Liman, Emily
Harold W. Dornsife Chair in Neuroscience and Professor of Biological Sciences
The Liman lab studies how ion channels enable sensory cells to convert chemical and mechanical cues into electrical signals. We discovered the Otopetrin (OTOP) family of proton-selective ion channels and showed that OTOP1 is the long-sought sour-taste receptor as well as a detector of ammonium. Using patch-clamp electrophysiology, structure-guided mutagenesis, cryo-EM, and in vivo genetics we aim to reveal how protons permeate OTOP pores, how gating is tuned by pH and lipids, and how channel activity shapes taste, balance, and metabolic physiology. Ongoing projects extend these questions to other OTOP isoforms combining medium-throughput screening with computational modeling to identify first-in-class modulators and mouse genetics to identify and manipulate cells that express OTOP channels. Students gain rigorous cross-disciplinary training in membrane biophysics and sensory neuroscience while working in a collaborative, inclusive environment.
Loeb, Gerald
Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Neurology
All my research is now in collaboration with other faculty both at USC and internationally. I am working on subcortical systems for sensorimotor control, including tectum and spinal cord.
McKemy, David
Professor of Biological Sciences
The McKemy laboratory studies the neurobiological basis of pain, focusing on general somatic sensations of pain, painful neuropathies associated with chronic injury and disease, and the mechanisms that lead to migraine headaches. The lab is also interested in how the microbiome alters general physiological functions that can lead to pain and other disorders.
Moore, Jeffrey
Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences
Many mammals sense and affect their environment predominantly through innate motor programs for exploration, social interaction, and ingestion; yet, little is known about the neuronal circuits that control these motor programs. Our lab uses molecular, systems, and computational neurobiological techniques to identify specific brainstem motor control modules and to determine how higher-order brain structures engage these modules for innate behaviors.
Nagiel, Aaron
Assistant Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology
The development and maintenance of specific synaptic connections between retinal neurons is critical to its function. Within the last 10 years it has become possible to grow 3-dimensional, multi-layered retinal organoids derived from human stem cells. This advance permits the study of human retinal development and the establishment of synaptic connectivity. Our goal is to elucidate mechanisms underlying synapse formation and specificity in the first synapse of the human visual system. Access to CRISPR-engineered organoids allows us to understand this process in the disease state.
