Vollum Faculty and Research

Vollum Institute Leadership

Co-Director

Vollum Institute Faculty

Isabelle Baconguis

Isabelle Baconguis, Ph.D.
Assistant Scientist

About our research
Baconguis Lab

Research interests

ion channel, sodium channel, structural biology, cryo-EM, electrophysiology, ion selectivity, channel physiology and gating, protein biochemistry

Peter Barr-Gillespie

Peter Barr-Gillespie, Ph.D.
Chief Research Officer, OHSU
Professor, OHRC
Vollum Joint Appointment

About our research
Barr-Gillespie Lab

Research interests

hair cells, mechanotransduction, myosin, motors, ion channels, cytoskeleton, pumps and transporters, inner ear, hearing, balance

Paul Brehm

Paul Brehm, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist

About our research
Brehm Lab

Research interests

zebrafish genetics, electrophysiology, ion channel function, cellular neuroscience

James Frank

James Frank, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Chemical Physiology & Biochemistry
Vollum Joint Appointment

About our research
Frank Lab

Research interests

chemical biology, lipid, endocannabinoid, neural circuits, optical control

Marc Freeman

Marc Freeman, Ph.D.
Director and Senior Scientist

About our research
Freeman Lab

Research interests

neuronal-glial interactions, neuronal circuitry, neurodegeneration, astrocytes, Drosophila genetics

Eric Gouaux

Eric Gouaux, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist
Investigator, HHMI

About our research
Gouaux Lab

Research interests

chemical synapses and synaptic transmission, glutamate receptors, neurotransmitter transporters, ligand-gated ion channels, cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), x-ray crystallography, membrane proteins

Skyler Jackman

Skyler Jackman, Ph.D.
Assistant Scientist

About our research
Jackman Lab

Research interests

neurotransmitter release, short-term synaptic plasticity, neural circuits, presynaptic calcium sensors

Gail Mandel

Gail Mandel, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist

About our research
Mandel Lab

Research interests

neurogenesis, microRNA, transcription, Rett Syndrome, neuronal circuitry, epigenetics, neurodevelopment, neuronal-glial interactions

Tianyi Mao

Tianyi Mao, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist

About our research
Mao Lab

Research interests

Circuits underlying sensorimotor integration, basal ganglia circuit analysis, cortical-subcortical interactions, optogenetics, genetically encoded signaling molecule indicators (Ca2+, cAMP/PKA, PKC) two-photon imaging

Kelly Monk

Kelly Monk, Ph.D.
Co-Director and Senior Scientist

About our research
Monk Lab

Research interests

glial cell biology, neuron-glial interactions, glial-glial interactions, myelination and remyelination, zebrafish

Swetha Murthy

Swetha Murthy, Ph.D.
Assistant Scientist

About our research
Murthy Lab

Research interests

mechanotransduction, ion channels, electrophysiology

Steve Reichow

Steve Reichow, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Chemical Physiology & Biochemistry
Vollum Joint Appointment

About our research
Reichow Lab

Research interests

molecular mechanisms driving biology, cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), membrane channels, protein aggregation, lens biology

Arpiar "Arpy" Saunders

Arpiar "Arpy" Saunders, Ph.D.
Assistant Scientist

About our research
Saunders Lab

Research interests

single-cell genomics, host-virus interactions, neural circuits, comparative neuroscience, synapse biology

Laurence Trussell

Laurence Trussell, Ph.D.
Professor, Oregon Hearing Research Center
Vollum Joint Appointment

About our research
Trussell Lab

Research interests

brainstem circuits that process acoustic signals, synaptic physiology — how cells and synapses preserve information provided by the ear

Henrique von Gersdorff

Henrique von Gersdorff, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist

About our research
von Gersdorff Lab

Research interests

exocytosis and endocytosis of synaptic vesicles, short and long-term plasticity in the retina and brainstem, electrophysiology of auditory pathway

Gary Westbrook

Gary Westbrook, M.D.
Senior Scientist

About our research
Westbrook Lab

Research interests

neurogenesis, hippocampal microcircuits, glutamate receptors, epilepsy, regeneration and repair, synaptic transmission

John T Williams

John Williams, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist

About our research
Williams Lab

Research interests

opiate desensitization and tolerance, receptor trafficking, dendrodendritic transmission

Kevin Wright

Kevin Wright, Ph.D.
Scientist

About our research
Wright Lab

Research interests

sensory circuit development, transcription, axon guidance, neuronal migration, synaptogenesis, genetics

Haining Zhong

Haining Zhong, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist

About our research
Zhong Lab

Research interests

neuromodulatory signaling during animal behavior, experience-dependent plasticity, striatum, dopamine, norepinephrine, locomotion, cAMP/protein kinase A (PKA), two photon FLIM-FRET imaging, CRISPR gene editing

Emeritus Faculty Members

John P. Adelman, Ph.D.

Research interests: potassium channels, Ca2+-activated, structure-function, synaptic transmission and plasticity

Wolfhard Almers, Ph.D.

Research interests: mechanisms of exocytosis and endocytosis, total internal reflection fluorescence, single molecule imaging

Michael Forte, Ph.D.

Research interests: mitochondrial permeability transition pore, neurodegeneration, ischemic cell death, small molecule therapies

Richard Goodman, M.D. Ph.D.

Research interests: metabolic regulation of gene expression, characterization of activity-regulated genes

Craig Jahr, Ph.D.

Research interests: synaptic transmission, glutamate transport, multivesicular release, electrophysiology, two-photon microscopy

Thomas Soderling, Ph.D.

Research interests: calcium, protein kinases, learning and memory, neuron development