Diversity Program in Neuroscience Training Advisory Committee (2007 - 2008) Joe L. Martinez, Jr., PhD, Director, Diversity Program in Neuroscience – Dr. Martinez serves as the Director of the DPN. He is the Distinguished Ewing Halsell Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Texas, San Antonio. He co-directs the Summer Program in Neuroscience, Ethics, and Survival (SPINES) with Dr. James Townsel (below). Dr. Martinez is an active researcher with more than 180 publications that span across research areas such as gene analysis of long-term potentiation, and the neurobiological basis of learning and memory. Contact Information Cajal Neuroscience Research Center The University of Texas at San Antonio 6900 North Loop 1604 West San Antonio, TX 78249-0662 210.458.4272 (Office) 210.458.7846 (Fax) Email Dr. Martinez http://www.bio.utsa.edu/faculty/martinezj.html James G. Townsel, PhD, Chair - Dr. Townsel chairs the DPN Training Advisory Committee and directs the Neuroscience Program at Meharry Medical College. He also serves as the co-director of SPINES, and heads the Meharry/Vanderbilt Alliance, which seeks to establish summer programs that prepare young underrepresented minorities for careers in neuroscience. Dr. Townsel's commitment is exemplified by his long standing affiliation with the MFP in Neuroscience program and the advisory committee. His research interests include the exploration of molecular aspects of cholinergic cotransporter regulation, expanding and enhancing neuroscience and biomedical capacities in biology, and supporting the development of interdisciplinary training programs in neuroscience. Contact Information James G. Townsel, PhD Interim Vice President for Research Meharry Medical College 1005 Dr. D. B. Todd Blvd. Nashville, TN 37208-1114 615.327.6847(Office) 615.327.6179 (Fax) Email Dr. Townsel http://www.mmc.edu/research/faculty/townsel.html Anne Etgen, PhD, Postdoctoral Chair - Dr. Etgen is Professor of Neuroscience at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Editor-in-Chief of Hormones and Behavior. She coordinates minority recruitment for the Graduate Division at Einstein. Her laboratory is determining the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of female reproductive physiology and behavior by the ovarian hormones, estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P). Findings suggests that E2 and P work in concert to increase nitric oxide-dependent production of cyclic GMP by soluble guanylyl cyclase in the hypothalamus. Recent experiments also indicate that insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) action in the brain is required for E2 regulation of the reproductive axis. In collaboration with Dr. Genevieve Neal-Perry, a former DPN fellow, she is determining how these mechanisms change with aging. In collaboration with the laboratory of Dr. Suzanne Zukin, she examines mechanisms by which E2 affords neuroprotection in the hippocampus following global ischemia. Contact Information Anne Etgen, PhD Department of Neuroscience Albert Eistein College of Medicine 1300 Morris Park Avenue, F113 Bronx, NY 10461 718.430.3662 (Office) 718.430.8655 (Fax) Email Dr. Etgen http://neuroscience.aecom.yu.edu/faculty/primary_faculty_pages/etgen.html) Edward Castañeda, PhD is Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of Texas, El Paso. His fundamental interests are in the underlying biological bases for sparing and recovery of behavioral function from brain damage—in particular, how the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the basal ganglia results in sensory and motor deficits characteristic of Parkinson’s disease. He is also interested in the early neural responses to neurotoxin exposure. Contact Information Edward Castañeda, PhD Department of Psychology University of Texas at El Paso 500 W. University Ave. El Paso, TX 79902 915-747-6556 (Office) Email Dr. Castañeda Byron Ford, PhD is an assistant professor in the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience at the Morehouse School of Medicine. He received his PhD in physiology/neuroscience from Meharry Medical College. Dr. Ford has served as the senior staff fellow and lab manager at the National Institute of Mental Health. Among his awards and honors are the NAFEO Distinguished Alumni Award, the Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need Fellowship (U.S. Department of Education), and the NIH Special Service Award. Contact Information Byron D. Ford, PhD Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience Morehouse School of Medicine 720 Westview Drive SW, MRC 222 Atlanta, GA 30310 404-756-5222 (Office) 404-752-1041 (Fax) Email Dr. Ford http://web.msm.edu/ni/research_ford.htm John G. Hildebrand, PhD is Regents Professor of Neurobiology at the University of Arizona. He directs the Division of Neurobiology of the Arizona Research Laboratories and was the founding chair of the Committee on Neuroscience and its Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience. Dr. Hildebrand’s research focuses on the neuroethology of olfactory-based behaviors of insects and neural mechanisms of information processing in the olfactory system, using an integrated approach with molecular, morphological, neurophysiological, and behavioral methods. Contact Information John G. Hildebrand, PhD Director, ARL Division of Neurobiology University of Arizona Gould-Simpson, Room 603 P.O. Box 210077 Tucson, AZ 85721-0077 520-621-6626 (Office) 520-621-8282 (Fax) Email Dr. Hildebrand http://www.neurobio.arizona.edu/faculty/hildebrand/ Rae Nishi, PhD (ANDP Representative) - Dr. Nishi is a professor at the University of Vermont Medical School. As a Councilor of the Association of Neuroscience Departments and Programs (ANDP), Dr. Nishi acts as a liaison between DPN and ANDP. She earned her BA in biological sciences from Stanford University and her PhD in biology from the University of California, San Diego. She did her postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School. Her research focuses on how the nervous system develops and what causes neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The goal of her research is to attain a fundamental understanding of how neural cell phenotypes are regulated in the peripheral and central nervous system of the chicken embryo. Contact Information Rae Nishi, PhD Professor University of Vermont College of Medicine Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology C427 Given Building Burlington, VT 05404 (802) 656-4504 (Office) (802) 656-8704 (Fax) Email Dr. Nishi http://www.uvm.edu/annb/faculty/nishi/ Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa, MD received his MD from Harvard, where he graduated with honors. He then completed his residency in neurosurgery at the University of California, San Francisco, where he also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in developmental and stem cell biology. Now an assistant professor of neurosurgery and oncology at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa serves as the director of the brain tumor program at the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus. His focus is on the surgical treatment of primary and metastaticbrain tumors, with an emphasis on motor and speech mapping during surgery. Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa conducts numerous research efforts on elucidating the role of stem cells in the origin of brain tumors and the potential role stem cells can play in fighting brain cancer and regaining neurological function. Contact Information Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa, MD The Johns Hopkins Hospital 4940 Eastern Avenue B 121 Baltimore, MD 21224 410-550-3367 (Office) 410-550-0748 (Fax) Email Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa http://www.hopkinsneuro.org/brain_tumor/doc.cfm?i=53 Cheryl Sisk, PhD (ANDP Alternate) is a professor of psychology and director of the neuroscience program at Michigan State University. She is also a past president of the Association of Neuroscience Departments and Programs. She received her PhD in psychobiology and neuroscience at Florida State University and completed postdoctoral training at Northwestern University and the University of Texas, Austin. Her research program is focused on the influence of steroid hormones on the brain and behavior during adolescence. She has a keen interest in graduate training in neuroscience, and is project director of an NIH T32 jointly sponsored predoctoral training grant in the neurosciences at Michigan State University. Contact Information Cheryl Sisk, PhD 108B Giltner Hall East Lansing, MI 48824-1101 (517) 355-5253 (Office) (517) 432-2744 (Fax) Email Dr. Sisk http://www.msu.edu/~sisk