Molecular Pharmacology
About
Research in Molecular Pharmacology at UVA focuses on mechanisms by which hormones, neurotransmitters, autacoids, synthetic chemical agents, and toxins modulate biological processes.It draws on all traditional basic science fields to provide a synthetic understanding of how drug targets regulate normal physiological mechanisms and contribute to pathophysiology of disease. Thus, pharmacologists work to identify drug targets with the ultimate goal of intervening — with rational and effective drug therapy — in signaling cascades and metabolic pathways that have gone awry. Such intervention requires understanding of the major organismal control systems and identification of defects in these systems that occur with disease.
The Pharmacological Sciences Training Program at the University of Virginia encompasses the breadth of this discipline and provides students with a solid foundation for lifelong careers in pharmacology. The diverse expertise of the pharmacology faculty provides training opportunities that encompass molecular and cellular biology in the context of whole animal physiology, drug discovery and translational medicine. Students are supported by the Pharmacological Sciences Training Grant, now in its 48th year. Visit our pharmacology page here.
Faculty
Ai, Huiwang
Molecular Biosensors; Spatiotemporal Regulation of Biological Signaling; Protein Engineering for Imaging, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics
Barrett, Paula Q.
Regulation of low-voltage activated T-type Ca2+ channel activity by kinases and heterotrimeric G-proteins and their roles in physiological responses.
Bayliss, Douglas A.
Mechanisms of neuromodulation in central neurons
Beenhakker, Mark P.
Circuit mechanisms of sleep and epilepsy
Bland, Michelle
Molecular mechanisms linking innate immune and insulin signaling to control cell growth and metabolism
Bochkis, Irina
Epigenetic and genetic mechanisms underlying metabolic disease
Bourne, Philip E
Data Science
Bushweller, John H.
Drug Development Targeting Transcription Drivers in Cancer; Structure/Function Studies of Transcription Factor Drivers in Cancer
Chalfant, Charles Edward
Hematology and Oncology, Cell Biology, Lipid Signaling, Cancer Cell Signaling, and RNA Biology
Civelek, Mete
Systems Genetics Approaches to Understand Cardiometabolic Traits
Creutz, Carl E.
Calcium-dependent, membrane-binding proteins and mechanisms of exocytosis
Desai, Bimal N.
Ion channels and Ca2+-signaling in inflammation, immunity and tissue homeostasis
Engel, Daniel A.
Drug Discovery and Molecular Biology of Pathogenic RNA viruses: Ebola, SARS-CoV-2, Influenza and Zika
Fallahi-Sichani, Mohammad
Cancer systems biology, Single-cell quantitative biology, Computational modeling
Felder, Robin A.
Clinical Chemistry and Toxicology. Medical Automation Research. Neurotransmitters, cell surface receptors and intracellular second messengers.
French, Brent A.
Novel Therapies for Treating and Preventing Ischemic Heart Disease
Guler, Jennifer
Mechanisms of Genetic and Metabolic Adaptation in the Malaria Parasite, Plasmodium falciparum
Harris, Thurl E
Molecular mechanisms controlling insulin signaling and fat synthesis.
Hsu, Ku-Lung
Chemical Biology, Lipid Biochemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, and Mass Spectrometry
Isakson, Brant
Translating our discoveries in the microcirculation to tangible benefits in patients.
Kadl, Alexandra
Lung injury and repair, sepsis
Kuyumcu-Martinez, Muge N
RNA regulatory networks and RNA binding proteins during cardiovascular development and in cardiovascular disease
Laurie, Gordon W.
Restoration of Homeostasis in Disease
Lazo, John S.
The mechanism of action of small molecules and the fundamental biological role of protein tyrosine phosphatases
Leitinger, Norbert
Role of lipid oxidation products in inflammation and vascular immunology in atherosclerosis and diabetes
Lynch, Kevin R.
Chemical biology of sphingosine 1-phosphate
Miller, Clint L.
Genetic variation, Complex diseases, Coronary artery disease, Genomics, Epigenomics, Regulatory mechanisms, Vascular biology, Pharmacology and Physiology
Mohi, Golam
Cell signaling, stem cell biology, molecular and epigenetic mechanisms of blood and breast cancers
Nakamoto, Robert K.
Structure-Function of Active Transporters
Patel, Manoj
Understanding the cellular mechanisms by which seizures are initiated in SCN8A epileptic encephalopathy (DEE13) and temporal lobe epilepsy. My lab uses a number of experimental techniques including patch clamp electrophysiology and in vivo seizure monitor
Perez-Reyes, Edward
Exploring epilepsy circuits then preventing seizures using gene therapies. Developing drug-inducible genetic switches for insulin replacement gene therapies.
Pompano, Rebecca
Bioanalytical tools for inflammatory disease
Schulman, Ira G.
Regulation of transcription by nuclear hormone receptors, transcriptional control of metabolism and inflammation, small molecule approaches to drug discovery
Swiatecka-Urban, Agnieszka
Regulation of cell-surface stability and intracellular trafficking of membrane proteins in epithelial cells
Tao, Jianguo
Pathology
Trinh, Bon Q
Understanding Protein and RNA regulations of gene expression via chromatin structure in myeloid cell development and diseases
Ukhanov, Kirill Y
Pharmacology
Venton, B. Jill
Analytical Neurochemistry; Dopamine and Serotonin Neurotransmission in Drosophila; Mechanisms of rapid adenosine signaling in rodents
Zhang, Tian
Biochemistry
Zhu, J. Julius
Neural Circuits in Healthy and Diseased Brains