Led by Greg Scherrer, PharmD, PhD, and Chong Chen, MD, PhD, at the UNC School of Medicine, research published in Nature reveals a new pain control pathway from the cortex to the cerebellum crucial to placebo analgesia – when the expectation of pain relief leads to pain alleviation without a...

Angelman syndrome is a rare genetic disorder caused by mutations in the maternally-inherited UBE3A gene and characterized by poor muscle control, limited speech, epilepsy, and intellectual disabilities. Though there isn’t a cure for the condition, new research at the UNC School of Medicine is setting the stage for one. Ben...

Dr. Shahzad Khan, Assistant Professor, Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, has been selected for the 2024 Mentoring Institute for Neuroscience Diversity Scholars (MINDS) program, an NINDS-supported program that focuses attention on diversity individuals who are early in their careers as faculty members in the neurosciences. Over the next year,...

Jessica Cote received a 3-year F32 postdoctoral fellowship from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. She will use the award to study the impact of specific alternative splicing events on skeletal muscle development.

The Triangle Brain Bee serves high school students of North Carolina and aims to promote awareness about collegiate and career pathways in neuroscience as well as incite excitement surrounding neuroscience and STEM fields. Post-docs and graduate students offer three community engagement opportunities for high school students: (i) virtual, weekly neuroscience tutoring...

Carolyn Suitt, lab manager for the Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease (CGIBD) Histology Core, passed away Thursday February 22, 2024. Born December 2, 1964, in Franklin County, NC Carolyn moved to Chapel Hill and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating with a B.S. in Chemistry...

In this new Vital Signs series, we feature graduate student Max Hockenberry, who performs research in the labs of Wes Legant, PhD, and Jim Bear, PhD. Hockenberry is developing new microscopy methods so researchers can measure the mechanisms cells use to maneuver through tight spaces in the body. Continue reading...

In an effort five years in the making, UNC School of Medicine cell biologist Sarah Cohen, PhD, and Rockefeller University’s Ian Windham, PhD, describe the interplay between fats and proteins in brain cells and how their dysfunction contributes to the development of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease.  Continue reading here

Andrew Scott Kennedy Jr. is a 4th year PhD Candidate in the lab of Jessica Thaxton, PhD, associate professor of cell biology and physiology and member of UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. In the lab, Kennedy Jr. uses super-resolution microscopy techniques to visualize and better understand how CAR-T cells, a specialized type...

Heather McCauley received a 3-year award from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. She will use iPSC-derived human intestinal organoids to study the gastrointestinal manifestations of CF. They hypothesized that altered mucus composition and abnormal epithelial cell biology both contribute to impaired nutrient absorption that occurs in people with CF. They plan...