UC Davis' inter-disciplinary research programs in neuroscience pursue discoveries in brain function, development, aging, and disease. Faculty members in our department play key roles in the Alzheimer's Disease Center, the M.I.N.D Institute for neurodevelopmental disorders, the Institute for Pediatric Regenerative Medicine, and the Davis campus' Center for Mind and Brain and Center for Neuroscience.

In addition to clinico-neuropathological studies, we conduct lab-based biochemical, cell/molecular biological studies, animal models, and translational research. We also bank and provide brain specimens for research on neurodegenerative disorders, autism and fragile X syndrome, schizophrenia, aging periventricular leukomalacia, and brain tumors. Our faculty are leaders in digital banking of microscopic slides and use of artificial intelligence.

Meet our faculty members pursuing neuroscience research:

• Brittany N. Dugger, Ph.D. - The Dugger lab's research focuses on:
  1. understanding the heterogeneity within neurodegenerative diseases
  2. understanding the interaction of peripheral changes to aging and neurodegenerative diseases
  3. developing scalable workflows for deeper phenotyping of neurodegenerative diseases
• Lee Way Jin M.D., Ph.D.
• Izumi Maezawa, Ph.D. - The Maezawa lab studies pathology of glial cells in neurological disorders, notably Alzheimer’s disease and Rett syndrome. The current efforts focus on regulation of microglia by ketogenic metabolism and small lipid mediators that regulate inflammation. This research establishes the foundation to use ketogenic agents and inhibitors of lipid mediator generation to treat Alzheimer’s disease.
• Veronica Martinez-Cerdeno, Ph.D.
• Viharkumar Patel M.D.
• Konstantinos Zarbalis, Ph.D.