Training Faculty

Atheir Abbas, MD, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interest: The role of interneurons in regulating working memory circuitry and associated task-related information, and the use of computational techniques to analyze high density neural recordings to understand how populations of neurons represent behaviorally-relevant information

Bahareh Ajami, Ph.D
Assistant Professor, Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, and Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interest: The function and biology of the brains intrinsic immune cells: microglia

Charles N. Allen, Ph.D. 
Professor, Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences and Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interest: Circadian rhythms, sleep, synaptic transmission, suprachiasmatic nucleus, neural network activity

Matthew Butler, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences and Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interest: The effects of clock synchrony on cardiometabolic health, how the circadian clock governs sleep apnea severity in humans, temporal patterns of sleep apnea as predictors of mortality

Verginia C. Cuzon Carlson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Oregon National Primate Research Center and Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interest: Developmental neuroscience, addiction

Stephen V. David, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, and Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interest: Representation of speech and other natural sounds in auditory cortex, learning and attention-driven changes in auditory representation, biological mechanisms underlying neural computations

Kathleen A. Grant, Ph.D.
Chief and Professor, Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center
Professor, Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interest: Animal models of alcohol and drug addiction, stress response to chronic alcohol drinking, MRI imaging of brain circuitry, advances in cognitive assessment of primate behavior, behavioral pharmacology

Marina Guizzetti, Ph.D.
Professor, Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interest: Extracellular matrix remodeling and astrocyte-neuron interactions in physiological and fetal alcohol-altered brain development

Mary M. Heinricher, Ph.D.
Professor and Vice-Chair for Research, Neurological Surgery
Associate Dean, Basic Research, Office of the Dean, School of Medicine
Professor, Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program

Skyler Jackman, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Vollum Institute and Behavioral Neuroscience
Assistant Scientist, Vollum Institute
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interest: neurotransmitter release, short-term synaptic plasticity, neural circuits, presynaptic calcium sensors

Christopher D. Kroenke, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Advanced Imaging Research Center, and Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interest: Fetal development, magnetic resonance imaging, neurodeveloment disorders, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

Matthew Lattal, Ph.D.
Professor & Vice-Chair, Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interest: Behavioral and molecular mechanisms that underlie learning and memory

Miranda M. Lim, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Neurology and Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interest: Sleep, EEG, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, neurodegeneration, Alzheimer's, autism

Tianyi Mao, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Vollum Institute and Behavioral Neuroscience
Assistant Scientist, Vollum Institute
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Neuroscience Graduate Program
M.D./Ph.D. Program Committee, School of Medicine
Research Interest: basal ganglia circuit analysis, cortical-subcortical interactions, optogenetics, genetically engineered calcium indicators, two-photon calcium imaging

Claudio V. Mello, Ph.D.
Professor, Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interest: Neuroethology, molecular neuroscience, speech and language, vocal learning, central auditory processing, learning and memory, neurogenomics

Suzanne H. Mitchell, Ph.D.
Professor, Behavioral Neuroscience and Psychiatry
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interest: Neural and genetic bases of impulsive and risky decision-making; factors affecting these choices

Bita Moghaddam, Ph.D.
Ruth Matarazzo Professor, Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interests: Motivated behavior, electrophysiology, animal models of psychiatric disorders

Bonnie Nagel, Ph.D.
Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience
Vice Chair for Research, Psychiatry, School of Medicine
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program

Angela R. Ozburn, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interests: Neurobiology of drug and alcohol abuse using animal models

Tamara J. Phillips Richards, Ph.D.
Chair and Professor, Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interests: Genetic dissection of behavioral traits that are hallmarks of addiction

Jacob Raber, Ph.D.
Professor, Behavioral Neuroscience, Neurology, and Radiation Medicine
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interests: Characterizing effects of environmental and genetic factors on the brain and developing treatments to antagonize these effects

Lina A.J. Reiss, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Biomedical Engineering, and Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interest: Auditory processing and brain plasticity with hearing loss and hearing devices, neural health preservation and recovery after cochlear implantation in humans and animal models, disparities in cochlear implant patient outcomes

Bill D. Rooney, Ph.D.
Professor and Director, Advanced Imaging Research Center
Professor, Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interest: Magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, MRI, pharmacokinetics, brain

Andrey E. Ryabinin, Ph.D.
Professor, Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interests: Neurocircuitry of alcohol use, addiction, pain and social behavior

Elinor L Sullivan, Ph.D. 
Associate Professor, Oregon National Primate Research Center and Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interest: Behavioral regulation, brain development, developmental programming, maternal nutrition, neurodevelopmental disorders, anxiety, and serotonin

Henryk F. Urbanski, Ph.D., D.Sc. (Not Taking New Students)
Professor, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Physiology and Pharmacology, and Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interest: Aging, circadian rhythms, neuroendocrinology, puberty

Henrique von Gersdorff, Ph.D.
Professor, Behavioral Neuroscience, Casey Eye Institute, Oregon Hearing Research Center and Dept. of Chemical Physiology and Biochemistry
Senior Scientist, Vollum Institute
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interests: Synaptic changes of microcircuits in the retina and auditory brainstem using electrophysiology, imaging and molecular biology techniques, as well as the neuronal changes in the circuits of songbird brains as they learn to produce and refine songs

Deena Walker, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interests: Behavioral neuroendocrinology, sex differences in motivation and reward, neurobiology of addiction, adolescent development

Alison Weiss, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Oregon National Primate Research Center and Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interests: Mapping neural circuitry changes related to learning and memory impairments during aging and neurodegenerative disease using advanced neuroimaging techniques (MRI, DTI, rsfMRI, PET) and cognitive assessments

Marina Wolf, Ph.D.
Professor, Behavioral Neuroscience
Behavioral & Systems Neuroscience Graduate Program
Research Interests: Synaptic plasticity underlying persistent craving for cocaine and methamphetamine