Departmental Overview

Contemporary physiologists investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie virtually everything that distinguishes living animals from inanimate objects. The remarkable scientific and technological advances in molecular and cell biology over the past decade have redefined the approaches that modern physiologists use, allowing us to carry out experiments now that could not even have been imagined ten years ago. As geneticists uncover the information contained within the human genome, sophisticated physiological approaches are needed to define relevance and to place this new information into its proper context. Furthermore, a basic knowledge of “mechanisms of function” provides an important scientific route to the understanding and treatment of dysfunction and human diseases and to deciphering the ways that biological systems respond to environmental changes. Combining We combine integrative, systems-level physiology with sophisticated tools of modern molecular and cell biology is the key to answering the many fascinating and important unsolved problems in biology and physiology. The Department of Cell and Molecular Physiology conducts interdisciplinary research on mechanisms of function. The fields of cell biology, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, renal and respiratory physiology, neurobiology, cellular signal transduction and endocrinology are all represented in ongoing departmental research programs. This breadth of research interests allows the department to attract faculty and offer students a unique exposure to physiology and modern experimental techniques at the molecular, cellular and systems levels. Collaborations occur with other basic science and clinical departments at UNC and other institutions across the US and around the world.

Collaboration

Faculty members are affiliated with the following UNC Centers, Institutes and Programs:

• Neuroscience Center
• Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research Center
• Neurobiology Curriculum
• Vascular Biology Program
• UNC Kidney Center
• UNC McAllister Heart Institute
• Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Comprehensive Center for Inflammatory Disorders
• Molecular and Cellular Biophysics Training Program
• Cystic Fibrosis Center
• Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease
• Gene Therapy Center
• Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology

Additionally, secondary departmental appointments include professors, associate and assistant professors with primary appointments in the following basic science and clinical departments:

• Medicine
• Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery
• Biochemistry and Biophysics
• Genetics
• Cell and Developmental Biology
• Neurology
• Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
• Psychiatry