Suzanne G. Laychock, PhD, collaborates with faculty from the medical school and farther afield:

• With Lucy D. Mastrandrea, MD, PhD, of the Department of Pediatrics, she studies the characterization of intracellular molecular messengers in pancreatic beta cells and the regulation of insulin secretion.
• With Stelios T. Andreadis, PhD, of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, she pursues projects related to engineering skin cells to secrete insulin.
• With E. (Manolis) S. Tzanakakis, PhD, also of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, she works on creating insulin-secreting pancreatic beta cells from human stem cells for use in in vitro studies and potentially to treat diabetes mellitus through transplantation.
• Laychock also studies the rat model of generational obesity and the dietary influences that program obesity early in life with Mulchand S. Patel, PhD, of the Department of Biochemistry.

Fraser J. Sim, PhD, also works with faculty within and beyond the medical school:

• He studies the induction of oligodendrocytes from human induced pluripotent stem cells for the development of novel disease models with Laura Feltri, MD, of the Department of Biochemistry and Lawrence Wrabetz, MD, of the Department of Neurology.
• With Richard J. Salvi, PhD, of the Department of Communicative Disorders and Sciences, he is studying white matter pathology following blast wave injury and induced neurogenesis in auditory centers.
• With John P. Kolega, PhD, of the Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, and Hui Meng, PhD, of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Sim is conducting genomic analysis of cellular response to wall shear stress.
• With Thomas R. Cimato, MD, PhD, of the Department of Medicine, Sim is working on the isolation and genomic characterization of early mesodermal/primitive streak cells derived from human pluripotent stem cells.

Jerome A. Roth, PhD, studies the effects of manganese toxicity on the central nervous system:

• He is working with Dalian Ding and Richard J. Salvi, PhD, both of the Department of Communicative Disorders and Sciences, to elucidate the role of manganese accumulation in the inner ear and its relationship to hearing impairment.

Our faculty and graduate students collaborate with researchers in neuroscience and the social sciences at UB’s Research Institute on Addictions (RIA). The techniques and wide-ranging perspectives gathered together at RIA have proven invaluable in investigating the relationships between pharmacological and behavioral phenomena.

• Stewart Clark, PhD, is working with RIA psychobiologist Jerry B. Richards, PhD, to elucidate the neurobiological function of the novel neuropeptide Urotensin II. They use both in vivo and in vitro approaches, investigating the behavioral neuropharmacology of this peptide and the signaling and protein interactions of its receptor.
• Margarita L. Dubocovich, PhD, is studying the role of neurotransmitter and hormone receptors in the habenula and their effects on the mechanisms of action of drugs of abuse and depression with RIA neuroscientist Samir Haj-Dahmane, PhD.

Our faculty play a key role in UB 2020, the university’s long-term strategic plan for transforming UB into a model 21st-century public research institution. Through our collaborative endeavors, we participate in the Molecular Recognition in Biological Systems and Bioinformatics (MRBSB) research group, one of the UB 2020 strategic strengths, which seeks to translate laboratory discoveries into treatments for human disease.

Our broad range of expertise permits interdisciplinary research even among our own faculty labs:

• Fraser J. Sim, PhD, and Jerome A. Roth, PhD, are studying manganese toxicity on development of human neural stem and progenitor cells.
• Margarita L. Dubocovich, PhD, and Rajendram V. Rajnarayanan, PhD, are working to discover molecules to act selectively on the MT1 and MT2 melatonin receptors—research that may lead to treatments for conditions such as circadian sleep disorders, jet lag, depression and cancer.
• Dubocovich and Ji Li, PhD, are studying the role of MT1 and MT2 melatonin receptor activation on the modulation of the signaling and molecular events that protect the heart from ischemic injury.