Laboratories of Training Faculty

All core Pharmacology laboratories, affiliated laboratories, and centers that provide opportunities for student laboratory rotation experiences and thesis research are listed below. (See the full list of program faculty)

Laboratory Name	Description
The Allen Lab	The Allen Lab is focused on the elucidation of enzyme catalytic mechanisms with an eye toward the use of protein structure and mechanistic knowledge in the design of therapeutic inhibitory ligands as well as the design of protein-based tools.
The Beeler Group	Projects in the Beeler Group are focused on synthesis and medicinal chemistry of biologically active small molecules. We focus on developing efficient and scalable processes to synthesize scaffolds of interest. We select molecules that we believe may be optimized as powerful tools to better understand biological processes important to human health.
Biomedical Microdevices and Microenvironments	The lab is focused on the design and engineering of manufacturable, disposable microfluidic systems for low-cost point-of-care molecular diagnostics.
Biomedical Optics Lab	The development of minimally-invasive diagnostic and therapeutic tools based on optical technologies.
Biomimetic Materials Engineering Laboratory	Aims to understand how bioscaffold properties (e.g. structural, mechanical, and chemical) affect vascular smooth muscle cells’ migration and growth
Biomolecular Systems Laboratory	Develops and applies computational/mathematical methods, and high throughput experimental methods, to analyze changes in gene and protein expression profiles of cells in response to various endogenous and exogenous signals.
The Blusztajn Lab	The Blusztajn Lab researches prenatal programming of brain development and aging by essential nutrient availability during gestation.
The Denis Lab	The Denis Lab investigates new small molecule approaches to block the relevant pathways and reduce risk of metastasis in patients with co-morbid obesity and diabetes.
The Farrer Lab	Dr. Lindsay Farrer is a medical geneticist at Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health where he is the Boston University Distinguished Professor of Genetics, Chief of Biomedical Genetics, and a Professor of Medicine, Neurology, Ophthalmology, Epidemiology, and Biostatistics.
The Fisher Lab	My lab uses the zebrafish as a model organism to study disorders of the skeletal system, with a particular focus on craniofacial development. We have developed genetic tools and imaging methods to study the skull, and are applying these to better understand the mechanisms of human craniofacial development and the genetic risks underlying craniofacial birth defects.
The Gabel Lab	The Gabel Lab focuses on neuroregeneration, neurodegeneration, nervous system circuits and behavior, and the influence of anesthetics on neurocircuitry.
The Garcia-Marcos Lab	The Garcia-Marcos Lab focuses investigates signal transduction mechanisms with the ultimate goal of elucidating the molecular basis of human diseases and developing novel therapeutic approaches. Our main interest is in heterotrimeric G proteins, which are molecular switches that relay extracellular signals.
The Grinstaff Group	Pursues highly interdisciplinary research in the areas of biomedical engineering and macromolecular chemistry.
The Han Lab	Our research focuses on inventing novel neurotechnologies and applying innovative approaches to probe the cellular and network mechanisms of brain disorders and brain stimulation strategies. The ultimate goal of our research is to help establish brainwave-based clinical functional biomarkers for disease diagnosis and to facilitate the development of novel neuromodulation therapies.
The Harris Lab	The Harris Lab investigates the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying two classes of human neurodegenerative disorders: prion and Alzheimer’s diseases.
The Ho Lab	The overall goal of our research is to understand the molecular and cellular basis of synaptic function associated with neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration. Our research group employs interdisciplinary approaches that include molecular genetics, biochemistry, cell biology, functional imaging and electrophysiology.
The Kukuruzinska Lab	The long term goal of Dr. Kukuruzinska’s work is to elucidate the regulatory mechanisms underlying the interactions between the metabolic pathway of protein N-glycosylation and intercellular adhesion in tissue development and disease.
Laboratory of Addictive Disorders	Research focused on expanding our understanding of the pathophysiology and prevention of psychiatric diseases, and apply this to the development of novel therapeutics.
Laboratory of Pain and Addiction	Research focused on expanding our understanding of the pathophysiology and prevention of psychiatric diseases, and apply this to the development of novel therapeutics.
Laboratory of Addiction Genetics	Using forward and reverse genetic approaches in mice to accelerate our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms of complex traits associated with substance abuse and applying these findings toward preventative and treatment strategies in humans.
Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience	Research focuses on elucidating the causes and developing treatments for drug addiction using animal models. The Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience has operant chambers for rats and mice to study drug self-administration, drug discrimination and schedule-controlled behavior.
Laboratory of Cancer Cell Biology	Dr. Ganem’s lab seeks to define the tumor suppression mechanisms that limit the proliferation of highly abnormal aneuploid cells, as well as to identify the common genetic adaptations made by cancer cells to overcome these growth barriers.
Laboratory for Cardiovascular-Renal Research	Laboratory focuses on the central neural control of fluid and electrolyte homeostasis and blood pressure regulation
Laboratory of Cognitive Neurobiology	To enhance knowledge about hippocampal function, they are pursuing a combination of neuropsychological studies of the nature of memory loss in animals with damage to the hippocampus and related cortical areas, and pursuing electrophysiological recording studies.
Laboratory of Diabetes and Obesity Research	Interested in understanding the insulin signaling transduction and cellular mechanisms of diabetes and inmate immunity and early stage inflammation involved in obesity and related complications.
Laboratory of Gary B. Kaplan	Utilizes state-of-the-art methods in behavioral neuroscience, neuroanatomy, and neurochemistry to study these signaling pathways and circuitry in addiction.
Laboratory of Genome Instability and Cancer Therapeutics	Research focuses on understanding how telomere dysfunction contributes to the development of cancer.
Laboratory of Hengye Man	Glutamate receptor expression, trafficking and turnover in synaptic plasticity.
Laboratory of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Therapeutics	TCW laboratory is aiming at human induced pluripotent stem cell therapeutics with two main goals: 1) Deciphering functional mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) genetics using in vitro iPSCs and in vivo iPSC/mouse Chimera models and 2) Developing in vitro model systems of human brain for drug screen.
Laboratory of Interventions for Cortical Injury & Cognitive Decline	The Laboratory for Interventions for Cortical Injury and Cognitive Decline focuses its research efforts on studying cognitive abilities and motor impairments across the lifespan and following cortical injury in the rhesus monkey. Specifically, we examine age-related changes in cognitive and motor functions and assess the response of the aging brain to injury.
Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology	Under the direction of the Department Chair, David H. Farb, PhD, the members of the Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology are working to elucidate the mechanisms by which receptors are regulated, how activation of these receptors modulates neural network activity in vivo and, how this in turn contributes to the onset and progression of neurodegenerative diseases.
Laboratory of Molecular Psychiatry in Aging	Use our research findings to develop diagnostic tools and effective treatments for AD and other diseases in geriatric psychiatry.
Laboratory of Neurodegeneration	Currently identifying which of the pathways modulate the neurodegenerative pathways associated with Parkinson’s disease.
Laboratory of Translational Epilepsy (LTE)	Interested in deciphering the complex networks of gene regulation that control the function of inhibitory neurotransmission in the brain and harnessing them to develop treatments for epilepsy and other related neurological disorders.
Laboratory of Zebrafish Genetics & Cancer Therapeutics	Research interests focus on identifying novel genes and pathways that are essential for MYC-related tumor transformation and progression, particularly for T-Lymphoblastic Lymphoma/Leukemia.
The Luebke Lab	We aim to understand how specific features of neurons and neuropil in diverse cortical regions enable area-specific functionality and how distinctive features may be associated with differential vulnerability in normal and pathological aging.
The Perissi Lab	We are interested in understanding how the integration of different inputs is translated in fine-tuning of transcriptional regulation via the coordinated actions of signal transduction pathways and chromatin remodeling enzymes.
The Porco Research Group	Our group develops new synthetic methodologies for efficient chemical synthesis of bioactive molecules. The laboratory also seeks to establish innovation in collaborative, translational science to study the biological properties and mode of action (MoA) of target molecules.
The Stein Lab	Dr. Stein’s research interests involve the study of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer disease and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). He studies the role of trauma in the abnormal accumulation of tau and proteins involved in RNA processing.
The Trinkaus-Randall Lab	Our laboratory is interested in the response to injury. Injury may be a traumatic event or a change in the integrity of the tissue that occurs from an onset of disease. Our lab uses the cornea to study cell repair as it is a simple model tissue as it is avascular yet highly innervated tissue.
The Waxman Lab	David J. Waxman, PhD is a Biologist with extensive experience in the fields of biochemistry, molecular biology, and enzymology. Over the past 35 years, his lab has made seminal contributions to the research of cancer pharmacology and therapeutics, and steroid-metabolizing enzymes.
The Whitty Lab	Adrian Whitty and his group study both protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions, particularly focusing on how binding energy from these interactions can be used to activate or inhibit biological mechanisms.
Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute	The Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute of Boston University Medical Campus (BUMC) was established in 1974 to foster advances in research, treatment, and education in the broad area of heart and vascular disease. The Institute provides a unified structure that combines and integrates the components of basic science, clinical investigation, medical education, patient care, health-policy planning, and community research.