Faculty Benson T. Akingbemi Assistant Professor; Anatomy Male reproductive biology; estrogen regulation of male reproduction; effects of environmental agents on reproductive activity in the male; Leydig cell biology. Dawn M. Boothe  Professor; Clinical Pharmacology Director, Clinical Pharmcology Laboratory Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of therapeutic agents in animals with a focus on antimicrobial, anticonvulsant, analgesic and cardiovascular drugs; novel drug delivery systems; impact of drugs on hepatic drug metabolism; the influence of disease on drug disposition and response. Tim D. Braden Associate Professor; Reproductive Endocrinology Paracrine regulation in the reproductive tract; Mechanisms of action and signal transduction pathways of protein and peptide hormones; Regulation of estrous cycles in domestic species. Elaine S. Coleman Associate Professor; Anatomy/Neuroscience Research Interests: Neuroscience; current research focuses on the effects of metabolic and toxic disorders on astrocyte function and glutamate regulation. Eleanor M. Josephson Associate Professor; Neuroanatomy/Neuroscience Sensory integration in the olfactory system using immunohistochemical techniques, and light, confocal and electron microscopy; expression of glutamate transporters in relation to synaptic junctions in the olfactory bulb; neurotransmitter diffusion and cross-talk; chronic olfactory epithelium-olfactory bulb coculture model to study signal processing. Robert L. Judd Associate Professor; Biochemcial Pharmacology Biochemical and endocrine pharmacology; Characterization of the effects of antidiabetic agents (sulfonylureas, biguanides, thiazolidinediones) and leptin n hepatic glucose metabolism and specific regulatory enzymes involved in intermediary metabolism; Investigations into the metabolic ameliorations in glucose and fat metabolism which result in the physiological expression of type 2 diabetes. Barbara W. Kemppainen Professor; Toxicology Health effects of fungal toxins; Development and refinement of in vitro systems which can be used to screen chemicals for their toxic effects and study the mechanism of action of toxins. Robert J. Kemppainen Professor; Physiology and Endocrinology Director, Endocrine Diagnostic Laboratory Mechanism of glucocorticoid negative feedback on ACTH secretion; Role of Dexrasl in glucocorticoid action. Steven A. Kincaid Professor; Histology Pathobiology of bones and joints; Studies in cartilage, bone as related to diseases, growth and development. Mahmoud Mansour Associate Professor; Anatomy Main research interests are in the area of reproductive endocrinology with emphasis on modulation of estrogen and androgen nuclear receptors' expression by estrogenic compounds and metabolic disorders. As transcription factors, estrogen and androgen receptors mediate transcriptional responses to sex steroids (estrogens and androgens respectively) and regulate diverse repertoire of genes involved in reproduction, metabolism and development. Edward E. Morrison Professor and Head; Neurosciences Neurobiology of chemosensory systems; Special interest in development and plasticity of olfactory neurons; Disease transmission in the channel catfish. Lawrence J. Myers Associate Professor; Animal Behavior and Sensory Physiology and Medicine Research interests include both fundamental and applied research in the areas of sensory physiology and pathophysiology. Further, research is ongoing into various aspects of animal behavior, including training methods for dogs and behavioral problems of domestic species. More specifically, fairly large-scale studies on factors influencing performance of dogs and dog-handler teams are being done, along with studies of the electrical activity of the olfactory and trigeminal systems and the influence of disease and environmental conditions upon the senses of smell, vision, and taste. James L. Sartin Professor; Physiology Editor, Domestic Animal Endocrinology Regulation of growth hormone secretion and gene expression, particularly with reference to signal transduction mechanisms in the anterior pituitary gland; The relationship between the endocrine system and disease, with emphasis on the effects of disease on hormone secretion and the effects of hormones on the progression of disease. Dean D. Schwartz Associate Professor; Physiology Cardiovascular Pharmacology, Diabetic cardiomyopathy, Stress-induced alteration in cardiovascular function and gene regulation, Heat-stressed induced alterations in CNS gene expression. Jishu Shi Assistant Professor; Immunology, Innate Immunity, Antimicrobial Peptides, Host-microbe Interaction, Inflammation, Mucosal Immunity. Iryna B. Sorokulova Research Professor, Microbiology Working with Dr. Vitaly Vodyanoy in his Biosensory Laboratory. Janet E. Steiss Associate Professor; Anatomy Canine physical therapy; neuromuscular disorders of companion animals; canine sports medicine. Ya-Xiong Tao Assistant Professor; Physiology Research is directed to elucidate the structure-function relationships of G protein-coupled receptors, especially the neural melanocortin receptors, melanocortin-3 and -4 receptors. Arnold Vainrub Associate Professor; Biophysics and Biotechnology DNA hybridization on the surface. Advancement of DNA hybridization sensors. Thermodynamics and electrostatics of biopolymer interactions. Vitaly J. Vodyanoy Professor; Sensory Physiology and Biophysics Director, Biosensor Laboratory Sensory physiology, biophysics of odor detection, receptors, reconstitution of membrane associated macromolecules. D. Ray Wilhite Anatomy Lab Coordinator; Anatomy Juming Zhong Associate Professor; Cardiovascular Physiology Cardiovascular muscle cell electro-physiology. Current research is focused on the signaling transduction pathways underlying modulation of calcium channels in both cardiac and vascular smooth muscle cells using patch-clamp technique.