Welcome to the Department of Neural Sciences at the Katz School of Medicine! Our department brings together three impactful research centers: The Center for Substance Abuse Research, the Alzheimer’s Center at Temple, and the Center for Neural Development and Repair. Using interdisciplinary, state-of-the-art approaches, we interrogate the detailed workings of the brain and nervous system in states of health and disease. Our neuroscience roots at Temple are strong and deep, going all the way back to the development of human stereotactic surgery by Drs. Spiegel and Wycis in the late 1940s. We have opened doors to new therapeutic approaches, enhancing treatment strategies to improve health.
The Department of Neural Sciences is home to more than 25 faculty and their laboratories who employ a wide range of approaches to study the function of the brain and nervous system with a focus on diseases and conditions that impair function. State-of-the-art techniques such as single-cell imaging, transcriptomics, high-resolution microscopy and neurotransmitter biosensors are combined with cell and animal models to elucidate the detailed workings of the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves and to discover novel therapeutic targets to treat a variety of nervous system and neuropsychiatric disorders.
Research in the Department reflects the broad focus of our three research centers and includes Alzheimer’s Disease, cognitive aging, substance use disorders and addiction, pain, spinal and peripheral nerve damage, and neurodevelopmental disorders. We appreciate that these conditions do not occur in isolation, thus environmental, genetic, biological, social and behavioral factors that influence behavior and disease are under study.
Training and education of the next generation of scientists are of utmost importance. The Department of Neural Sciences provides an outstanding environment for students and fellows to master the skills they need to make transformative contributions to the field of neuroscience. Trainees are immersed in hands-on research projects under the mentorship of outstanding faculty.
As Chair, my role is to empower faculty and trainees at all levels to achieve their individual goals, while supporting the goals of the Department and School – all with an eye toward bettering human health. I strive to create a collaborative, supportive community for high-impact science and training, to facilitate wide-ranging neuroscience research while also building consensus towards a clear, compelling vision that integrates and amplifies all that we do. Together, we are pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery about the brain and nervous system that will transform prevention and treatment of disease.
Ellen M. Unterwald, PhD
Chair & Professor, Department of Neural Sciences