Physiology from Molecules to Health

Our faculty use multiple approaches, including molecular biology, genetics, high resolution microscopy, functional imaging, electrophysiology, and behavior, to investigate such important areas as (1) sensory mechanisms of pain, touch, olfaction, and taste, (2) mechanisms of neuronal and cardiac muscle excitability, (3) synaptic transmission and modulation, (4) protein-protein interactions, and (5) recovery from brain trauma.

All of these are studied in the context of normal physiology and in disease conditions such as cancer, cardiac arrhythmia, epilepsy, inflammation, loss of taste, nerve regeneration, and stroke. By performing research in Physiology laboratories, you as medical students will consolidate what you learned in classes, appreciate what is still unknown, and develop familiarity with some of the research methods that are actively used in the field to understand and cure diseases. You will also have the opportunity to take specialized classes and/or to be included in publications from the host laboratory. This training will stay with you as you grow into your senior years and into a practicing physician. It will be invaluable in Continuing Medical Education as you practice cutting-edge medicine of the future.