Neuroendocrinology has a long and distinguished history in the neurosciences at OHSU. The first director of the Vollum Institute, Ed Herbert, was a prominent neuroendocrinologist and member of the National Academy of Sciences who discovered the ACTH precursor, proopiomelanocortin (POMC). Other neuroendocrinologists at OHSU include a former president the university and the current directors of the Vollum Institute and the Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC). The primate center is located on OHSU’s west campus.

Neuroendocrinology research at OHSU is focused on several units including the Vollum Institute, the Primate Center and several School of Medicine departments including biochemistry, physiology and pharmacology, medicine and pediatrics. Some current studies in OHSU neuroendocrinology labs include studies of activity-dependent microRNAs in gene regulation; hypothalamic control of feeding and obesity, neural signaling by estrogen, testerone and thyroid hormones, stem cell therapies, regulation of the autonomic system, central control of puberty and sexual development, and insulin growth factor-1 signaling. 

NGP faculty working on neuroendocrinology are listed below.