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Neurobiology

Department of Biology

A Drexel Department of Biology doctoral student in the Afify Lab isolates an image of mosquito sensory neurons reacting to chemical smells.

Our department's focus in neurosbiology comprises multiple investigators who pursue research to better understand how the nervous system develops and functions. Researchers in the department study numerous aspects of neurobiology including neurogenesis, neural circuit formation and function, how neural circuits change with experience, the function of astrocytes on nervous system development and function, how genes affect behavior, and the evolution of brain structures in social insects. Our faculty use a large number of model organisms including worms, flies and mice. We also use technology including two-photon microscopy to visualize neurons in living animals, and super resolution microscopy to study the fine structure of synaptic connections.

Faculty Members

  Faculty Member Expertise
Aly Afify
Assistant Professor
PISB 421
aa4686@drexel.edu
  • Insect olfaction
  • Sensory Neurobiology
  • Mosquito oviposition
  • Malaria
Felice Elefant , Ph.D.
Professor
PISB 317
fe22@drexel.edu
  • The Elefant Lab
  • Understanding epigenetic mechanisms that govern higher order brain function via chromatin packaging in neurons
  • Understanding the role(s) of specific HATs in higher order brain function and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease
Denise Garcia
Associate Professor,
College of Medicine, Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy Biology
College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Biology (courtesy appointment)
PISB 422
adg82@drexel.edu
  • The Garcia Lab
  • The cellular interactions that facilitate the establishment of neural circuits
  • The structural plasticity and reorganization of the central nervous system (CNS) in the healthy and injured or diseased states
  • The role of astrocytes, part of the larger family of astroglia in the CNS with diverse morphological and functional properties
  • The cellular and molecular mechanisms that define and regulate the diversity of astrocyte function in the intact and injured or diseased CNS
  • How astrocytes contribute to synapse formation and reorganization in vivo
  • The molecular signals that regulate astrocyte function in the intact CNS and following injury
Sean O'Donnell, PhD
Professor
PISB 324
so356@drexel.edu
  • The O’Donnell Lab
  • Brain plasticity and the evolution of brain structure
  • Social behavior and division of labor, especially of eusocial Hymenoptera
  • Thermal ecology and thermal physiology
  • Network models of social group organization
  • Behavior and ecology of bird-army ant interactions
  • Human-safe insecticides