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Neuroscience

Meet MCB: Temirlan Shilikbay, cell & developmental biology PhD student

The School of MCB is proud to highlight our graduate students, including Temirlan Shilikbay, now in his third year at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He is a PhD candidate in professor Stephanie Ceman's lab in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology. The lab's goal is to study...

Professor Catherine Christian-Hinman: Connecting estrogen to epilepsy

Meet MCB: Dr. Christian-Hinman’s lab focuses on understanding the neural mechanisms linking epilepsy and comorbid reproductive endocrine disorder.

Gene mutation leads to epileptic encephalopathy symptoms, neuron death in mice

Mice with a genetic mutation that’s been observed in patients with epileptic encephalopathy, a severe form of congenital epilepsy, exhibit not only the seizure, developmental and behavioral symptoms of the disorder, but also neural degeneration and inflammation in the brain, University of Illinois...

Detailed map of ion-channel structure could steer development of new therapeutic strategies for epilepsy

Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are hopeful their findings on the gating mechanisms behind epilepsy-associated potassium channels could provide a foundation for new therapeutic strategies for treating epilepsy, especially in young patients. Their research was recently...

Giving back: Undergrad researcher, veterans work together to study brain health

This Veterans Day, student researcher Elizabeth Spurlock reflects on her experience investigating issues related to brain health in populations who have served. Her research is conducted in partnership with the Beckman Institute and the Chez Veteran Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-...

New faculty member to further explore research linking brain receptor to increased height, early puberty

For the past few decades, scientists have observed a trend of increased height and younger age of puberty onset in humans. Now, research outlining a new pathway in humans linking body fat to puberty onset and growth could provide an explanation as to why these changes are occurring. Their findings...

Seeing is believing: Image of primary visual cortex in a mouse wins second place in NIH research image contest

Congratulations to the Tajkhorshid lab and collaborators who created a stunning research image recently highlighted by the National Institutes of Health.

Light can trigger key signaling pathway for embryonic development, cancer

Blue light is illuminating new understanding of a key signaling pathway in embryo development, tissue maintenance, and cancer genesis.

Meet new faculty member Patrick Sweeney, who explores neural circuitry at the intersection of feeding, motivation, and emotion

The Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology in the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology is pleased to welcome new faculty member Patrick Sweeney!

Study offers insight into underlying causes of seizure disorder in babies

Researchers report that infantile spasms, a rare but serious seizure disorder in babies, appear to be the result of a molecular pathway gone awry. In their study of a mouse model of the disorder, the researchers discovered that genetic mutations associated with the disease impair a pathway that is...