Welcome to the Department of Neurobiology
at Harvard Medical School
The Neurobiology Department, the first of its kind in the country, was established to bring together faculty of many disciplines including biochemistry, molecular biology, anatomy, physiology, and medicine, to study the development and function of the brain. Our scientists now pursue basic research programs that strive to understand how complex neural circuits are shaped and reshaped during the development of the brain and in the adult brain to generate thoughts and memories, to process sensory information and to drive behavior. Our studies have direct bearing on neurological diseases such as neurodegeneration, disorders of cognitive function, epilepsy and disorders of sensory information processing, and offer insights into potential therapies.
The faculty, staff and students of the department have contributed breakthrough discoveries in neuroscience and links to this website we hope will help you to understand what makes the department an exciting place to learn, teach and work. Explore and enjoy!
Recent publications from department members include:
Multi-isotope imaging mass spectrometry reveals slow protein turnover in hair-cell stereocilia. Zhang DS, Piazza V, Perrin BJ, Rzadzinska AK, Poczatek JC, Wang M, Prosser HM, Ervasti JM, Corey DP, Lechene CP. Nature. 2012 Jan 15;481(7382):520-4.
Dopaminergic signaling in the cochlea: receptor expression patterns and deletion phenotypes. Maison SF, Liu XP, Eatock RA, Sibley DR, Grandy DK, Liberman MC. J Neurosci. 2012 Jan 4;32(1):344-55.
Bhlhb5 and prdm8 form a repressor complex involved in neuronal circuit assembly. Ross SE, McCord AE, Jung C, Atan D, Mok SI, Hemberg M, Kim TK, Salogiannis J, Hu L, Cohen S, Lin Y, Harrar D, McInnes RR, Greenberg ME. Neuron. 2012 Jan 26;73(2):292-303.
PRC2 directly methylates GATA4 and represses its transcriptional activity. He A, Shen X, Ma Q, Cao J, von Gise A, Zhou P, Wang G, Marquez VE, Orkin SH, Pu WT. Genes Dev. 2012 Jan 1;26(1):37-42.
Identification of an Inhibitory Circuit that Regulates Cerebellar Golgi Cell Activity. Hull C, Regehr WG. Neuron. 2012 Jan 12;73(1):149-58.
Photoactivatable neuropeptides for spatiotemporally precise delivery of opioids in neural tissue. Banghart MR, Sabatini BL. Neuron. 2012 Jan 26;73(2):249-59.
Smelling on the fly: sensory cues and strategies for olfactory navigation in Drosophila. Gaudry Q, Nagel KI, Wilson RI. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2012 Jan 3.