Category: Site Other Mission Bay


David J Julius, S.B., Ph.D.

Julius

Research Interests:
Summary:

My group is interested in understanding how signals are received and transmitted by the nervous system. In one aspect of our research, we have exploited the power of natural products to elucidate molecular mechanisms of touch and pain sensation. For example, we have asked how capsaicin, the main pungent ingredient in “hot” chili peppers, elicits burning pain, and how menthol, the cooling agent in mint leaves, evokes an icy cool sensation. Using these agents as pharmacological probes, we have identified ion channels on sensory nerve fibers that are activated by heat or cold, providing molecular insight into the process of thermosensation. With the aid of genetic, electrophysiological, and behavioral methods, we are asking how these ion channels contribute to the detection of heat or cold, and how their activity is modulated in response to tumor growth, infection, or other forms of injury that produce inflammation and pain hypersensitivity.

In addition to our work on somatosensation and pain, we also study the structure and function of specific neurotransmitter receptors, such as those activated by serotonin or extracellular nucleotides, and use genetic methods to identify roles for these receptors in physiological and behavioral processes, such as feeding, anxiety, pain, thrombosis, and cell growth and motility.

UCSF Profiles Page


Holly A Ingraham, Ph.D.

Ingraham

Research Interests:
Summary:
Our research is focused on development of endocrine and brain regions that contribute to energy balance and reproduction. We concentrate on NR5A nuclear hormone receptors that specify cell fate in developing endocrine organs and the hypothalamus using structural biology, biochemistry and physiology.

UCSF Profiles Page


Bruce R Conklin, M.D.

Conklin

Research Interests:
Engineering Hormone Signaling Pathways In Vivo

Summary:
Hormone receptors direct the development and function of complex tissues, including those found in the cardiovascular system. The focus of our research is on the largest known family of receptors for hormones and drugs, the G protein coupled receptors. We combine genetic engineering, stem cells and new computer programs to find new treatments of cardiovascular disease.

UCSF Profiles Page


Benoit G Bruneau, B.Sc., Ph.D.

Bruneau

Research Interests:
Heart development, congenital heart disease, chromatin, embryogenesis, transcription

Summary:
Our laboratory studies the genes that direct a cell to become a heart cell, focusing on the machinery within each cell that turns genes on or off. Many of these factors are implicated in human congenital heart disease, and our studies also focus on understanding the basis of these diseases.

 

UCSF Profiles Page


Kaveh Ashrafi, Ph.D.

Ashrafi

Research Interests:
Genetics of fat regulation and neurobiology of feeding behavior

Summary:
Obesity is a major risk factor associated with many diseases including diabetes, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases, arthritis, and certain forms of cancers. The prevalence of obesity reflects the combination of high calorie diets with sedentary lifestyles. However, genetic predispositions play profound roles in determination of an individual’s fat. How genetic and environmental factor interact to determine fat content and how excess fat accumulation causes disease processes are poorly understood. To identify genes that underlie fat regulation we use the genetically tractable worm C. elegans. This system has allowed us to discover novel fat regulatory pathways, compounds that alter fat content, and probe the neural circuits that regulate fat and feeding.

UCSF Profiles Page


Sam Hawgood as UCSF’s 10th Chancellor

UC Regents Confirm Sam Hawgood as UCSF’s 10th Chancellor

Sam Hawgood, MBBS, was confirmed Thursday morning as UC San Francisco’s 10th chancellor in a unanimous vote by the UC Board of Regents.

Hawgood, 61, whom University of California President Janet Napolitano tapped for the position July 9 after an international search for a leader for the $4.2 billion health sciences campus, has served as interim chancellor since April 1, when he succeeded Susan Desmond-Hellmann, MD, MPH.

read more