Medical College of Wisconsin Neuroscience PhD Program Faculty and Research

Neuroscience Research at the Medical College of Wisconsin is cutting-edge and highly translational. Close connections and collaborations between basic neuroscientists and clinicians make the atmosphere at MCW dynamic, disease-relevant and a rich environment for training. Our NDP students are an integral part of our research community because they receive one-on-one training from our NIH-funded faculty. If you are a prospective student looking for innovative, world-class training in a synergistic, exciting atmosphere, we invite you to explore our faculty research areas below!

Neurodegeneration and Neurotrauma

Neurodegenerative diseases including ALS, Parkinson’s Disease and Spinal Cord Injury are studied using stem cells, animal models and human tissues.

Xiaowen Bai, MD, PhD

Associate Professor

Matthew D. Budde, PhD

Associate Professor

Bonnie N. Dittel, PhD

Senior Investigator, Versiti Blood Research Institute; Professor, Microbiology & Immunology

Lezi E, PhD

Assistant Professor

Allison D. Ebert, PhD

Associate Professor; Director, Neuroscience Doctoral Program

Antje Kroner-Milsch, MD, PhD

Associate Professor

Frank A. Pintar, PhD

Founding Chair, Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering; Professor, Neurosurgery

Scott S. Terhune, PhD

Professor

Matthew B. Veldman, PhD

Assistant Professor

Jordan Williams, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor, Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering; Neurosurgery

Learn more about Dr. Williams

Neuroimaging, tissue to brain

State-of-the-art brain imaging is used to study language, vision, hearing, learning and memory, and brain diseases including cancer.

Jeffrey R. Binder, MD

Vice Chair for Research, Professor of Neurology, Professor of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy, Professor of Biophysics, Director of Stroke and Neurobehavior Programs, Department of Neurology, Director of Language Imaging Laboratory, Department of Neurology

Joseph Carroll, PhD

Richard O. Schultz, MD / Ruth Works Professor of Ophthalmology Professor of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, Biophysics, and Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy Director, Advanced Ocular Imaging Program

Adam Greenberg, PhD

Associate Dean of Postdoctoral Education, School of Graduate Studies; Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering; Associate Professor of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences; Director of the Sensory Neuroscience, Attention, and Perception Laboratory

Learn More

Peter S. LaViolette, PhD, MS

Professor; Director, Quantitative Imaging Laboratory, Medical College of Wisconsin; Section of Imaging Research, Division of Imaging Sciences

Timothy B. Meier, PhD

Associate Professor

Christopher Pawela, PhD

Associate Professor, Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering; Anesthesiology; Biophysics

Kathleen M. Schmainda, PhD

Professor

Cellular and Synaptic Communication

Neuronal Communication at the cellular level is studied using cutting-edge genetic and electrophysiological tools in order to dissect mechanisms of development and disease in the visual system, learning and memory, and addiction.

Shyam S. Chaurasia, MSc, PhD

Associate Professor of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences; Associate Professor of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy

Ross Collery, PhD

Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences Assistant Professor of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy

Nashaat Gerges, PhD, BPharm

Professor, Chair of the Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences

Pui-Ying (Penny) Lam, PhD

Assistant Professor

Sang H. Lee, PhD

Professor

Brian A. Link, PhD

Professor

Daniel M. Lipinski, MSc, DPhil

Associate Professor of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences; Associate Professor of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy

Qing-Song Liu, PhD

Professor

Wei Liu, PhD

Joseph F. Heil, Jr. Endowed Chair of Molecular Oncogenesis Associate Professor

Jonathan S. Marchant, MA, PhD

Marcus Professor & Chair

John D. McCorvy, PhD

Assistant Professor

Joel B. Miesfeld, PhD

Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences; Assistant Professor of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy

Xuelin Lou, PhD

Professor

Ramani Ramchandran, PhD

Professor

Function of Neural Systems in Normal and Disease States

Neural circuits and pathways that underlie essential physiological functions and their misregulation in disease are studied. These include sleep disruption, breathing, chronic stress, reward systems, hearing, touch sensation and chronic pain.