March 2, 2020 at 4:00 in SOM E-501, hosted by our Chair, Dr. Walter Boron, and Dr. Ulrich Hopfer.
The title of Dr. Carey's lecture was "Defective renal AT2 receptor signaling in hypertension."
Dr. Carey also met with facutly members and Ph.D. students during his visit, and a reception in his honor was held in the Department 5th floor lobby prior to his lecture.
The Department of Physiology and Biophysics hosts the Hopfer lecture each March to honor Professor Emeritus Ulrich Hopfer, M.D., Ph.D.
The Medical Physiology program held its annual retreat at the Tinkham Veale University Center Ballroom on Friday, January 10, 2020. Medical Physiology students attended sessions and seminars on preparing applications for professional school.
The Department hosted its annual holiday party on Saturday, December 14 from 6:30-10:30 p.m. at the Cleveland Botanical Garden in University Circle. The Botanical Garden is currently holding its annual GLOW event, to which our guests had exclusive access during the party.
Catering was provided by Bon Appétit and a string ensemble provided seasonal music.
Santa Claus was available for pictures and passed out presents to the kids.
Leslie Leinwand, Ph.D., F.A.H.A., Distinguished Professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology (MCDB) and the Chief Scientific Officer of the BioFrontiers Institute at the University of Colorado, gave the 5th Annual Department of Physiology and Biophysics Matthew N. Levy Lecture on Thursday, October 31, 2019 at 1:30 p.m. in SOM E-501.
The title of Dr. Leinwand's lecture was “Myosin myopathies: mechanisms of pathogenesis and paths to therapeutics.”
A reception in Dr. Leinwand's honor followed the lecture.
The late Dr. Matthew Levy was a gifted, dedicated teacher and scientist who influenced countless students, conducted groundbreaking research on heart function and its relationship to the autonomic nervous system, and who co-authored one of the most influential texts on physiology. Each autumn, beginning with a daylong symposium in 2014, the Department honors the memory of Dr. Levy and his accomplishments.
Hanna Zhang, a Ph.D. candidate in the lab of Dr. John Kirwan, publicly defended her doctoral dissertation on Friday, October 18, 2019 at 1:30 p.m. in SOM E-501.
The title of Hanna's dissertation is “Growth differentiation factor-15 is a contraction-induced myokine that maintains glucose homeostasis in obesity and type 2 diabetes”.
A reception was held in Dr. Zhang's honor following the defense.
The Department of Physiology and Biophysics held its18th annual retreat at the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, OH on Thursday and Friday, September 19 and 20.
Facutly, postdocs, Ph.D. and M.S. graduate students, and research staff attended.
Scientific poster award winners were:
Ph.D. students: 1st Place - Quiye Li, Surewicz lab; 2nd Place - Michael Babinchak, Surewicz lab
Postdocs: 1st Place - Nikhil Bharambe, Ph.D., Ramachandran lab; 2nd Place - Mausita Karmakar, Ph.D., Dubyak lab; 3rd Place - Di Hu, Ph.D., Qi Lab
Research Assistants: 1st Place - Omid Hajihassani, Qi lab
M.S. students: 1st Place - Pooja Madan Mohan, Ramachandran lab; 2nd Place - Gabriel Forbes, Schmaier lab
The Department of Physiology and Biophysics annual Recknagel Symposium was held on Thursday, September 19, 2019 during the department’s 18th annual retreat.
Three pre-doctoral students tied for first place for the academic award: Benjamin Dumm and Ling Xu, both from the lab of Dr. Wïtold Surewicz, and Ryan Lingerak, from the lab of Dr. Bing-Cheng Wang.
For the award for the Recknagel oral presentation there was a two-way tie, between Benjamin Dumm and Ling Xu.
The department established the annual Recknagel Symposium in memory of Professor Richard Recknagel, who was Chair of the Department of Physiology from 1976 until 1986 and an admired thinker and investigator who took a keen interest in mentoring young students and faculty.
The Department hosted its annual Cleveland Indians baseball outing on Friday, August 23, 2019.
The Indians beat the Kansas City Royals 4 - 1 at Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland.
We host the baseball outing at the beginning of each new academic year to welcome our new graduate students and to provide an enjoyable evening for returning students, faculty, and staff. Tickets are complimentary for our students and department associates, and the Terrace Club was again reserved this year for our attendees.
Image: http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2017/0918/r260637
The Department welcomed approximately 170 first year students on Thursday, August 22 to its Master of Science in Medical Physiology program orientation.
A catered reception was held for the new students and they had an opportunity to have an individual photographs taken for the Department website.
As an additional welcome, all of the new students were invited to attend a Cleveland Indians baseball game on Friday, August 23.
We wish all of them well as they pursue their graduate studies.
The Department hosted its annual summer picnic on Friday, July 26, 2019 from 3:00 - 7:00 p.m. at the University's Squire Vallevue Farm in Hunting Valley.
Department faculty, associates, and students and their families and significant others attended, as well as interns who have joined us for the summer.
Group activities included softball and volleyball.
A barbecue of chicken and ribs and hamburgers and hot dogs was provided by Bon Appétit.
July 15th, 2020 is the deadline for submitting applications for the MS in Medical Physiology Program (Post-Bacc Program). The admissions committee will review your application once it is complete and all application materials are received. If you have any questions, please contact the program at msmpadmissions@case.edu. Contact us if you need assistance.
Jeffrey R. Schelling, M.D. has received a secondary appointment as a professor on the faculty of the Department Physiology and Biophysics.
Dr. Schelling is the Division Director of Nephrology at the MetroHealth Medical System and a Professor of Medicine at the School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University.
The Department will hosted an Open House for all students, parents, and undergraduate advisors interested in learning more about the M.S. in Medical Physiology Post-Bacc program on Saturday, June 22, 2019. A full day of activities was held.
For more information: https://physiology.case.edu/education/department-open-house/
John Li, a Ph.D. candidate in the Medical Scientist Training Program in the lab of and mentored by Dr. Julian Stelzer, publicly defended his doctoral dissertation on Monday, June 17, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. in SOM E-501.
The title of John's dissertation is "Examining the efficacy of MyBPC based therapies in mouse models of cardiomyopathies."
A reception was held in the new Dr. Li's honor in the Department's 5th floor bridge area following the defense.
Our lab was invited to the Pentagon to present study findings of oxygen's effects on brain blood flow
Dr. Decker presented our lab's work to a congressional subcommittee, chaired by Congressman Bill Pascrell Jr and co-chaired by Congressman Don Bacon
Di Hu, a Ph.D. candidate mentored by and in the lab of Dr. Xin Qi, publicly defended his doctoral disseration on Tuesday, May 21, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. in SOM E-501.
The title of Dr. Hu's dissertation is “Targeting Mitochondria as a Potential Therapeutic Strategy for Neurodegenerative Disease.”
A reception in Di's honor was held immediately following the defense.
Jie Yang, mentored by and in the lab of Dr. Sam Xiao, publicly defended his doctoral dissertation on Tuesday, May 2, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. in SOM E-501.
The title of Jie's dissertation is “Structure, function, and regulation of inflammatory caspases in inflammation and pyroptosis.”
A festive brunch reception for the newly minted Ph.D. was held in the department's 5th floor bridge area following the defense.
As part of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics Inaugural Symposium for the Center for Aerospace Physiology, Dr. Jay Dean presented a seminar entitled "Winning the physiological air war of 1939-1945: the history of aero medical research and practices in America during WW2" on Tuesday, April 30 at 12:00 noon in SOM E-501.
Dr. Dean is a Professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Military and Emergency Medicine at the College of Medicine at the University of South Florida in Tampa.
We are pleased to announce the Inaugural Symposium for the Center for Aerospace Physiology to be held at Case Western Reserve University on April 29-30, 2019. The Center for Aerospace Physiology is housed within the Department of Physiology & Biophysics, at the School of Medicine. Our team of multidisciplinary scientists collaborate closely with flight surgeons and aerospace physiologists from NASA, the USAF and USN to develop new strategies enabling humans to live and thrive within austere environments on earth, the upper atmosphere, and beyond.
For more information: https://physiology.case.edu/events/symposia-and-endowed-lectures/center-for-aerospace-physiology-symposium/
…on the publication of “Functionalized Phenylbenzamides Inhibit Aquaporin-4 Reducing Cerebral Edema and Improving Outcomein Two Models of CNS Injury” in Neuroscience 404, 484-498 (04-15-2019)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306452219300545
The Department will host an Open House for all students, parents, and undergraduate advisors interested in learning more about the M.S. in Medical Physiology Post-Bacc program on Saturday, April 13, 2019. A full day of activities is scheduled.
For more information: https://physiology.case.edu/education/department-open-house/
Yvonne Gicheru, a Ph.D. candidate mentored by and in the lab of Dr. Sudha Chakrapani, publicly defended her doctoral dissertation on Friday, March 29, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. in SOM E-501.
Yvonne's dissertation is entitled "Structural basis for functional modulation of pentameric ligand-gated ion channels."
A reception was held in Yvonne's honor immediately after the defense in the department's 5th floor bridge area.
Sahej Bindra, a senior at the Hathaway Brown School and a student intern in the lab of Dr. Joseph LaManna, was awarded fourth place in the research paper competition at the 56th Ohio Junior Science and Humanities Symposium held at Bowling Green State University, March 13-15, 2019.
The title of Sahej's paper is “Environmental enrichment improved cognitive performance in mice under normoxia and hypoxia.”
Alicia A. McDonough, Ph.D., F.A.H.A., a Professor of Integrative Anatomical Science at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, gave the 7th Annual Ulrich Hopfer Lecture on Monday, March 18, 2019 at 4:00 in SOM E-501, hosted by Dr. Walter Boron and Dr. Ulrich Hopfer.
The title of Dr. McDonough's lecture was "Maintaining Balance under Pressure: renal adaptations to angiotensin II hypertension in females and males."
Dr. McDonough also met with facutly members during her visit and a reception in her honor was held in the Department 5th floor lobby prior to her lecture.
The Department of Physiology and Biophysics hosts the Hopfer lecture each March to honor Professor Emeritus Ulrich Hopfer, M.D., Ph.D.
Kate (Yanlin) Fu, a Ph.D. candidate mentored by and in the lab of Dr. Tingwei Mu, publicly defended her doctoral dissertation on Friday, March 15, 2019 at 4:00 p.m. in SOM E-501.
The title of Kate's dissertation is "Proteostasis maintenance of γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptors (GABAARs)"
A festive reception in honor of the newly minted Ph.D. followed the defense in the department's 5th floor bridge area.
Recipients of internships through the Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program (NREIP), American Society for Engineering Education in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Zhao, a postdoctoral scholar in the lab of Dr. Xin Qi, has had the paper “ATAD3A oligomerization causes neurodegeneration by coupling mitochondrial fragmentationwith bioenergetics defects” accepted for publication by Nature Communications.
Zhao YY, Sun XY, Hu D, Prosdoci D, Jain M, Hoppel C, Ramachandran R and Qi X.
Di Hu, a Ph.D. candidate in the lab of Dr. Xin Qi, has had the paper “Alpha-Synuclein suppresses mitochondrial protease ClpP to trigger mitochondrial oxidative damage and neurotoxicity” accepted as first author for publication by Acta Neuropathologica.
Authors: Di Hu, Xiaoyan Sun, Xudong Liao, Xinwen Zhang, Sara Zarabi, Aaron Schimmer, Yuning Hong, Christopher Ford, Yu Luo and Xin Qi.
Eric Gibbs, Ph.D. has joined the lab of Dr. Sudha Chakrapani as a Postdoctoral Scholar, effective January 23, 2019.
Eric was recently awarded his doctorate by Duke University.
The Department welcomes Dr. Nami Tajima as a new faculty member, effective January 2, 2019.
Prior to joining the department Dr. Tajima was a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Hiro Furukawa at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York.
Dr. Tajima was selected as a Mount Sinai Scholar in October 2018.
The Department hosted its annual holiday party on Saturday, December 15 from 6:30-10:30 p.m. at the Western Reserve Historical Society in University Circle.
Catering was by A Taste of Excellence and a string ensemble provided seasonal music.
...on the publication of the manuscript, "Structural attributes of mammalian prion infectivity: Insights from studies with synthetic prions" in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Quiye Li (l), is a Ph.D. candidate and Xiangzhu Xiao, Ph.D. (r) is a Research Associate, both in the lab of Wïtold Surewicz, Ph.D., the Robert F. Bennett, M.D. Professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics.
The paper was selected as a JBC Editor's Pick and was accompanied by the profile of the first author, Qiuye Li.
J Biol Chem 293, 18494-18503 (2018)
Soumili Chatterjee, a Ph.D. candidate in the lab of and mentored by Dr. Sudha Chakrapani, publicly defended her doctoral dissertation on Tuesday, November 20, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. in SOM E-501.
The title of Soumili's dissertation is “Understanding the structural basis of slow inactivation in voltage-gated sodium channel."
A brunch reception in Soumili's honor was held in the 5th floor bridge area following the defense.
A. Radu Aricescu, Ph.D., a Medical Research Council (MRC) Senior Research Fellow in the Laboratory of Molecular Biology’s Neurobiology Division at the University of Cambridge, presented a School of Medicine Frontiers in Biological Sciences Lecture on Wednesday, October 24, 2018 at 4:00 p.m. in SOM E-501, hosted by Dr. Sudha Chakrapani and the Department . The title of Dr. Aricescu's lecture was "Human GABAA Receptor Structures and Signaling Mechanisms."
Michael Babinchak, an M.D./Ph.D. candidate in the Medical Scientist Training Program in the lab of Dr. Wïtold Surewicz, has been awarded an F30 grant from the National Aging Institute for the project "Pathological aggregation of TDP-43 in age-related neurodegenerative diseases."
Xinghong Dai, Ph.D. joins the faculty of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, effective October 1, 2018.
Dr. Dai was previously a postdoctoral scholar in the lab of Dr. Ren Sun in the Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology at the University of California – Los Angeles.
The Department of Physiology and Biophysics held its annual Recknagel Symposium at the annual department retreat on Friday, September 21, 2018 at the Huntington Cleveland Convention Center.
Three of the Department’s second year doctoral students, Sara Taki, Paulina Getsy and Raza Haider presented from their first year research laboratory rotations. Raza Haizer, a member of the lab of Dr. Witold Surewicz, won the competition with his presentation, "Characterizing the aggregation propensity of pathologically-relevant TDP-43 ALS mutants."
The department established the annual Recknagel Symposium in memory of Professor Richard Recknagel, who was Chair of the Department of Physiology from 1976 until 1986 and an admired thinker and investigator who took a keen interest in mentoring young students and faculty.
The Department held its annual retreat on Friday, September 21, 2018 from 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. at the Huntington Convention Center in downtown Cleveland.
Our annual Recknagel Symposium will also took place during the retreat. See the entry below for details.
Image: booking.com
The Department welcomes Hannah Schwab, who has joined the lab of Dr. Ardeschir Vahedi-Faridi as a Research Assistant 1, effective September 10, 2018.
Joseph A. Hill, M.D., Ph.D., a Professor of Internal Medicine and Molecular Biology, the James T. Willerson, M.D. Distinguished Chair in Cardiovascular Diseases, the Frank M. Ryburn, Jr. Chair in Heart Research, the Chief of the Division of Cardiology, and the Director of the Harry S. Moss Heart Center at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, presented the Department of Physiology and Biophysics 4th Annual Matthew N. Levy Lecture on Friday, September 7, 2018 at 1:30 p.m. in SOM E-501.
Dr. Hill's lecture was entitled “Heart Failure: Two Inflammatory Tales.”
The late Dr. Matthew Levy was a gifted, dedicated teacher and scientist who influenced countless students, conducted groundbreaking research on heart function and its relationship to the autonomic nervous system, and who co-authored one of the most influential texts on physiology. Each autumn, beginning with a daylong symposium in 2014, the Department honors the memory of Dr. Levy and his accomplishments.
Dr. Chakrapani, an associate professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, has received an NIH S10 High-End Instrumentation (HEI) grant to purchase a Pulsed-EPR spectrometer.
The Department hosted its annual baseball outing on Friday, August 31, 2018 at 7:10 p.m. at Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland.
The Cleveland Indians shut out the Tampa Bay Rays 3 - 0.
We host the baseball outing at the beginning of each new academic year to welcome our new students and to provide an enjoyable evening for returning students, faculty, and staff. Tickets are complimentary for our students and department associates, and seating this year was in the Terrace Club.
Image: Annie O'Neill
Yvonne Gicheru (l) and Dr. Sandip Basak (c), a Ph.D. candidate and a postdoctoral fellow, respectively, in the lab of Dr. Sudha Chakrapani, have had the paper, "Cryo-EM reveals two distinct serotonin-bound states of the full-length 5-HT3A receptor" accepted for publication in Nature.
Sandip Basak, Yvonne Gicheru, Shanlin Rao, Mark Sansom, and Sudha Chakrapani
The Department welcomes 174 new students to its Master of Science in Medical Physiology program.
Eva Gilker has joined the lab of Dr. Walter Boron as a Research Assistant II, effective August 13, 2018.
Agustin Gonzalez Vicente, Ph.D., in collaboration with the labs of Dr. Jeffrey Garvin and Dr. Ulrich Hopfer, has had published as first author the paper, "Transcriptome signature for dietary fructose-specific changes in rat renal cortex: A quantitative approach to physiological relevance."
Gonzalez-Vicente A, Garvin JL, Hopfer U.
PLoS One. 2018 Aug 1;13(8):e0201293.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0201293. eCollection 2018.
PMID:30067804 [PubMed - in process]
...on the acceptance of the paper, "Impact of the myosin modulator mavacamten on force generation and cross-bridge behavior in a murine model of hypercontractility," by the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Ranganath Mamidi, Ph.D.; Jiayang Li, B.S; Chang Yoon Doh, B.S; Sujeet Verma, Ph.D. (not pictured); Julian E. Stelzer, Ph.D.
The Department hosted its 2018 annual summer picnic on Thursday, July 26 from 3:00 - 7:00 p.m. at the Cleveland Botanical Garden in University Circle.
All Department students, associates and their families and significant others were invited to attend.
Catering was by Bon Appétit.
Image: inacents.com
July 16th, 2018 at midnight is the official deadline for submitting applications for the MS in Medical Physiology Program (Post-Bacc Program). The admissions committee will review your application once it is complete and all application materials are received. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Nosek (thomas.nosek@case.edu, 216-368-3242). Contact us if you need assistance.
The Department welcomes summer visiting medical students from Yeditepe University in Istanbul.
Burak Ekincikli (l), a third year student of the Faculty of Medicine, is working in the lab of Dr. Walter Boron.
Berfin Ece Akbulut (r), a fourth year student of the Faculty of Medicine, is working in the lab of Dr. Matthias Buck.
Burak and Berfin will both be in the Department until August.
Soumili Chatterjee, a Ph.D. candidate in the lab of Dr. Sudha Chakrapani, has had the paper, "The Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Pore exhibits Conformational Flexibility during Slow Inactivation" accepted for publication by the Journal of General Physiology*.
Chatterjee, S., Vyas, R., Chalamalasetti, S., Sahu, I., Clatot, J., Lorigan, GA., Deschêne I., and Chakrapani, S.
*JGP will feature a Commentary to highlight this work.
Meng Wang, Ph.D. has joined the lab of Dr. Tingwei Mu as a postdoctoral scholar, effective July 2, 2018.
Meng received his Ph.D. in molecular biology from China Agricultural University.
Rajesh Ramachandran, Ph.D. has been promoted to Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, effective July 1, 2018.
Michael Decker, Ph.D. had joined the faculty of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics as an Associate Professor.
Dr. Decker is a systems physiologist who received his Ph.D. from CWRU, followed by faculty appointments at Emory University and the CDC. His research is focused upon characterizing mechanisms through which hypoxia evokes structural and functional impairments within neural circuits mediating cognition and motor control. His laboratory employs both clinical and laboratory-based techniques ranging from human neuroimaging to immunohistochemistry.
Dr. Decker is currently funded by the NIH and the Dept.of Defense.
Nianxin Yang has joined the lab of Dr. Jeff Garvin as a Research Assistant I, effective June 25, 2018.
Nianxin received a bachelor's degree from Case in May of this year and was an intern in Dr. Garvin's lab as an undergraduate.
Faridat Folarin-Amode, a second year student at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, is working in the lab of Dr. Matthias Buck as a visiting summer medical student.
Pranav Viswanathan (l) - Wm. Mason High School (Cincinnati)
Adithya Sreenivas (r) - Aurora High School
Sahej Bindra - Hathaway Brown - LaManna/Decker Lab
Jennifer Wang - Hathaway Brown - Dubyak Lab
Ian Bhatia - Shaker Heights High School - Dubyak Lab
Gabriel Papell - Shaker Heights High School - Boron Lab
Mehmet Yilmaz - Solon High School - Boron Lab
(l to r)
Marisa Mohapatra (not pictured) - Hawken - Romani Lab
David Litivin, a Ph.D. candidate mentored by Frank Jacono, M.D., publicly defended his doctoral dissertation at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 5, 2018 in SOM E-501.
David's dissertation is entitled "Immune-to-Brain Communication Driven by Sterile Lung Injury."
A reception in the new Dr. Litvin's honor was held following the defense at 5:00 p.m. in the Department's fifth floor bridge area.
Tien-Hao Chen, Ph.D. has joined the lab of Dr. Wïtold Surewicz as a postdoctoral scholar, effective June 1, 2018.
"Sonar" an F35 test pilot who collaborates with our lab, is promoted to Colonel at Hill AFB.
Amrita Samanta, a Ph.D. candidate mentored by Dr. Vera Moiseenkova-Bell, will publicly defended her doctoral dissertation on Thursday, May 31, 2018 at 4:00 p.m. in SOM E-501.
The title of Dr. Samanta's dissertation is "Understanding the Molecular Mechanism of TRP channel activation/inhibition by structural analysis."
A reception in Amrita's honor was held following the defense at 5:00 p.m. in the Department's 5th floor bridge area.
Jie Yang, a Ph.D candiate in the lab of Dr. Tsan Xiao, had the following paper accepted as first author on May 22, 2018:
"Mechanism of gasdermin D recognition by inflammatory caspases and their inhibition by a gasdermin D-derived peptide inhibitor”
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA [In press] [Available online June 11, 2018]
Jie Yang, Zhonghua Liu, Chuanping Wang, Rui Yang, Joseph K. Rathkey, Otis W. Pinkard, Wuxian Shi, Yinghua Chen, George R. Dubyak, Derek W. Abbott, and Tsan Sam Xiao
Peyvand Amini, who was mentored by and a member of the lab of Dr. Sam Mesiano in the Department of Reproductive Biology, publicly defended her doctoral dissertation on Monday, May 7, 2018 at 4:00 p.m. in SOM E-501.
The title of Peyvand's dissertation is "Mechanisms by which progesterone controls human pregnancy and parturition."
A reception in Dr. Amini's honor was held at 5:00 p.m. in the Department's 5th floor bridge area.
Dr. Walter Boron and the Department of Physiology and Biophysics hosted Dr. Peter Hunter of the University of Auckland for a School of Medicine Frontiers in Biological Sciences Lecture on Wednesday, April 18, 2018 at 4:00 p.m. in SOM E-501.
The title of Dr. Hunter's Frontiers Lecture was “Cardiac research at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute.”
Dr. Hunter is a Distinguished Professor of Engineering Science and the Director of the Auckland Bioengineering Institute at the University of Auckland (New Zealand).
A reception was held in Dr. Hunter's honor at 3:30 p.m. in the Department fifth floor lobby.
In addition, Dr. Hunter also gave a technical talk, “A mathematical physics and computer science framework for reproducible multiscale modelling in physiology”, on Thursday, April 19, 2018 at 4:00 p.m. in SOM E-501.
The Department will hold an Open House for all students, parents, and undergraduate advisors interested in learning more about the MS in Medical Physiology Post-Bacc program on Saturday, April 7, 2018. A full day of activities is scheduled. Please register here online. A second Open House will be held on Saturday, July 14, shortly before the application deadline.
For more information: https://physiology.case.edu/education/department-open-house/
To register for the Open House: https://physiology.case.edu/apply-masters-open-house/
David Litvin, a Ph.D. candidate mentored by Frank Jacono, M.D., has had his first paper accepted by Brain, Behavior and Immunity.
The title of David's paper is "Lung-injury depresses glutamatergic synaptic transmission in the nucleus tractus solitarii via discrete age-dependent mechanisms in neonatal rats."
(David G Litvin, Thomas E Dick, Corey B Smith, Frank J
Jacono, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity 2018 March 27)
Mark A. Knepper, M.D., Ph.D. of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of NIH gave the 6th Annual Ulrich Hopfer Lecture on Monday, March 19, 2018 at 4:00 in SOM E-501, hosted by Dr. Walter Boron and Dr. Ulrich Hopfer.
The title of Dr. Knepper's lecture was “Regulation of Aqp2 gene expression by vasopressin."
Dr. Knepper also met with facutly members during his visit and a reception in his honor was held prior to the lecture in the Department 5th floor lobby.
The Department of Physiology and Biophysics hosts the Hopfer lecture each Spring to honor Professor Emeritus Ulrich Hopfer, M.D., Ph.D.
(Photo: Walter Boron, M.D., Ph.D., Mark Knepper, M.D., Ph.D., Ulrich Hopfer, M.D., Ph.D.)
Dr. Mu received a 4.0 percentile rating on his NIH RO1 research proposal, “Understanding GABAA receptor protein folding and misfolding.”
Sam Chai, a Ph.D. candidate advised by and in the lab of Dr. Isabelle Deschenes, publicly defended his doctoral dissertation on Friday, January 19, 2018 at 4:00 p.m. in SOM E-501.
Sam's dissertation is entitled "Novel Genetic Modifiers in a Monogenic Cardiac Arrhythmia."
A reception in the new Ph.D.'s honor followed the defense in the Department 5th floor bridge area.
Sandip Basak, Ph.D., a Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Dr. Sudha Chakrapani, has had the manuscript "Cryo-EM structure of 5-HT3A receptor in its resting conformation" accepted for publication by Nature Communications.
Felipe Montecitos, Ph.D. has joined the lab of Dr. Rajesh Ramachandran as a Postdoctoral Scholar, effective January 2, 2018.
Dr. Chakrapani has been appointed to the Editorial Board of the Journal of General Physiology for the term January 1, 2018
through December 31, 2020.
Michael Glidden (l), an M.D./Ph.D. candidate in the Medical Sciences Training Program, publicly defended his doctoral dissertation on Tuesday, December 12 at 3:00 p.m. in SOM E-501.
The title of Michael's dissertation is "Single-chain insulin analogs as ultra-stable therapeutics."
The new Ph.D. has been advised by Michael Weiss, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A. (r), who is the Cowan-Blum Professor of Cancer Research and Professor of Biochemistry & Medicine in the Endocrine Division of the Department of Biochemistry.
We wish Michael well as he returns to the M.D. track of the program in the School of Medicine.
The Department hosted its annual holiday party on Saturday, December 9 from 6:30-10:30 p.m. at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in University Circle.
The number of attendess exceeded 300 this year, including faculty, students, staff, and special guests of the department.
A string ensemble provided music and there were two planetarium shows for the attendees.
Catering was by Zack Bruell.
Arvind Kumar, Ph.D. has joined the lab of Dr. Sudha Chakrapani as a Postdoctoral Scholar, effective December 1, 2017.
who is one of only three travel grant awardees for the 2018 Keystone Symposium on Cell Death, Inflammation & Adaptation to Tissue Stess to be held at the Beaver Run Resort in Breckenridge, Colorado, January 21-25.
Based on her abstract submission, Dr. Karmakar has also been chosen to give an oral presentation at the symposium.
Amday, a second year student in the combined Master's in Medical Physiology/M.B.A. program, received first prize with his team in the Cleveland Clinic Solutions’ mini case competition held in October.
Amday's team took on the challenge of improving the Cleveland Clinic’s Weight Management Program. As a result of the team’s presentation, the Clinic plans to move forward with one of the ideas in the team’s model regarding a wellness program involving cooking.
Dr. Qi has received a one-year Falk Medical Research Trust Catalyst Award for research regarding "Identification of Enhancers of Mitochondrial Function as Candidate Therapeutics of Huntington's Disease,“ effective November 30, 2017
The Department of Physiology and Biophysics held its annual retreat at the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, OH on Thursday and Friday, October 19 and 20, 2017.
Please bring your items to: Weatherhead Graduate Student Services Office (PBL – 150) Monday, October 2nd through Friday, October 6th, 8:30am – 5:00pm . Click here Puerto_Rico_Relief_Flyer.pdf for a list of items needed.
For any additional information please contact: Edwin Pacheco (787)-345-1856 (exp199@case.edu)
The Department hosted the 3rd Annual Matthew N. Levy Lecture on Thursday, September 28, 2017 at 3:00 p.m. in SOM E-501.
The lecture was given by Jeanne Nerbonne, Ph.D., an Alumni Endowed Professor of Molecular Biology and Pharmacology in Medicine and Developmental Biology, the Director of the Center for Cardiovascular Research, and the Co-Director of the Center for the Investigation of Membrane Excitability Diseases at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
The title of Dr. Nerbonne's lecture was "Diversity of Cardiac Ion Channel Regulatory Mechanisms.”
A pre-lecture reception for Dr. Nerbonne was held in the Department lobby, and our Chair, Dr. Walter Boron, presented Dr. Nerbonne with an engraved plaque after the lecture to commemorate her presentation.
The late Dr. Matthew Levy was a gifted, dedicated teacher and scientist who influenced countless students, conducted groundbreaking research on heart function and its relationship to the autonomic nervous system, and who co-authored one of the most influential texts on physiology. Each autumn, beginning with a daylong symposium in 2014, the Department honors the memory of Dr. Levy and his accomplishments.
The Department of Physiology and Biophysics held its annual Recknagel Symposium on Thursday, September 13, 2017 at 9:00 a.m. in the Department lecture hall.
Two of the Department's second year doctoral students, Sheng Gong (l) and Yutong Shang (r) presented on projects from their first year laboratory rotations. Yutong Shang received the award for the best presentation and Sheng Gong received the award for academic achievement. Sheng is a member of the lab of Dr. Christopher Ford and Yutong is a member of the lab of Dr. Xin Qi.
The Department established the annual Recknagel Symposium in memory of Professor Richard Recknagel, who was Chairman of the Department of Physiology from 1976 to 1986 and an admired thinker and investigator who took a keen interest in mentoring young students and faculty.
Stephan Nieuwoudt, a Ph.D. candidate mentored by and in the lab of Dr. John Kirwan at the Lerner Research Institute of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, publicly defended his doctoral dissertation on Friday, September 1, 2017 at 4:00 p.m. in SOM E-501.
The title of Stephan's dissertation is, "Insights into the Functional Roles of Exercise in Type 2 Diabetes Using In Vitro Models."
A reception was held after the defense at 5:00 p.m. in the Department's 5th floor bridge area in honor of the newly minted Ph.D.
Nikhil Bharambe, Ph.D. has joined the lab of Dr. Rajesh Ramachandran as a Postdoctoral Scholar, effective September 1, 2017.
Jacob Popple. B.S., a student in the Department's Master of Science in Medical Physiology program, has joined the lab of Dr. Walter Boron as a Research Assistant, effective August 28, 2017.
The Department hosted its annual baseball outing on Friday, August 25, when the Cleveland Indians played the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field downtown at 7:10 p.m. The Indians won 4-0!
We host the baseball outing at the beginning of each new academic year to welcome our new students and to provide an enjoyable event for returning students, faculty, and staff. Tickets are complimentary for our students and department associates, and all include club privileges.
Image: Annie O'Neill
The Department welcomed its Master of Science in Medical Physiology program 2017 entering class this week with the first day of orientation on Thursday, August 24. New students attended general orientation sessions, as well as sessions on time management, study skills, and test-taking skills, and participated in a group photo (left).
The first day of orientation concluded with a catered reception in the School of Medicine main lobby area.
New M.S.M.P. students and other students and associates of the Department who reserved tickets attended a Cleveland Indians baseball game outing sponsored by the Department on Friday evening, August 25.
The Department hosted its annual summer picnic for our associates, their family members, and significant others on Thursday, August 10, 2017 from 3:00 - 7:00 p.m. at the Cleveland Botanical Garden in University Circle.
Catering was by Bon Appétit.
Image: Walter F. Boron, M.D., Ph.D.
Panjamaporn (Pam) Sangwung publicly defended her doctoral dissertation on Thursday, July 6, 2017 at 3:00 p.m. in SOM E-501.
The title of Pam's dissertation is "Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors: Master Regulators of Vascular Endothelium."
Pam's mentor is Mukesh K. Jain, M.D. (photo left)
A reception in Pam's honor was held following the defense in the Department's 5th floor bridge area.
The Department hosted a special seminar presented by Michael Decker, Ph.D., R.N., R.R.M., Diplomate A.B.S.M, an Associate Professor at the Case Western Reserve University Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, on Wednesday, July 5, 2017 at 4:00 p.m. in SOM E-501.
The title of Dr. Decker's seminar was "Mechanisms through which hypoxia-induced dopamine dysfunction could enhance vulnerability for substance misuse."
Dr. Decker is also a Principal Investigator and the Laboratory Director in the Bolton School of Nursing Neuroscience Lab.
Bridget Kennedy, B.A., B.S., M.S. has joined the lab of Dr. Rajesh Ramachandran as a Research Assistant II, effective July 3, 2017.
Sudha Chakrapani, Ph.D. has been promoted to Associate Professor, with tenure, in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, effective July 1, 2017.
Xin Qi, Ph.D. has been promoted to Associate Professor, with tenure, in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, effective July 1, 2017.
Christopher P. Ford, Ph.D. has been promoted to Associate Professor, with tenure, in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, effective July 1, 2017.
Rajesh Ramachandran, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, has been awarded, for a term of 5 years, an R01 grant by the National Institutes of Health for research on "Molecular mechanisms of dynamin-related protein 1-mediated mitochondrial fission."
Jamie Prezioso, Ph.D. joined the lab of Dr. Walter Boron as a Postdoctoral Scholar/Mathematician on June 26, 2017.
June 19th, 2017 at midnight was the official deadline for submitting applications for the MS in Medical Physiology Program (Post-Bacc Program). The admissions committee will review your application once it is complete and all application materials are received. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Nosek (thomas.nosek@case.edu, 216-368-3242). Contact us if you need assistance.
on his award of a Summer Student Fellowship grant by the organization Fight for Sight.
C.W. is a student in the Master's in Medical Physiology program.
The Department will host an Open House on Saturday, April 7 and Saturday, June 2, 2018. Prospective received information about our educational programs, toured the CWRU campus and department laboratories, and met faculty and students.
For more information: https://physiology.case.edu/education/department-open-house/
Pamela Marcott, an M.D./Ph.D. candidate in the Medical Science Training Program (MSTP), mentored by and in the lab of Dr. Chris Ford, publicly defended her doctoral dissertation at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, June 2, 2017 in SOM E-501.
The title of Dr. Marcott's dissertation is "Mechanisms of dopamine D2-receptor activation across the striatum."
A reception in Pam's honor was held followng the defense.
on his American Heart Association AWRP Winter 2017 Postdoctoral Fellowship two-year award* for the project “Effects of cholesterol and polyunsaturated fatty acids on ligand-gated ion channel structure and function,” effective July 1, 2017. Dr. Basak is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Dr. Sudha Chakrapani.
*Percentile Rank: 0.15%
Eighty-nine students in the Department's Master of Science in Medical Physiology program were awarded M.S. degrees on Sunday, May 21.
These were in addition to eighteen students in the program who graduated in December 2016.
Eight of the degrees awarded on Sunday were for the joint M.S./M.B.A. program.
Best wishes to our graduates as they begin the next stage of their lives!
Dr. Garvin received the 2017 J. Bruce Jackson M.D. Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Mentoring. The award, which is in the form of an apple, was presented to Dr. Garvin by University President Barbara Snyder on May 3, 2017.
In 2013, the Master of Science in Medical Physiology first year students conspired to all come to morning lecture wearing cardigan sweaters. The lecturer for that day, Dr. Tom Nosek, a regular wearer of cardigan sweaters "since birth", didn't notice that everyone was wearing one until it was pointed out to him.
Every Spring since, Dr. Nosek proclaims a "Cardigan Day" for the first year M.S.M.P. students and asks them to wear a cardigan to lecture. Today was that day for the class entering in Fall 2016.
Drew Nassal, a Ph.D. candidate advised by and in the lab of Dr. Isabelle Deschenes, publicly defended his doctoral dissertation on Friday, March 31 at 3:00 p.m. in SOM E-501.
Dr. Nassal's dissertation is entitled "Evaluating Non-canonical Roles of KChIP2 in the Heart."
A reception for Dr. Nassal and his family followed the defense in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics 5th floor bridge area.
Dr. Amira Klip, a Senior Scientist in the Cell Biology Program at the Hospital for Sick Childen in Toronto and a professor in the Departments of Pediatrics, Biochemistry, and Physiology at the University of Toronto, gave the 5th annual Ulrich Hopfer lecture, hosted by Dr. Walter Boron and Dr. Ulrich Hopfer and the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, on Wednesday, March 22, 2017 at 4:00 p.m in SOM E-501.
The title of Dr. Klip's lecture was "Insulin and exercise signals mobilizing glucose transporters in muscle cells."
The Department hosts the Hopfer lecture each Spring to honor Professor Emeritus Ulrich Hopfer, M.D., Ph.D.
...on the publication of their cardiac muscle research, entitled “Cardiac myosin binding protein-C Ser302 phosphorylation regulates cardiac β-adrenergic reserve.”
Science Advances,10 Mar 2017: Vol. 3, no. 3, e1602445, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1602445
Ranganath Mamidi*, Kenneth S. Gresham*, Jiayang Li, and Julian E. Stelzer
on the publication of "Computational Modeling Reveals that Signaling Lipids Modulate the Orientation of K-Ras4A at the Membrane Reflecting Protein Topology."
Zhen-Lu Li, Matthias Buck
Structure. v.25:4, pp679–689.e2, 4 April 2017
Photo source: http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2017/05/case_western_reserve_universit_16.html
on the publication of the manuscript "Nitric Oxide Reduces Paracellular Resistance in Rat Thick Ascending Limbs by Increasing Na+ and Cl- Permeabilities."
Monzon CM, Occhipinti R, Pignataro OP, Garvin JL
Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2017 Mar 8:ajprenal.00671.2016. doi: 10.1152/ajprenal.00671.2016. [Epub ahead of print]
...on the acceptance of the manuscript, "Crystal structure and dynamics of a lipid-induced potential desensitized-state of a pentameric ligand-gated channel" by eLife.
Sandip Basak*, Nicolaus Schmandt*, Yvonne Gicheru*, and Sudha Chakrapani
*equal contribution
Dr. Ramachandran received an R21 award from the National Institute for Neurological Diseases and Stroke for research on Molecular Mechanisms of Rapid Synaptic Vesicle Endocytosis..
The award period is March 1, 2017 - February 28, 2019
Dr. LaManna has been elected a Fellow of the American Association of Anatomists.
on the publication of "Molecular Dynamics Simulations Reveal Isoform Specific Contact Dynamics between the Plexin Rho GTPase Binding Domain (RBD) and Small Rho GTPases Rac1 and Rnd1."
Zhang L, Buck M
J Phys Chem B. 2017 Feb 23;121(7):1485-1498. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.6b11022. Epub 2017 Feb 8.
Liqun Zhang, Ph.D. was formerly a postdoctoral scholar in Dr. Buck's lab.
on the publication of the manuscript, "Gender differences in hypoxic acclimatization in cyclooxygenase-2 deficient mice."
Xu K, Sun X, Benderro GF, Tsipis CP, LaManna JC. Physiol Rep. 2017 Feb;5(4). pii: e13148. doi: 10.14814/phy2.13148. Epub 2017 Feb 27.
The Department hosted its annual holiday party on Saturday, December 3, 2016 from 6:30 - 10:30 p.m. at the Western Reserve Historical Society in University Circle.
Associates of the Department and their families and significant others as well as additional guests of the Department attended.
Catering was by A Taste of Excellence and a string quintet performed for the event.
on acceptance of the manuscript “VCP cooperates with UBXD1 to degrade mitochondrial outer membrane protein MCL1 in model of Huntington’s disease.”
BBA - Molecular Basis of Disease
Xing Guo, Ph.D. and Xin Qi, Ph.D., In press
on the publishing of the paper “Amyloid fibrils from the N-terminal prion protein fragment are infectious” in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA.
Jin-Kyu Choi, Ignazio Cali, Krystyna Surewicz, Qingzhong Kong, Pierluigi Gambetti, and Witold K. Surewicz
Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2016; published ahead of print November 14, 2016, doi:10.1073/pnas.1610716113.
on the acceptance of the paper “Nicotinic and opioid receptor regulation of striatal dopamine D2-receptor mediated transmission.”
Scientific Reports (In press)
Didi and Yuan are Ph.D. candidates in the lab of Dr. Chris Ford.
Deng-ke Wang, Ph.D. has joined the lab of Dr. Walter Boron as a postdoctoral scholar, effective October 24, 2016
Dr. Christopher Ford and Dr. Sudha Chakrapani hosted Dr. Eric Gouaux at the 2016 Department of Physiology and Biophysics-sponsored Frontiers in Biological Sciences Lecture on Wednesday, October 19 at 4:00 p.m. in SOM E-501.
Dr. Gouaux's lecture was entitled "Music of the brain illuminated by molecular studies of the instruments: X-rays and electrons reveal architecture and mechanism of neurotransmitter receptors and transporters."
Eric Gouaux, Ph.D. is an Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a Senior Scientist at the Vollum Institute and holds the Jennifer and Bernard Lacroute Term Chair in Neuroscience Research at the Oregon Health & Science University.
A pre-lecture reception was held at 3:30 p.m. in the Department lobby.
The Department hosted the 2nd Annual Matthew Levy Lecture on Friday, October 7, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. in Room E-501 of the School of Medicine.
The guest lecturer was Jonathan A. Epstein, M.D., the Executive Vice Dean and Chief Scientific Officer, and the William Wikoff Smith Professor of Cardiovascular Research at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Epstein's lecture was titled "Regulation of nuclear architecture drives cell fate."
A reception was held prior to the lecture at 3:15 p.m. in the Department lobby.
The late Dr. Matthew Levy was a gifted, dedicated teacher and scientist who influenced countless students, conducted groundbreaking research on heart function and its relationship to the autonomic nervous system, and who co-authored one of the most influential texts on physiology. Each autumn, beginning with a daylong symposium in 2014, the Department honors the memory of Dr. Levy and his accomplishments.
The 2016 Recknagel Symposium took place at the Department's annual retreat on Friday, September 23, 2016 at the Huntington Convention Center in downtown Cleveland.
Three of the Department's second year doctoral students, Michael Babinchak, Yuan Cai, and Nitish Rana, presented on projects from their first year laboratory rotations. Yuan Cai won the Recknagel awards for both his research presentation and for academic achievement. The title of Yuan's presentation was "Acetylcholine regulation of dopamine D2 receptor mediated transmission in striatal medium spiny neurons."
The Department established the annual Recknagel Symposium in memory of Professor Richard Recknagel, who was Chairman of the Department of Physiology from 1976 to 1986 and an admired thinker and investigator who took a keen interest in mentoring young students and faculty.
The 2016 Recknagel Symposium took place at the Department's annual retreat at the Cleveland Convention Center on Friday, September 23, 2016.
Three of the Department's second year doctoral students, Michael Babinchak, Yuan Cai, and Nitish Rana, presented on projects from their first year laboratory rotations. Yuan Cai won the Recknagel awards for both his presentation and for academic record.
The Department established the annual Recknagel Symposium in memory of Professor Richard Recknagel, who was Chairman of the Department of Physiology from 1976 to 1986 and an admired thinker and investigator who took a keen interest in mentoring young students and faculty.
on the acceptance of the paper “Inhibition of Drp1 mitochondrial translocation provides neuronal protection in dopaminergic system in a Parkinson’s disease model induced by MPTP”
Scientific Reports, 2016 Sep 13;6:32656.
Filichia E, Hoffer B, Qi X*, Luo Y*
*co-corresponding author
Ahlam Salameh publicly defended her doctoral dissertation on Tuesday, September 6, 2016 at 3:30 p.m. in SOM E-501.
The title of Dr. Salameh's dissertation is "Metabolic acidosis and the mysterious role of the anion exchanger AE3 in the intracellular-pH physiology of hippocampal neurons and astrocytes".
Ahlam was advised by and in the lab of Dr. Walter Boron, the Myers/Scarpa Professor and Chair of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics.
A reception in Ahlam's honor, with her family in attendance, followed the defense at 5:00 p.m.
The Department will host its annual baseball outing on Friday, September 2 at Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland. The Cleveland Indians will play the Miami Marlins at 7:10 p.m.
Faculty, students, postdocs, and staff members may reserve a complimentary ticket with club privileges, which includes all food concessions at no cost. Additional tickets with club privileges are available for purchase at a price of $62.00 each.
The Department hosts the baseball outing at the beginning of each academic year to welcome our new Ph.D. and M.S. students.
Mentor Mulaj, Ph.D. has joined the lab of Dr. Witold Surewicz as a postdoctoral scholar, effective September 1, 2016.
The department welcomed the Master’s in Medical Physiology class matriculating in 2016. These students come from 26 different states, 8 foreign countries, and 111 different colleges and universities. This is the sixth class in the MSMP program.
on the acceptance of the paper “VCP recruitment to mitochondria causes mitophagy impairment and neurodegeneration in models of Huntington's disease” by Nature / Communications
Xing Guo, Xiaoyan Sun, Di Hu, Yajuan Wang, Dr. Hisashi Fujioka, Rajan Vyas, Sudha Chakrapani, Amit Joshi, Yu Luo and Xin Qi.
The Department hosted its annual summer picnic on Friday, July 15, 2016 from noon to 4:00 p.m. at the University's Squire Valleevue farm in Hunting Valley.
A barbecue menu was catered by A Taste of Excellence.
Image: en.wikipedia.org
...on the acceptance of the paper as first author, based on her dissertation research,
“Active Caspase-1 Induces Plasma Membrane Pores That Precede Pyroptotic Lysis and Are Blocked by Lanthanides”
Hana M. Russo, Joseph Rathkey, Andrea Boyd-Tressler, Michael A. Katsnelson, Derek W. Abbott, and George R. Dubyak.
J Immunol 1600699; published ahead of print July 6, 2016, doi:10.4049/jimmunol.1600699
Hana, a student in the Medical Scientist Training Program, is a Ph.D. candidate in Pathology in the lab of Dr. George Dubyak.
Andrea Boyd-Tressler, a Ph.D. graduate of the Dubyak lab in Pharmacology, has begun her 1st year as an M.D. candidate at the Lerner Cleveland Clinic College of Medicine of CWRU.
Michael Katsnelson, a student of the Medical Scientist Training Program and a Ph.D graduate of the Dubyak lab in Pathology, is currently completing his final year as an M.D. candidate at the Case School of Medicine.
Ahlam, a Ph.D. candidate in the lab of Dr. Walter Boron, has had a Perspectives editorial article to accompany her recently accepted second paper,
"Role of Cl-HCO3 exchanger AE3 in intracelllular-pH homeostatis in cultured murine hippocampal neurons, and in crosstalk to adjacent astrocytes"
commissioned by the The Journal of Physiology.
Ahlam I. Salameh, Christian A. Hübner, and Walter F. Boron. J. Physiol, June 2016
Julian Stelzer, Ph.D. has been promoted to Associate Professor, effective July 1, 2016.
Dr. Stelzer joined the Department of Physiology and Biophysics as a Visiting Professor and was named an Assistant Professor in February 2009.
June 15th, 2016 at midnight is the official deadline for submitting applications for the MS in Medical Physiology Program (Post-Bacc Program). Any online applications that have been initiated at that time will be considered even if it takes the applicant a week or so to complete the application (ex. provide your official transcript, provide GRE, MCAT, or DAT scores, provide your personal statement, provide 3 letters of recommendation). The admissions committee will review your application once it is complete and all application materials are received. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Nosek (Thomas.Nosek@Case.edu, 216-368-3242). Contact us if you need assistance.
The Department is hosting six summer research interns from Alfaisal University in Saudi Arabia. We welcome
The Department held an Open House on Saturday, June 4th, 2016. Prospective students received information about our educational programs, toured the CWRU campus and department laboratories, and met faculty and students. Please click here for more info.
Ken Gresham (photo right), a Ph.D. candidate in the lab of Dr. Julian Stelzer (photo left), publicly defended his doctoral dissertation on Friday, May 27, 2016 at 2:30 p.m. in SOM E-501.
The title of Ken's dissertation is "MyBP-C Phosphorylation Regulates Ventricular Pressure Development and Relaxation."
A reception in Ken's honor catered by A Taste for Excellence followed the defense at 3:30 p.m. in the 5th floor bridge area.
Dr. Mamidi has been awarded a two-year Postdoctoral Fellowship by the American Heart Association, effective July 1, 2016, to study "Sarcomere-based pharmacological approach to rescue contractile dysfunction in dilated and hypertrophic cardiomyopathies."
Ranga is a member of the lab of Dr. Julian Stelzer.
Dr. Ford has been elected to serve on the NIH Molecular Neuropharmacology and Signaling (MNPS) study section for the term 2016-2020.
...on acceptance of the paper
"NLRP3 Inflammasome Signaling is Activated by Low-Level Lysosome Disruption but Inhibited by Extensive Lysosome Disruption: Roles for K+ Efflux and Ca2+ Influx."
Katsnelson MA, Lozada-Soto KM, Russo HM, Miller BA, Dubyak GR. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2016 May 11:ajpcell.00298.2015. doi:10.1152/ajpcell.00298.2015. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 27170638.
Pam Marcott, a Ph.D. candidate in the lab of Dr. Chris Ford, was awarded a National Research Service Award Predoctoral Research Fellowship (F30) by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) of NIH for research on "Functional properties of dopamine and glutamate cotransmission in the nucleus accumbens," effective March 8, 2016.
Walter Boron, M.D., Ph.D., the Myers/Scarpa Professor and Chair of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, has been awarded a five-year Multidisciplinary University Research Inititative (MURI) grant from the Office of Naval Research, effective June 1, 2016, for the research topic, "Molecular mechanisms and pathways for gas transport across biological membranes and implications for physiology and performance."
The University of Southern California and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are also participating in this research.
Dr. Courtney, who was awarded a Ph.D. on October 30, 2015, has received a Graduate Excellence Award from the CWRU School of Graduate Studies. Nick was a member of the lab of Dr. Chris Ford and is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Edwin Chapman at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of Wisconsin - Madison.
Dr. Chakrapani has been elected to the Council of the Society of General Physiologists for the term 2015 - 2018.
Dr. Stelzer has been awarded a BRS Shared Instrumentation Grant (S10) by the National Institutes of Health for research on "High resolution ultrasound for small animal imaging," effective May 1, 2016.
The Department has scheduled an Open House for April 9th, 2016. Prospective students can hear all about our educational programs, tour the CWRU campus and department laboratories, and meet faculty and students. Please click here for more info.
A buffet continental breakfast was served in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics lobby in honor of the students in our graduate programs on Thursday morning, April 7.
Our Department chair, Dr. Walter Boron, hosted Prof. Dr.med. Ulrich Pohl for a four-day visit that included a special lecture at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, April 8.
Prof. Dr. Pohl is a Professor and Chair of Vegetative Physiology at the Institute of Cardiovascular Physiology and Pathophysiology, and Director of the Walter Brendel Centre for Experimental Medicine at Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich.
Prof. Dr. Pohl's lecture was entitled "Vascular connexins, all-rounders which mind more than just a gap (junction)". A reception was held at the conclusion of the lecture.
Dr. Pohl's visit also included a facutly dinner, meetings with individual faculty members, as well as a visit to the Cleveland Museum of Art and attendance of a concert of the Cleveland Orchestra.
Dr. Ernest Wright, FRS, of the UCLA School of Medicine, presented the 4th annual Ulrich Hopfer lecture, hosted by Dr. Walter Boronand the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, on Thursday, March 17, 2016 at 4:00 p.m in SOM E-501.
Dr. Wright's lecture was titled “Basic Physiology to Translational Medicine: Lessons from SGLTS.“
Dr. Wright and Dr. Hopfer were honored at a reception and dinner on Wednesday evening at the Cleveland Museum of Art.
The Department hosts the Hopfer lecture each Spring to honor Professor Emeritus Ulrich Hopfer, M.D., Ph.D.
on acceptance of the paper "Mechanisms of 5HT1A receptor mediated transmission in dorsal raphe serotonin neurons."
Courtney NA & Ford CP (2016), Journal of Physiology. In press.
on acceptance of the paper "Neutrophil P2X7 receptors mediate NLRP3 inflammasome-dependent IL-1β secretion in response to ATP."
Karmakar M., Katsnelson, M., Dubyak G.R., Pearlman, E., Nature / Communications. In press.
The Department hosted its annual holiday party on Friday, December 18 from 3:00 - 6:30 p.m. in the 5th floor bridge area.
Catering was provided by A Taste of Excellence. The menu included short ribs, chicken tenders, premium beef sliders, artichoke dip, and finger pastries, as well as wine, beer, and soft drinks.
We had quite a number of guests from outside of the Department, and the attendees seemed to have an enjoyable time.
Michelle Jennings Nassal publicy defended her doctoral dissertation on Friday, November 20 at 2:00 p.m. in SOM Robbins E-501.
The title of Dr. Jennings Nassal's dissertation is "Identifying Novel Therapeutic Targets for Reentrant Amhythimias."
A reception followed the defense at 3:00 p.m. in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics fifth floor bridge area.
Matt Cohen, a doctoral candidate in the lab of Dr. Vera Moiseenkova-Bell, publicy defended his dissertation on Friday, November 6 at 3:30 p.m. in SOM Robbins E-501.
The title of Dr. Cohen's dissertation is "Regulation of endogenous TRV2 ion channel by growth factors in neuronal cells".
A reception followed the defense at 4:30 p.m. in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics fifth floor bridge area.
Nick Courtney, a Ph.D. candidate in the lab of Dr. Chris Ford, publicly defended his doctoral dissertation on Friday, October 30, 2015 at 3:00 p.m. in SOM Robbins E-504.
The title of Nick's dissertation is “Mechanisms of autoreceptor-mediated inhibition in central monoamine neurons.”
A reception followed the defense at 4:00 p.m. in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics fifth floor bridge area.
The Department hosted the First Annual Matthew Levy Lecture at 3:00 p.m. on Monday, October 12, 2015 in SOM Robbins E-501.
The guest lecturer was Dr. Peter Libby, the Mallinckrodt Professor of Medicine and a cardiovascular specialist at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital.
The title of Dr. Libby's lecture was “Inflammation in Atherosclerosis –a Translational Journey”.
A pre-lecture reception was held at 2:30 p.m. in the Department's lobby.
Andrew has joined the lab of Dr. Matthias Buck as a postdoctoral scholar, effective October 5, 2015.
Dr. Walter Boron, the Myers/Scarpa Professor and Chair of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, received a DURIP award from the Office of Naval Research for equipment for gas channel research, effective August 15, 2015.
The annual Recknagel Symposium was held, as a part of the Department Annual Retreat at the Kalihari Resort, on Friday afternoon, September 25, from 2:30 - 4:00 p.m. Six of our second year doctoral students presented on projects from their first year laboratory rotations.
Winners of the 2015 Recknagel Symposium awards are:
Yvonne Gicheru, Ph.D. candidate - Best research presentation for "Pentameric Ligand-Gated Ion Channels Analyzed By Nanodisc Technology". Yvonne is in the lab of Dr. Sudha Chakrapani.
Di Hu, Ph.D. candidate - Best academic record (2014-2015). Di is in the lab of Dr. Xin Qi.
During the first year of doctoral training, students in the Department rotate in three different laboratories. The goal of these rotations is to identify a subject area of interest, and a mentor for future research. After completion of the research rotations, each student presents one of the projects to the entire department at the Recknagel Symposium.
Professor Richard Recknagel was Chairman of Physiology from 1976 to 1986. He was an admired thinker and investigator who took a keen interest in mentoring young students and faculty. In his memory, the Department established this Symposium.
The Department of Physiology and Biophysics held its annual retreat at the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, OH on Thursday and Friday, September 24 and 25, 2015.
The annual Recknagel Symposium also took place, as part of the retreat, on Friday afternoon, September 25. Six of our second year doctoral students presented on projects from their first year laboratory rotations.
Congratulations to Rossana Occhipinti, Ph.D. on the award of a K01 grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for the project:
"Acid secretion and intracellular pH regulation in proximal-tubule cells"
The award was effective on September 18, 2015 and the project will run through August 31, 2020.
Mukesh Mahajan, PhD. joined the lab of Dr. Matthias Buck as a postdoctoral scholar, effective September 10, 2015.
The Department hosted its annual baseball outing on Friday evening, August 28, 2015.
The Cleveland Indians beat the Los Angeles Angels, 3-1, at Progressive Field.
The annual event provides a special welcome to our new students, as well as providing an enjoyable evening for other attendees from the Department. A happy hour on campus preceded the game.
The Department welcomed the Masters in Medical Physiology Class matriculating in 2015. These students come from 27 different states, 5 foreign countries, and 80 different colleges and universities. This is the fifth class in the MSMP program.
Michael Katsnelson, a Ph.D. candidate in the lab of Dr. George Dubyak and a student in the Medical Scientist Training Program, successfully defended his doctoral dissertation on Thursday, July 30, 2015.
The title of Dr. Katsnelson's dissertation is "Cation Channels as regulators and effectors of NLRP3 inflammasome signaling and IL-1 beta secretion".
The new Ph.D. will begin his third year in the M.D. program at the School of Medicine in the Fall semester.
A reception in Dr. Katnelson's honor was held in the afternoon after the completion of the defense.
Daniel Harris, a Ph.D. candidate in the lab of Dr. Paul DiCorleto, successfully defended his doctoral dissertation on Monday, July 27, 2015.
The title of Dr. Harris's dissertation is “PRMT5-Catalyzed Arginine Methylation of NF-KB p65 in the Endothelial Cell Induction of Pro-Inflammatory Chemokines”.
A reception was held in honor of the new Ph.D. after the completion of the defense.
The Department hosted its annual picnic on Friday, July 17 from 3:00 - 7:00 p.m. at CWRU's Squire Valleevue Farm in Hunting Valley.
A barbecue menu was catered by A Taste of Excellence.
as first and second author, respectively, on acceptance of the paper, “Caspase-8 as an Effector and Regulator of NLRP3 Inflammasome Signaling”
Christina received her Ph.D. in Pathology in December 2014, having done her doctoral research in the lab of Dr. George Dubyak. She is currently a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Medicine in the lab of Dr. Anne Hamik, a member of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics secondary faculty.
Hana is an M.D./Ph.D. graduate student in the Pathology Ph.D. program (Immunology Track), also in the lab of Dr. George Dubyak.
J Biol Chem. 2015 Jun 22. pii: jbc.M115.652321. [Epub ahead of print]
Antonopoulos C, Russo HM, El Sanadi C, Martin BN, Li X, Kaiser WJ, Mocarski ES, Dubyak GR
Congratulations to Dr. Ranga Mamidi on acceptance of the paper
“Molecular effects of the myosin activator omecamtiv mecarbil on contractile properties of skinned myocardium lacking cardiac myosin binding protein-C”
Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology, 2015 (in press)
Ranganath Mamidi, Ph.D., Kenneth S. Gresham, Ami Li, Cristobal G. dos Remedios, Ph.D., Julian E. Stelzer, Ph.D.
The Department hosted an Open House for the MS in Medical Physiology Program on Saturday, May 30th. Prospective students and family members heard all about our Masters in Medical Physiology program, toured the CWRU campus and department laboratories, and met faculty and students. Please click here for more information.
Peyvand won the first place poster presentation award at the 38th Biomedical Graduate Student Symposium on May 8th, 2015.
The poster was for the project "Post-Translational Modifications of Progesterone Receptor in Human Myometrium".
Peyvand is a Ph.D. candidate in the lab of Dr. Sam Mesiano in the Department of Reproductive Biology at University Hospitals-MacDonald Women's Hospital.
Malcolm Hoshi, a Ph.D. candidate with the lab of Dr. Isabelle Deschenes, successfully defended his Ph.D. dissertation in a public presentation on Friday, April 24, 2015.
The title of Dr. Hoshi's dissertation is “Unveiling Mechanisms Involved in Non-Traditional Cases of Inherited Cardiac Channelopathies”.
A reception was held following the public defense.
The Department of Physiology and Biophysics hosted the Third Annual Ulrich Hopfer Lecture on Wednesday, April 22, 2015.
The guest lecturer was Dr. Richard Johnson of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, CO.
Dr. Johnson's lecture was entitled “Fructose and its Role in Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome”.
Dr. Ranga Mamidi, a Postdoctoral Scholar in the lab of Dr. Julian Stelzer, won the Postdoctoral Research Award for his poster presentation at the 2015 Research ShowCASE.
Dr. Mamidi won the same award at the 2014 Research ShowCASE.
The manuscript “K+ Efflux Agonists Induce NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation Independently of Ca2+ Signaling”, submitted by Michael Katsnelson and Hana Russo, has been accepted for publication by the Journal of Immunology.
Michael and Hana are MD/PhD candidates in the Medical Sciences Training Program in Pathology (Immunology Track) and are in the lab of Dr. George Dubyak.
J Immunol., 2015 Apr 15; 194(8):3937-52. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1402658. Epub 2015 Mar 11.
Michael A. Katsnelson, L. Graham Rucker, Hana M. Russo, and George R. Dubyak
Saketh joined the lab of Dr. Witold Surewicz as a postdoctoral scholar, effective March 16, 2015.
The Department of Physiology and Biophysics congratulates Dr. Candida Desjardins for successfully defending her PhD thesis, "Early Detection of Physiologic and Functional Changes of Common Structural Protein Mutations Underlying Human Diseases by MRI", on Mar 4th, 2015.
Rajan joined the lab of Dr. Sudha Chakrapani as a postdoctoral scholar, effective January 5, 2015.
Mausita joined the lab of Dr. George Dubyak as a postdoctoral scholar, effective January 1, 2015.
Sandip joined the lab of Dr. Sudha Chakrapani as a postdoctoral scholar, effective December 22, 2014.
The Department hosts a Holiday Party each December to celebrate all the diverse holidays observed by our department members.
The Department hosted the 2014 Matthew N. Levy Symposium on Oct. 1, 2014. See this brochure for more information.
The Department held the 2014 annual Recknagel Symposium at its 13th Annual Retreat at the Cleveland Convention Center on Friday, September 19. Four second year doctoral students presented their research.
Peyvand Amini and Michael Glidden shared the award for best academic record and David Litvin took first place in the research presentation category. The title of David's presentation was “Central Indomethacin treatment following bleomycin induced lung injury attenuates breathing frequency & reduces brainstem IL-1B expression.”
During the first year of doctoral training, students in the Department rotate in three different laboratories. The goal of these rotations is to identify a subject area of interest, and a mentor for future research. After completion of the research rotations, each student presents one of the projects to the entire department at the Recknagel Symposium.
Professor Richard Recknagel was Chairman of Physiology from 1976 to 1986. He was an admired thinker and investigator who took a keen interest in mentoring young students and faculty. In his memory, the Department established this Symposium.
The Department sponsored our annual Department Retreat on September 19th at the Cleveland Convention Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Retreats consisted of informal scientific presentations by principal investigators, students, and post-doctoral fellows.
Congratulations to Andrea Boyd-Tressler on the acceptance of her first paper as first author "Chemotherapeutic Drugs Induce ATP Release via Caspase-gated Pannexin-1 Channels and a Caspase/Pannexin-1-Independent Mechanism" in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
The Deparment has scheduled an Open House for May 31st. Prospective students and family members can hear all about our Masters in Medical Physiology program, tour the CWRU campus and department laboratories, and meet faculty and students. Deadline for registration is May 26th. Please click here to register online for the event. Please click here for more information.
The Department of Physiology and Biophysics offers 5 summer research traineeships supported by a recently awarded American Heart Summer Training Grant. The program is designed for outstanding students with majors in biology, chemistry, physics or related disciplines. Students will carry out a research project under the close guidance of a faculty member for 10 weeks during the summer months (May 27 through Aug. 1, 2014). In general, the program accepts students who have finished their junior year.
The Department of Physiology & Biophysics established this Annual Lecture in honor of the accomplishments Ulrich Hopfer, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Hopfer is an internationally recognized scientist whose academic career spans over 35 years here at Case Western Reserve University. During this time period, he distinguished himself for excellence in research and in teaching. Indeed, postdoctoral fellows, medical students, graduate students, and undergraduates have all benefited from his expertise. Please join us as we welcome distinguished guest speaker, Christian Aalkjaer, MD., who will be presenting the 2014 Ulrich Hopfer Lecture on Thursday, May 1, 2014 at 4:00pm in the Robbins Building Auditorium, E-501
The Department of Physiology and Biophysics congratulates Dr. Prattana Samasilp, for successfully defending her PhD thesis, "Molecular Control of Fusion Pore Expansion in Mouse Adrenal Chromaffin Cells", on Mar 18th, 2014.
Congratulations to Ross Anderson on the acceptance of his first paper as first author “Regulation of persistent activity in hippocampal mossy cells by inhibitory synaptic potentials” in Learning and Memory.
The Department of Physiology and Biophysics congratulates Dr. Quentin Jamieson, for successfully defending his PhD thesis, "The Inactivation Mechanisms of Shaker IR and KV2.1 Potassium Channels: Lessons from Pore Mutation", on Feb 24th, 2014.
The Department of Physiology and Biophysics congratulates Dr. Sheela Toprani, for successfully defending her PhD thesis, "Mechanisms of Seizure Reduction by Low Frequency Electrical Stimulation", on Feb 18th, 2014.
The Department of Physiology has just announced the option to take our popular Post-Bacc MS in Medical Physiology Program online. See MSMP Internet Program for online program details.
The Department hosts a Holiday Party each December to celebrate all the diverse holidays observed by our department members.
Congratulations to Christina Antonopoulos on the acceptance of her first paper as first author “Pro-apoptotic Chemotherapeutic Drugs Induce Non-canonical Processing and Release of IL-1β via Caspase-8 in Dendritic Cells” in the Journal of Immunology.
The Deparment has scheduled an Open Houses for October 12th. Prospective students can hear all about our educational programs, tour the CWRU campus and department laboratories, and meet faculty and students. Please click here for more info.
This 2013 Recknagel Symposium was held during the Department's annual retreat on Friday, October 4 at the Sawmill Creek Resort in Huron, OH.
Four of our second year doctoral students presented on a project from their first year laboratory rotations. Pamela Marcott received the first place award for academic record and Pam (l) and Amrita Samanta (r) shared the first place award for research presentation.
Pam's presentation was entitled "“Light-evoked dopamine release induces a D2-receptor mediated inhibitory postsynaptic current” and Amrita' presentation was “Characterization of monoclonal antibodies to understand TRPV2 channel structure”
Professor Richard Recknagel was Chairman of Physiology from 1976 to 1986. He was an admired thinker and investigator who took a keen interest in mentoring young students and faculty. In his memory, the Department established this Symposium.
The Department will sponsor a Department Retreat on October 3rd and 4th at Sawmill Creek Resort in Huron/Sandusky, Ohio. Retreats consist of informal scientific presentations by principal investigators, students, and post-doctoral fellows.
Congratulations to Dr. Xin Qi on the acceptance of the paper “Inhibition of mitochondrial fragmentation diminishes Huntington's disease-associated neurodegeneration” in the Journal of Clinical Investigation (in press).
Students, staff, and faculty of the department will take the opportunity to enjoy an evening at Progressive Field. The Indians will be playing the Minnesota Twins, it is Dollar Dog Night, and there will be fireworks.
The Department of Physiology and Biophysics will conduct an orientation for all new graduate program students. Please follow this link for the orientation schedule
The department will be hosting our annual picnic at Squire Valleevue Farm.
Congratulations to Dr. Xin Qi on the publishing of the paper “Inhibition of excessive mitochondrial fission reduced aberrant autophagy and neuronal damage caused by LRRK2 G2019S mutation”* Human Molecular Genetics, June 27, 2013
*This paper is highlighted in Nature Review Neurology, titled as “Defective mitochondrial dynamics in the hot seat—a therapeutic target common to many neurological disorders?”
Molecular action of an electrogenic Na/HCO3 cotransporter (NBCe1)
Reception at 4:00 PM on 5th floor bridge
July 1, 2013 at midnight is the official deadline for submitting applications for the MS in Medical Physiology Program (Post-Bacc Program). Any online applications that have been initiated at that time will be considered even if it takes the applicant a week or so to complete the application (ex. provide your official transcript, provide GRE, MCAT, or DAT scores, provide your personal statement, provide 3 letters of recommendation). The admissions committee will review your application once it is complete and all application materials are received. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Nosek (Thomas.Nosek@Case.edu, 216-368-3242). Contact us if you need assistance.
The Deparment has scheduled an Open House for June 1st. Prospective students can hear all about our educational programs, tour the CWRU campus and department laboratories, and meet faculty and students.
The application deadline for the Post-Bacc MS program is July 1, 2013.
The 2013 Summer Undergraduate Research Program Participants pictured with the SURP Program Director Andrea Romani.
Stay tuned for the exciting new features that will be available on our new website we are designing for the PEPCC.
Congratulations to Dr. Julian Stelzer on the occasion of his award of an NIH RO1 grant, effective February 1, 2013, for research in the “Functional consequences of FHC mutations in cardiac MyBPC”
“Substrate specificity of the electrogenic sodium/bicarbonate cotransporter NBCe1-A (SLC4A4, variant A) from humans and rabbits” Lee, S.-K., Boron, W.F., and Parker, M.D. American Journal of Physiology, 2013 (in press)
“Monitoring Ion Activities In and Around Cells Using Ion-Selective Liquid-Membrane Microelectrodes” Lee, S.-K., Boron, W.F., and Parker, M.D. Sensors, 2013 (in press)
The Department hosts a Holiday Party each December to celebrate all the diverse holidays observed by our department members.
The Department welcomes Jeff Garvin, who joined us November 28, 2012. He brought with him four members of his laboratory from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit where he was Division Head of Hypertension and Vascular Research in the Department of Internal Medicine. Jeff is an authority on epithelia transport and the role of the kidneys in the regulation of blood pressure and the genesis of hypertension. In 2011, Jeff was the recipient of the prestigious Gottschalk Award of the American Physiological Society-one of the most prestigious honors in the renal field. He has authored more than 135 publications in peer-reviewed journals and has served on numerous NIH study sections. At present Jeff leads three NIH-funded projects. He serves as Associate Editor of the American Journal of Physiology: Renal Physiology, Editor of Comprehensive Physiology: Renal Physiology and a Regular Member of the Kidney Molecular Biology and Genitourinary Organ Development study section at the NIH.
The Department has sponsored a retreat since 1997. This retreat includes informal scientific presentations by principal investigators, students, and post-doctoral fellows, as well as a variety of social functions. This year's retreat will be held at One Cleveland Center in downtown Cleveland. Contact Jean Davis or Morley Schwebel for more details.
The department welcomes Yinghua Chen, who became our Core Facilities Manager on Oct 1st. She received her Ph.D. degree from the University of Alabama in 2009 and then did a postdoctoral fellowship at National Cancer Institute (NCI/NIH) in Bethesda. Her research focus at the NIH was on protein structure determination and protein-protein interactions. Yinghua is the Department’s first Core Facilities Manager, a position that we recently created to organize, streamline, and enhance operations of the Department’s cores and common-usage equipment. These cores include the Protein Expression Purification and Crystallization Core (PEPCC) on the 5th floor of Robbins, as well as the Molecular Biophysics Core on the 6th floor. Her desk will be in the PEPCC.
The Department welcomes Jeff Garvin,who will join us, effective November 28. He brings with him five members of his laboratory from Detroit. Jeff is an authority on the role of the kidneys in the regulation of blood pressure and the genesis of hypertension. In 2011, Jeff was the recipient of the prestigious Gottschalk Award of the American Physiological Society—one of the most prestigious honors in the renal field.
Jeff is currently Division Head, Hypertension and Vascular Research Division, Department of Internal Medicine, at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. He also is Professor of Physiology at Wayne State University, and is currently the Principal Investigator of a Program Project Grant on hypertension from the NIH Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Congratulations on the publishing of “Conformational transitions underlying pore opening and desensitization in membrane-embedded GLIC”
In Journal of Biological Chemistry
“Activity-Dependent Fusion Pore Expansion Regulated by Calcineurin-Dependent Dynamin-Syndapin Pathway in Mouse Adrenal Chromaffin Cells."
Prattana (Nat) Samasilp, Shyue-An Chan, and Corey Smith
The Journal of Neuroscience
Congratulations! Sudha Chakrapani, Ph.D. has been awarded a four year American Heart Association Scientist Development Grant, effective July 1, 2012.
2012 Doctoral Excellence Award Winner
Krekwit Shinlapawittayatorn who served in Isabelle Deschenes lab while earning his Ph.D. has been recognized for Outstanding Research Scholarship of a PhD Graduate from the Office of Graduate Education
"Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Peptide (PACAP) Enhances Electrical Coupling in the Mouse Adrenal Medulla.“
Jacqueline Hill, Seong-Ki Lee, Prattana Samasilp, and Corey Smith
American Journal of Physiology – Cell Physiology
“Desensitization Mechanism in a Prokaryotic Ligand-Gated Ion Channel”
HC03 – independent conductance with a mutant Na / HCO3 cotransporter (SLC4A4) in a case of proximal renal tubular acidosis with hypokalemic paralysis
The Department has sponsored a biannual offsite retreat since 1997. This retreat includes two days and evenings of informal scientific presentations by principal investigators, students, and post-doctoral fellows, as well as a variety of social functions. The next retreat will be held on Nov. 3 - 5, 2011, at Geneva Conference Center, Geneva, OH (45 minutes east of Cleveland). Contact Jean Davis or Morley Schwebel for details
Matthias Buck elected to editorial board of Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC)
