Department of Physiology and Biophysics
Welcome!
Welcome to the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. We bring a long tradition to the study of physiology that spans the entire spectrum from molecules to man. Strong research programs exist in Molecular Biophysics, Cardiovascular and Gastrointestinal Physiology, Neuroscience as well as in Chemical Senses.
Focus areas include: Structural Biology, which aims to understand function in terms of molecular structure, and Systems Physiology, which aims to elucidate fundamental ways of communication within and between physiological systems. Biophysical approaches serve as the common language used at all levels of scientific inquiry.
The Department offers a strong collegial atmosphere where faculty, students, postdoctoral fellows and administrators work together to promote and share in the discovery of fundamental principles governing life processes.
- Dr. Scott Ramsey: Appointed as Director, Premedical Certificate Program.
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Dr. Montserrat Samso: Structural mechanism of two gain-of-function cardiac and skeletal RyR mutations at an equivalent site by cryo-EM
- Drs. Javier Gonzalez-Maeso, Qinglian Liu, and Liya Qiao: Promoted to Professor (2020).
- Dr. Javier Gonzalez-Maeso & Dr. Mario De La Fuente Revenga: Could psychedelic drugs be a new treatment option for people with depression?
- Dr. Carlos R. Escalante: Promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure (2019).
- Dr. Richrd Costanzo: In Scientific American: Building a Brain Implant for Smell, April, 2019, and on VCU SOM Facebook page.
- Dr. Scott Ramsey: Selected for Biophysical Journal Best of 2018 - V. De La Rosa & I.S. Ramsey. Gating Currents in the Hv1 Proton Channel. Biophysical J. 114:2844-2854, 2018.
- Dr. Richard Costanzo: Loss of taste:The problem's probably up your nose
- Dr. Joseph Feher: TAA 2018 Textbook Excellence Award for Quantitative Human Physiology: An Introduction, 2e, Elsevier
- Dr. Montserrat Samso: Promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure (2018).
- Dr. Richard Costanzo: Researchers are developing a device to restore a person’s sense of smell: A CEO with smell loss is funding the technology
- Dr. Quinlian Liu: Hsp70-New protein shape could impact cancer and neurodegenerative disease therapies
- Dr. Javier Gonzalez-Maeso: Scientists are studying drugs that could improve brain function in people with schizophrenia
- Dr. S. Murthy Karnam received the School of Medicine's Distinguished Mentor Award for 2017.
NEW EXTRAMURAL GRANTS
John Hackett, Dynamics and Interactions of Cytochrome P450 19A1 (R01)
John Hackett, 22nd International Conference on Cytochrome P450 (R13)
Javier Gonzales-Maeso, Structure and function of GPCR heteromeric complexes in brain (R01)
Dr. Liya Qiao, Neuroinflammatory regulation of colonic mechanosensory activity (R01)
Dr. Qinglian Liu, Structural and functional studies of HSP70 molecular chaparones (R01 & Suppl)
Dr. Qinglian Liu, Targeting a novel Hsp70 substrate binding mode for potential treatment of gonorrhea infection (R21)
Dr. Gea-Ny Tseng, Cardiac ion channel regulation (MPI R01)
Dr. Gea-Ny Tseng, Sodium channels and cardiac arrhythmias (R01/Ohio State U)
Drs. Jose Eltit & Montserrat Samso, Mechanistic insights of premature ventricular contraction-induced cardiomyopathy (Co-I, R01)
Dr. Monserrat Samso, RyR architecture and gatekeeping of internal calcium stores (R01)
Dr. Javier Gonzalez-Maeso, Preclinical role of HDAC2 in mGlu2-dependent schizophrenia treatment (R01)
Dr. Carlos Escalante, Structural and mechanistic insights into AAV mediated site-specific integration (R01& R01 Suppl)
Dr. Lei Zhou, Molecular biophysics of cAMP regulation in HCN channels R01-Suppl)
John Hackett, Functional Dynamics of Cytochrome P450s (R01/U Washington)
Dr. Jose Eltit, Structural and molecular requirements for DHPR and RyR1 bidirectional signaling (R01/Brigham & Women’s)
Dr. Clive Baumgarten, Structural determinants of PIP1 regulation (R01)
Dr. John Grider, Human enteric glia: a novel target for motility and postoperative ileus (R01)
Dr. Sunila Mahavadi, Oxidative stress, microRNA, and hyper-contractility in diabetes (U24)
Jose Eltit, Montserrat Samso, L. Media, Validation of Premature Ventricular Contraction-induced Cardiomyopathy on a Swine Model (VA Merit IPA)
Jose Eltit, Fluorometric determination of extracellular dopamine in the nucleus accumbens in vivo (P30)
Javier Gonzalez-Maeso, Adjunctive effect of the 5-HT2A receptor antagonist volinanserin on opioid-induced antinociception and drug addiction (P30)
Dr. Liya Qiao, Characterize the production of endogenous opioid peptides by DRG glia and neuron
Dr. Qinglian Liu, Characterizing the unique substrate binding activity of HSP110 molecular (AHA)
Dr. Liya Qiao, Role of TrkB.T1 in bowel and urinary bladder comormidity (Commonwealth Health Research Board)
FELLOWSHIPS
Dr. Molly Crowe, Regulation of gut motility by nutrient receptors (F32 postdoc)
Dr. Kavita Iyers, Cryo EM and pharmacological study of hyperphosphorylated cardiac RYR (AHA, postdoc)
Justin Saunders, Gut dysbiosis and 5-HT2A dysregulation in a preclinical schizophrenia model (F30 predoc)
S. Teja Devarakonda, Relaxin signaling in post myocardial infarction associated adverse remodeling (AHA, predoc)
In Memoriam
There are no events currently scheduled.