August, 2016
Farewell Party held for the Cone lab
Aug. 31, 2016—We bid a fond farewell to Roger at a celebration on August 26. For those that could not make it, the picture shows Roger sporting one of the gifts from the department – he is well equipped for the next Halloween party. Roger’s last official day as a VU employee was August 31, but he...
Roger Colbran receives Vanderbilt Development Program Award
Aug. 23, 2016—Roger Colbran has been awarded a Development Award to perform a high throughput screen for small molecule inhibitors and modulators of Ca2+/calmodulin independent protein kinase II (CaMKII).
Danny Winder named founding director of the Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research (VCAR)
Aug. 19, 2016—Vanderbilt announced the establishment of the Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research (VCAR). VCAR goal is to define the molecular events that drive addictive behavior and to develop new treatments that can help people sustain long-term recovery.
Dr. Cone accepts Director of the Life Sciences Institute at the University of Michigan
Aug. 19, 2016—Roger Cone, the chair of MPB for the last 8 years, announced that he will be leaving this Fall for the Life Sciences Institute at the University of Michigan where he will be the Director. Dr. Cone remarked that "…it has been a distinct honor and a great pleasure to serve as your chair these past 8...
Dr. Richard Simerly joins MPB
Aug. 19, 2016—Dr. Richard Simerly, formerly the Director of the Developmental Neuroscience Program and Deputy Director of the Saban Research Institute at the Keck School of Medicine (UCLA) has joined Molecular Physiology and Biophysics. Dr. Simerly studies axon targeting in limbic and hypothalamic neural pathways, leptin receptor signaling in developing hypothalamic circuitry, and the development of sexually dimorphic forebrain regions. His lab...
Dr. Erkan Karakas joins the MPB faculty
Aug. 9, 2016—Dr. Erkan Karakas has signed on to join us as an Assistant Professor on the tenure-track some time before January 1, 2017. Erkan will develop a program focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms and regulation of calcium signaling by inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate receptors (IP3Rs) and the mitochondrial calcium uniporter. During postdoctoral training with Dr. Hiro Furukawa...