Maternal & Child Health Research Institute (MCHRI)


Showing 701-750 of 1,005 Results

  • Matthew Porteus

    Matthew Porteus

    Sutardja Chuk Professor of Definitive and Curative Medicine

    BioDr. Porteus was raised in California and was a local graduate of Gunn High School before completing A.B. degree in “History and Science” at Harvard University where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and wrote an thesis entitled “Safe or Dangerous Chimeras: The recombinant DNA controversy as a conflict between differing socially constructed interpretations of recombinant DNA technology.” He then returned to the area and completed his combined MD, PhD at Stanford Medical School with his PhD focused on understanding the molecular basis of mammalian forebrain development with his PhD thesis entitled “Isolation and Characterization of TES-1/DLX-2: A Novel Homeobox Gene Expressed During Mammalian Forebrain Development.” After completion of his dual degree program, he was an intern and resident in Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital and then completed his Pediatric Hematology/Oncology fellowship in the combined Boston Chidlren’s Hospital/Dana Farber Cancer Institute program. For his fellowship and post-doctoral research he worked with Dr. David Baltimore at MIT and CalTech where he began his studies in developing homologous recombination as a strategy to correct disease causing mutations in stem cells as definitive and curative therapy for children with genetic diseases of the blood, particularly sickle cell disease. Following his training with Dr. Baltimore, he took an independent faculty position at UT Southwestern in the Departments of Pediatrics and Biochemistry before again returning to Stanford in 2010 as an Associate Professor. During this time his work has been the first to demonstrate that gene correction could be achieved in human cells at frequencies that were high enough to potentially cure patients and is considered one of the pioneers and founders of the field of genome editing—a field that now encompasses thousands of labs and several new companies throughout the world. His research program continues to focus on developing genome editing by homologous recombination as curative therapy for children with genetic diseases but also has interests in the clonal dynamics of heterogeneous populations and the use of genome editing to better understand diseases that affect children including infant leukemias and genetic diseases that affect the muscle. Clinically, Dr. Porteus attends at the Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital where he takes care of pediatric patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

  • Manu Prakash

    Manu Prakash

    Associate Professor of Bioengineering, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and Associate Professor, by courtesy, of Oceans

    BioWe use interdisciplinary approaches including theory and experiments to understand how computation is embodied in biological matter. Examples include cognition in single cell protists and morphological computing in animals with no neurons and origins of complex behavior in multi-cellular systems. Broadly, we invent new tools for studying non-model organisms with significant focus on life in the ocean - addressing fundamental questions such as how do cells sense pressure or gravity? Finally, we are dedicated towards inventing and distributing “frugal science” tools to democratize access to science (previous inventions used worldwide: Foldscope, Abuzz), diagnostics of deadly diseases like malaria and convening global citizen science communities to tackle planetary scale environmental challenges such as mosquito surveillance or plankton surveillance by citizen sailors mapping the ocean in the age of Anthropocene.

  • Janey S.A. Pratt, MD

    Janey S.A. Pratt, MD

    Clinical Professor, Surgery - Pediatric Surgery

    BioDr. Janey S.A. Pratt, MD, FACS, FASMBS is a general surgeon who specializes in Laparoscopic and Robotic General and Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (MBS). She began her career in general surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she was a founding member of the MGH Weight Center. As surgical director she introduced minimally invasive MBS and adolescent MBS to MGH in 2001 and 2007 respectively. In 2011 Dr. Pratt took over as Director at the MGH Weight Center and continued to work on several national committees towards improving access and care for adolescents with severe obesity. Dr. Pratt continued to practice general surgery throughout her tenure at MGH seeing patients with breast cancer, hernias, and obesity. She performed advance minimally invasive surgery (MIS) as well as advanced endoscopy.

    In 2016 Dr. Pratt moved to California where she began her work at Stanford University, splitting her time between the Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital and the Palo Alto VA. She performs Minimally Invasive MBS as well as endoscopy. Dr. Pratt has trained in robotic surgery as well. As a Clinical Professor of Surgery, Dr. Pratt is involved in training Stanford medical students and residents both in the OR, in clinic, in simulation labs and in the classroom. Since 2023 Dr. Pratt is dedicated only to the Children's Hospital running the Adolescent Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery program at LPCH. This is an MBSAQIP accredited program in a free-standing children's hospital dedicated to the multidisciplinary care of children with obesity. This program is one of the top 5 programs in the country. Dr. Pratt has been involved in creating and updated guidelines for Adolescent MBS since 2005. In 2018 she was first author on the ASMBS Pediatric Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Guidelines. Her research interests include MIS MBS, pediatric obesity treatment and the use of medications to improve outcomes of MBS. Dr. Pratt frequently lectures on the subject of Adolescent Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

  • Guillem Pratx

    Guillem Pratx

    Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology (Radiation Physics)

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe Physical Oncology Lab is interested in making a lasting impact on translational cancer research by building novel physical tools and methods.

  • James Priest

    James Priest

    Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor, Pediatrics - Cardiology

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe Priest lab seeks a better understanding of the genetics and pathogenesis of congenital heart disease using translational genomics, big-data, and vertebrate models of cardiac development.

  • Lance Prince

    Lance Prince

    Philip Sunshine, MD, Professor of Neonatology

    BioLawrence (Lance) S. Prince, MD, PhD, is the Philip Sunshine Endowed Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford School of Medicine. Dr. Prince was previously a Professor of Pediatrics and Chief of the Division of Neonatology at the University of California, San Diego and Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego.

    Dr. Prince has a long and distinguished career mentoring clinical and scientific trainees and students, many of whom have gone on to establish their own successful careers as academic physician investigators. As a physician scientist, Dr. Prince leads a basic science laboratory focusing on the mechanisms regulating developmental immunology and lung injury and repair. Dr. Prince received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from University of Miami, an MD/PhD with a focus in Cell Biology from University of Alabama at Birmingham, and postdoctoral fellowship, Pediatrics residency, and Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship training at the University of Iowa. Before arriving in California, Dr. Prince was an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University.

    Dr. Prince’s research interests include the molecular and cellular mechanisms controlling lung development and the maturation of the fetal and neonatal immune systems. He has a particular clinical interest in managing and treating neonatal lung diseases, especially bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in babies born extremely preterm. Dr. Prince’s research team focuses primarily on the development of innate immunity during fetal life as it impacts health and disease in preterm infants. The laboratory is investigating how microbes including Group B streptococcus exploit the unique features of neonatal macrophages to avoid immune detection and cause disease, as well as leading a number of clinical and translational investigations.

  • Charles G. Prober, MD

    Charles G. Prober, MD

    Professor of Pediatrics (Infectious Diseases) and, by courtesy, of Microbiology and Immunology

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research interest is in the epidemiology, pathophysiology, prevention, and treatment of infections in children. Much of this research has focused on viral infections, especially those caused by herpes simplex virus (HSV). I have conducted a number of studies concerned with the epidemiology of HSV-2 infections in pregnant women, their partners, and neonates.

  • Judith Prochaska

    Judith Prochaska

    Senior Associate Vice Provost, Clinical Research Governance and Professor of Medicine (Stanford Prevention Research Center)

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Prochaska's clinical trials research focuses on developing and testing evidence-based interventions for tobacco, other substance use, physical activity, and diet. She has led randomized controlled trials of treatments that combine motivational, behavioral, and pharmacologic strategies, including use of telemedicine, therapeutic relational agents, social-media–supported interventions, and tailored programs for socio-demographically diverse and at-risk groups to advance population health.

  • Jochen Profit

    Jochen Profit

    Wendy J. Tomlin-Hess Endowed Professor

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsFunded by NIH R01 grants:

    1) Development and application of composite measure of NICU quality - Baby-MONITOR

    2) High reliability, safety culture and caregiver resilience as modifiers of care quality

    3) Modifiable racial/ethnic disparities in quality of care delivery

    4) Effectiveness of regionalized care delivery systems for preterm newborns

  • Stephanie Pun, MD

    Stephanie Pun, MD

    Clinical Associate Professor, Orthopaedic Surgery

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Pun specializes in the treatment of complex hip disorders with surgical hip preservation options for children, adolescents, and adults. Her goal is to enhance hip function in active individuals and to prevent the early development of hip osteoarthritis.

  • Stanley Qi

    Stanley Qi

    Associate Professor of Bioengineering and, by courtesy, of Biomedical Data Science

    BioStanley Qi (publishing as Lei S. Qi) is a pioneer in the field of genome engineering and the architect of the foundational technologies that transitioned CRISPR from a "cutting" tool into a universal platform for Programmable Biology. As the inventor of CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) and CRISPR activation (CRISPRa), Qi established the first methods for the precise, reversible, and targeted regulation of the human genome without altering the DNA sequence.

    The Qi Lab integrates scalable genomic perturbation with live-cell and super-resolution imaging and computation-guided design to redefine the boundaries of cellular control. Under Dr. Qi’s leadership, the group has fundamentally expanded the genome engineering toolbox, evolving CRISPR from a single editing tool into a multidimensional platform for the precise control of dynamic and spatial cell states. This work includes establishing foundational technologies and architectures for precise epigenetic editing, multiplexed regulation of the transcriptome, programmable 3D genome organization, and spatial control of RNA logistics. By pioneering real-time visualization of chromatin dynamics and RNA in living cells, the lab provides an unprecedented window into the fundamental "control principles of life."

    This principle-driven technology lineage has moved into the clinic, with the lab's compact epigenetic editor currently in first-in-human clinical testing for FSHD muscular dystrophy (NCT06907875). This milestone represents a core mission of the lab: translating foundational engineering into next-generation therapeutics that act predictably as dynamic, complex systems.

    Beyond single-cell control, the Qi Lab is building a framework for synthetic cell–cell communication, with a particular emphasis on the bidirectional interplay between immune cells and neurons. The lab’s goal is to move beyond describing molecular parts to discovering fundamental control principles in living systems: how regulatory landscapes create stable states and memory, how spatial genome–RNA organization shapes dynamic responses, and how engineered cell–cell interactions can generate emergent multicellular behaviors.

    By integrating computational design with experimental biology, Dr. Qi aims to identify the generalizable rules linking molecular programs to systems-level physiology. He is a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator and an Institute Scholar at the Sarafan ChEM-H, and is dedicated to shaping the technical and ethical frameworks that will define the future of human genome engineering.

  • Xiaojie Qiu

    Xiaojie Qiu

    Assistant Professor of Genetics and, by courtesy, of Computer Science

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsAt the Qiu Lab, our mission is to unravel and predict the intricacies of gene regulatory networks and cell-cell interactions pivotal in mammalian cell fate transitions over time and space, with a special emphasis on heart evolution, development, and disease. We are a dynamic and interdisciplinary team, harnessing the latest advancements in machine learning as well as single-cell and spatial genomics by integrating the predictive power of systems biology with the scalability of machine learning,

  • Thomas Quertermous, MD

    Thomas Quertermous, MD

    William G. Irwin Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsUnderstanding genetic basis of cardiovascular function and disease.

  • Jennifer Anne Rabbitts

    Jennifer Anne Rabbitts

    Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative & Pain Medicine (Pediatric) and, by courtesy, of Pediatrics

    BioJennifer Rabbitts, MD is Professor and Chief of Pediatric Pain Management at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Rabbitts directs an NIH-funded research laboratory focused on improving long-term pain and health outcomes in children and adolescents undergoing surgery. Her research is devoted to understanding and preventing chronic postsurgical pain, a disabling condition affecting 20% youth undergoing major surgery. Her current research studies investigate the role of biopsychosocial mechanisms including child psychosocial factors, parental/family factors, and psychophysical processes underlying acute to chronic pain transition. Current clinical trials focus on testing feasibility and efficacy of psychosocial and complementary and integrative interventions to improve acute postsurgical pain and prevent transition to chronic pain.

    Dr Rabbitts is passionate about mentoring, and is a PI for the NIH HEAL PAIN Training grant in Maternal and Child Pain and Health at Stanford. She serves as section editor for Psychology, Psychiatry and Brain Neuroscience Section for Pain Medicine, and serves on the editorial boards for Pediatric Anesthesia and Journal of Pain.

    Read more about the Rabbitts Lab and opportunities here: https://rabbittslab.stanford.edu/

  • Marlene Rabinovitch

    Marlene Rabinovitch

    Dwight and Vera Dunlevie Professor of Pediatric Cardiology

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur research program seeks to identify the cellular and molecular programs regulating vascular and lung development, through the use of cultured cells and tissues and mouse and rat models. We then determine how these programs are perturbed by genetic abnormalities or injurious processes associated with disease, focusing on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a fatal complication in children with heart defects, and a condition of unknown etiology primarily in young women.

  • Ram Rajagopal

    Ram Rajagopal

    Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, of Electrical Engineering and Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy
    On Partial Leave from 01/01/2026 To 06/30/2026

    BioRam Rajagopal is an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University, where he directs the Stanford Sustainable Systems Lab (S3L), focused on large-scale monitoring, data analytics and stochastic control for infrastructure networks, in particular, power networks. His current research interests in power systems are in the integration of renewables, smart distribution systems, and demand-side data analytics.

    He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences and an M.A. in Statistics, both from the University of California Berkeley, Masters in Electrical and Computer Engineering from University of Texas, Austin and Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award, Powell Foundation Fellowship, Berkeley Regents Fellowship and the Makhoul Conjecture Challenge award. He holds more than 30 patents and several best paper awards from his work and has advised or founded various companies in the fields of sensor networks, power systems, and data analytics.

  • Nitya Rajeshuni

    Nitya Rajeshuni

    Clinical Instructor, Pediatrics - Critical Care

    BioDr. Rajeshuni is a Clinical Instructor in the Department of Pediatrics at Stanford University. She is faculty with the Stanford Center for Asian Health Research and Education (CARE), the Center for Innovation in Global Health (CIGH), and the Maternal Child Health Research Institute (MCHRI). Dr. Rajeshuni earned her BS, MS in Epidemiology and Clinical Research, and MD from Stanford University. She completed residency training at the University of Pennsylvania and a Biodesign innovation fellowship at Harvard University.

    Her research centers on advancing health equity among racial and ethnic minorities, with a particular focus on Asian populations. She investigates health disparities, access to care, and the implementation and evaluation of public and digital health solutions in the U.S. and low- and middle-income countries. Current projects include studying the impacts of maternal education and intimate partner violence on child outcomes. Her broader interests encompass promoting resilience and well-being in vulnerable communities worldwide and leveraging digital health to reduce health disparities. She is a recipient of a career development award through the CHIME Health Equity Scholars program funded by PCORI and will be studying the effects of social supports on resilience in pregnant people of minority descent. Her global collaborations include work with NGO Arogya World on diabetes prevention in India as a collaborator and member of the Board. She is also the Director of South Asia Outreach at Stanford CARE. She also serves as a Product Advisor to healthcare startup Yuimedi.

    Dr. Rajeshuni is deeply committed to teaching and mentorship. At Stanford, she serves as Associate Program Director for CARE Scholars and the Team Science Fellowship, year-long data science programs that provide emerging researchers with structured mentorship, advanced analytical skills, and interdisciplinary collaboration to drive health equity research. She is Faculty Co-Director of FAMMED 210: The Healer’s Art, an international program offering a reflective, experiential course designed to nurture compassion, resilience, and the humanistic values essential to medicine. She mentors graduate, undergraduate, and high school students at Stanford and beyond, and serves as Faculty Advisor in the Department of Human Biology.

    Outside academia, Dr. Rajeshuni is an accomplished vocalist, performing professionally with world music ensembles Wobbly World and San Francisco’s Peña Pachamama Carnaval Arts Program.

  • Asheen Rama

    Asheen Rama

    Clinical Associate Professor, Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine

    BioDr. Asheen Rama is a member of the Division of Pediatric Anesthesiology. He regularly organizes and conducts medical simulations across various hospital units, utilizing both traditional in-situ methods and advanced immersive technologies, such as virtual and augmented reality. He also collaborates with the Stanford CHARIOT program, leading efforts to integrate immersive technologies into medical education and working to scale these innovations nationally and internationally.

    Dr. Rama teaches a diverse range of learners, including medical students, residents, fellows, and nurses. His academic interests focus on simulation, medical education, and artificial intelligence. Additionally, he has a strong interest in the medical humanities and has taught several Stanford undergraduate and medical student courses that explore the intersection of art and medicine.

  • Sneha Ramakrishna

    Sneha Ramakrishna

    Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Hematology/Oncology)

    BioSneha Ramakrishna obtained her B. A. from the University of Chicago and her M.D. from the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University. In medical school, through the Howard Hughes Medical Research Scholar Award, she joined Dr. Crystal Mackall’s laboratory, where she designed and developed various GD2 CAR-Ts and tested them in preclinical models. During her residency training in Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, she cared for some of the first patients treated with CD19 CAR T cells, learning the power of this therapy first-hand. During her fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at the Johns Hopkins/National Cancer Institute combined program, she worked with Dr. Terry Fry. She evaluated the mechanism of CD22 CAR T cell relapse in patients by developing an antigen escape model and establishing a deeper understanding of the effects of antigen density on CAR-T phenotype, expansion, and persistence (Fry…Ramakrishna…Mackall Nat Med, 2018; Ramakrishna, et al., Clinical Cancer Research, 2019). Since arriving at Stanford, Dr. Ramakrishna leads an interdisciplinary team that designs, develops, and successfully implements a robust correlative science platform for our novel CAR-T therapies. Analyzing patient samples from our first-in-human GD2 CAR-T trial (NCT04196413) treating a universally fatal cancer, diffuse midline glioma (DMG), we identified that intracerebroventricular CAR-T administration correlates with enhanced pro-inflammatory cytokines and reduced immunosuppressive cell populations in cerebrospinal fluid as compared to intravenous CAR-T administration (Majzner*, Ramakrishna*, et al., Nature 2022 *co-first authors). Her research program evaluates unique sets of patient samples using novel single-cell immune profiling to identify the drivers of CAR-T success or failure. Building on these findings, her team assesses approaches to enhance CAR-T efficacy and translate these findings to the clinic.

    Clinically, Dr. Ramakrishna cares for children with solid tumors and treats hematologic, solid, and brain tumor pediatric patients with CAR T cell therapies in the Cancer Cellular Therapies program.

  • R J Ramamurthi

    R J Ramamurthi

    Clinical Professor, Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsProspective collection of pediatric regional block procedures and complications on to a national database

  • Julia Raney

    Julia Raney

    Clinical Assistant Professor, Pediatrics - Adolescent Medicine

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsAdolescents are dying from drug overdoses at unprecedented rates, largely secondary to fentanyl contamination in the drug supply. A Youth Overdose Prevention Toolkit for school-based health centers is needed to combat this trend. The toolkit should include key stakeholder-informed harm reduction approaches that focus on reducing injury or death from fentanyl and other opioids without exclusively recommending abstinence; this approach is evidence-based and critical to saving lives.

  • Anoop Rao

    Anoop Rao

    Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Neonatology)

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWearable senors, unobtrusive vital sign monitoring, natural language processing/text mining

  • Natalie L. Rasgon

    Natalie L. Rasgon

    Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (General Psychiatry and Psychology-Adult) at the Stanford University Medical Center, Emerita

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Rasgon has been involved in longitudinal placebo-controlled neuroendocrine studies for nearly two decades, and she has been involved in neuroendocrine and brain imaging studies of estrogen effects on depressed menopausal women for the last eight years. It should be noted that in addition to her duties as a Professor of Psychiatry and Obstetrics & Gynecology, Dr. Rasgon is also the Director of the Behavioral Neuroendocrinology Program and of the Women's Wellness Program.

  • Lindsey Rasmussen

    Lindsey Rasmussen

    Clinical Professor, Pediatrics - Critical Care
    Clinical Associate Professor (By courtesy), Adult Neurology

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research interests reside in the field of Neurocritical Care Medicine and stem from my experience developing and directing Stanford's comprehensive Pediatric Neurocritical Care program. I am interested in neuro-prognostication and neuro-monitoring in the pediatric intensive care setting. These interests are integrated clinically to focus on optimal care for pediatric patients with neurologic injury, through specialized nursing and physician care, protocols, and physiologic considerations.

  • Caroline E. Rassbach

    Caroline E. Rassbach

    Clinical Professor, Pediatrics
    Clinical Professor, Emergency Medicine
    Clinical Professor, Emergency Medicine

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMedical education including learner assessment, program development and mentoring and coaching in medicine.

  • Kristy Red-Horse

    Kristy Red-Horse

    Professor of Biology

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsCardiovascular developmental biology

  • Sushma Reddy

    Sushma Reddy

    Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Cardiology)

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy laboratory's expertise in cardiovascular phenotyping has led to the development of mouse models of congenital heart disease that recapitulate abnormal loading conditions on the heart. We have used these models to advance our understanding of the mechanisms of right heart failure in children and adults with congenital heart disease with the long term goal of identifying noninvasive diagnostic tools to better assess right ventricular health and to develop right ventricle specific therapeutics.

  • David Rehkopf

    David Rehkopf

    Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health, of Sociology, of Medicine (Primary Care and Population Health) and, by courtesy, of Pediatrics, and of Health Policy

    BioI am a social epidemiologist and serve as a Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health and in the Department of Medicine in the Division of Primary Care and Population Health. I joined the faculty at Stanford School of Medicine in 2011.

    I am Director of the Stanford Center for Population Health Sciences. In this position, I am committed to making high-value data resources available to researchers across disciplines in order to better enable them to answer their most pressing clinical and population health questions.

    My own research is focused on understanding the health implications of the myriad decisions that are made by corporations and governments every day - decisions that profoundly shape the social and economic worlds in which we live and work. While these changes are often invisible to us on a daily basis, these seemingly minor actions and decisions form structural nudges that can create better or worse health at a population level. My work demonstrates the health implications of corporate and governmental decisions that can give the public and policy makers evidence to support new strategies for promoting health and well-being. In all of his work, I have a focus on the implications of these exposures for health inequalities.

    Since often policy and programmatic changes can take decades to influence health, my work also includes more basic research in understanding biological signals that may act as early warning signs of systemic disease, in particular accelerated aging. I examine how social and economic policy changes influence a range of early markers of disease and aging, with a particular recent focus on DNA methylation. I am supported by several grants from the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to develop new more sensitive ways to understand the health implications of social and economic policy changes.

  • Richard J. Reimer, MD

    Richard J. Reimer, MD

    Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences (Adult Neurology)

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsReimer Lab interests

    A primary interest of our lab is to understand how nerve cells make and recycle neurotransmitters, the small molecules that they use to communicate with each other. In better defining these processes we hope to achieve our long-term goal of identifying novel sites for treatment of diseases such as epilepsy and Parkinson Disease. In our studies on neurotransmitter metabolism we have focused our efforts on transporters, a functional class of proteins that move neurotransmitters and other small molecules across membranes in cells. Transporters have many characteristics that make them excellent pharmacological targets, and not surprisingly some of the most effective treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders are directed at transporters. We are specifically focusing on two groups of transporters – vesicular neurotransmitter transporters that package neurotransmitters into vesicles for release, and glutamine transporters that shuttle glutamine, a precursor for two major neurotransmitters glutamate and GABA, to neurons from glia, the supporting cells that surround them. We are pursuing these goals through molecular and biochemical studies, and, in collaboration with the Huguenard and Prince labs, through physiological and biosensor based imaging studies to better understand how pharmacological targeting of these molecules will influence neurological disorders.

    A second interest of our lab is to define mechanism underlying the pathology of lysosomal storage disorders. Lysosomes are membrane bound acidic intracellular organelles filled with hydrolytic enzymes that normally function as recycling centers within cells by breaking down damaged cellular macromolecules. Several degenerative diseases designated as lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs) are associated with the accumulation of material within lysosomes. Tay-Sachs disease, Neimann-Pick disease and Gaucher disease are some of the more common LSDs. For reasons that remain incompletely understood, these diseases often affect the nervous system out of proportion to other organs. As a model for LSDs we are studying the lysosomal free sialic acid storage disorders. These diseases are the result of a defect in transport of sialic acid across lysosomal membranes and are associated with mutations in the gene encoding the sialic acid transporter sialin. We are using molecular, genetic and biochemical approaches to better define the normal function of sialin and to determine how loss of sialin function leads to neurodevelopmental defects and neurodegeneration associated with the lysosomal free sialic acid storage disorders.

  • Allan L. Reiss

    Allan L. Reiss

    Howard C. Robbins Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Professor of Radiology

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy laboratory, the Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research (CIBSR), focuses on multi-level scientific study of individuals with typical and atypical brain structure and function. Data are obtained from genetic analyses, structural and functional neuroimaging studies, assessment of endocrinological status, neurobehavioral assessment, and analysis of pertinent environmental factors. Our overarching focus is to model how brain disorders arise and to develop disease-specific treatments.

  • David A. Relman

    David A. Relman

    Thomas C. and Joan M. Merigan Professor and Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy investigative program focuses on human-microbe interactions and human microbial ecology, and primarily concerns the ecology of human indigenous microbial communities; a secondary interest concerns the classification of humans with systemic infectious diseases, based on features of genome-wide gene transcript abundance patterns and pther aspects of the host response.

  • Nathan Reticker-Flynn, PhD

    Nathan Reticker-Flynn, PhD

    Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery (OHNS)

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsTo metastasize throughout our bodies, tumors subvert and co-opt our immune systems. Our lab seeks to uncover how these processes occur and develops therapies to put a stop to them.

  • William Rhine

    William Rhine

    Professor of Pediatrics (Neonatology), Emeritus

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsNeonatology, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, nitric oxide therapy, mechanisms of bilirubin toxicity and brain injury, non-invasive biotechnologies to study cellular and organ metabolism.

  • Anthony J. Ricci, PhD

    Anthony J. Ricci, PhD

    Edward C. and Amy H. Sewall Professor in the School of Medicine and Professor of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery (OHNS) and, by courtesy of Molecular and Cellular Physiology

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWe study hearing from biophysical, molecular and signal processing perspectives. One focus is mechanotransduction, where sound is converted into an electrical signal. As a major site for dysfunction, a more detailed understand will provide a means toward intervention. We develop new antibiotics to limit ototoxicity. We investigate drug delivery methods from surgical approaches to slow release systems, including gene therapy tools. We are studying cognitive decline following hearing loss.

  • Brian Travis Rice

    Brian Travis Rice

    Clinical Associate Professor, Emergency Medicine

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDeveloping data-driven approaches to defining and comparing chief complaints fro emergency and unscheduled acute care in low- and middle-income countries

  • Laura Roberts, MD, MA

    Laura Roberts, MD, MA

    Katharine Dexter McCormick and Stanley McCormick Memorial Professor

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Roberts has performed numerous empirical studies of contemporary ethics issues in medicine and health policy and has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Energy, the National Alliance of Schizophrenia and Depression, the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, and other private and public foundations.

  • Tawna L. Roberts, OD, PhD

    Tawna L. Roberts, OD, PhD

    Associate Professor of Ophthalmology (Pediatric) and, by courtesy, of Pediatrics

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur research efforts are funded by grants from the National Eye Institute, Department of Defense, and various foundations to study vision development in infants and young children as well as binocular vision disorders in adolescents and adults with concussions. Our focus is to identify underlying mechanisms that will inform clinical treatment approaches and ultimately leading to the prevention of strabismus, amblyopia, and binocular vision disorders.

  • Terry Robinson

    Terry Robinson

    Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Pulmonary) at the Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital, Emeritus

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research interests focus on detection of early and progressive Cystic fibrosis (CF) structural lung disease by utilizing chest CT imaging and CT post-processing methodology. Current research efforts involve utilization of low dose infant & children CT imaging protocols and quantitative airway and air trapping algorithms to evaluate early and progressive CF disease.

  • Thomas Robinson

    Thomas Robinson

    The Irving Schulman, M.D. Professor of Child Health, Professor of Medicine (Stanford Prevention Research Center) and, by courtesy, of Epidemiology and Population Health

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Robinson originated the solution-oriented research paradigm and directs the Stanford Solutions Science Lab. He is known for his pioneering obesity prevention and treatment research, including the concept of stealth interventions. His research applies social cognitive models of behavior change to behavioral, social, environmental and policy interventions for children and families in real world settings, making the results relevant for informing clinical and public health practice and policy.

  • William H. Robinson, MD PhD

    William H. Robinson, MD PhD

    James W. Raitt, M.D. Professor

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur lab investigates the molecular mechanisms of and develops therapies to treat autoimmune and rheumatic diseases, with a focus on rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, and osteoarthritis.

    The overriding objectives of our laboratory are:
    1. To elucidate the mechanisms underlying autoimmune and rheumatic diseases.
    2. To investigate the role of innate immune inflammation in osteoarthritis.
    3. To develop novel diagnostics and therapeutics