Research Faculty
Edward Bilsky
Associate Provost for Research and Scholarship; Professor of Pharmacology, Director of the Center for Excellence in the Neurosciences
Pickus Center 105
Stella Maris 304
Phone: 207-602-2707
Fax: 207-602-5905
Email: ebilsky@une.edu
Expertise
General pharmacology, neuroscience, opioid pharmacology, acute and chronic pain, addiction, neuropharmacology.
Research Interests/ Scholarship
Drug development for neurological disorders including pain and addiction; mechanisms of opioid receptor regulation in health and disease.
Geoffrey M. Bove
Associate Professor
Stella Maris 102
Phone: 207-602-2921
Email: gbove@une.edu
Expertise
Neurobiology, neuropathic pain, pain of endometriosis, human anatomy, neuromusculoskeletal diseases, homeostasis.
Research Interests/ Scholarship
Mechanisms of pain and mechanisms of visceral imbalance caused by inflammation of nerves.
Ling Cao
Assistant Professor of Microbiology
Stella Maris 203A
Phone: 207-602-2213
Email: lcao@une.edu
Expertise
Neuroimmunology and immunotoxicology.
Research Interests/ Scholarship
1. Neuroimmune mechanisms in nerve injury induced neuropathic pain, particularly the roles of infiltrating T lymphocytes and resident microglia.
2. Neuroimmune mechanisms in murine AIDS viral infection induced peripheral neuropathy.
3. Effects of psychological stress on infectious diseases.
Jane E. Carreiro
Section Head, Chair and Associate Professor of OMM; DME/Program Director, Graduate Medical Education
Alfond Center
Phone: 207-602-2898
Fax: 207-602-5978
Expertise
Osteopathic manipulative medicine; pain management; pediatric musculoskeletal and sports medicine; otitis media innervation patterns in pelvis and sacrum.
Research Interests/ Scholarship
Osteopathic manipulation in otitis media; innervation patterns in the pelvis and sacral areas.
Amy J. Davidoff
Professor of Pharmacology
Pickus Center 210
Phone: 207-602-2824
Fax: 207-602-5887
Email: adavidoff@une.edu
Expertise
Cardiovascular physiology, pathophysiology and pharmacology, with particular emphasis on diabetes and heart failure.
Research Interests/ Scholarship
My laboratory focuses on the cellular mechanisms contributing to development of diabetic cardiomyopathy (i.e., heart disease with diabetes). We are investigating the cellular signaling pathways which contribute to abnormal heart function and impaired insulin signaling.
Marilyn R. Gugliucci
Director, Geriatric Education and Research
Phone: 207-602-2453
Email: mgugliucci@une.edu
Expertise
Gerontology - health related quality of life, death and dying, late onset stress, functional fitness, successful aging.
Research Interests/ Scholarship
Developing HRQoL assessments for persons with a history of coronary heart disease (CHD) or stroke, which will be included in the CDC - Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS); qualitative and quantitative assessments to determine late-onset stress symptomatology among aging combat veterans; improvement or maintenance of function in elders living in assisted living facilities.
Tamara King
Assistant Professor
Stella Maris 308A
Phone: 207-602-2981
Email: tking6@une.edu
Expertise
Pain, cancer-induced pain, bone pain, neuropathic pain
Research Interests/ Scholarship
Research interests center around mechanistic analysis of pain, with a specific focus on cancer-induced bone pain and chronic pain induced by nerve injury (neuropathic pain). An important aspect of my research is using approaches that allow for mechanistic evaluation of affective/motivational aspects of pain and pain relief in the preclinical setting. Such an approach will lead to the discovery of molecules that can effectively ameliorate ongoing pain across various preclinical models of pain, including cancer induced bone pain, and nerve-injury induced pain. The goal of our efforts is to contribute to the discovery of alternative approaches to pain management that can be advanced to humans for treatment of chronic pain.
Renee LeClair
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry/Nutrition
Stella Maris 208A
Phone: 207-602-2512
Email: rleclair@une.edu
Expertise
Biochemistry and vascular biology with an emphasis on fibrotic remodeling
Research Interests/ Scholarship
Currently my work is focused on examining the biological relevance of collagen triple helix repeat containing-1 (Cthrc-1) and it’s interaction with Smad 2/3 and transforming growth factor-β. Cthrc-1 has been shown to reduce collagen deposition by inhibiting Smad 2/3 activation therefore further characterization of this cellular signaling pathway could lead to clinical applications that aid in the treatment of fibrotic diseases.
Robert H. Lenox
Professor of Pharmacology and Clinical Neuroscience; President, RHL Consulting, LLC, Biopharmaceutical Drug Discovery and Development
Off-Campus
Phone: 207-602-2888
Fax: 207-602-5931
Email: RLenox@une.edu
Expertise
CNS drug discovery and development for both psychiatric and neurological disorders; molecular neuropharmacology and clinical psychopharmacology
Ian D. Meng
Associate Professor of Physiology
Stella Maris
Phone: 207-692-2195
Email: imeng@une.edu
Expertise
Neuroscience; pain; headache; addiction.
Research Interests/ Scholarship
Migraine headache; medication overuse headache; transformation of migraine headache to chronic daily headache.
David J. Mokler
Professor of Pharmacology
Pickus Center 205
Phone: 207-602-2210
Email: dmokler@une.edu
Expertise
Neurophysiology and neuropharmacology of the brain; brain development; psychopharmacology; drugs of abuse; limbic system; dopamine and serotonin systems of the brain; the adolescent brain.
Research Interests/ Scholarship
The effects of prenatal protein malnutrition on brain development, particularly to limbic system; effects of drugs of abuse such as morphine, methamphetamine, MDMA and LSD on the brain dopamine and serotonin systems; the prefrontal cortex of the adolescent brain compared to the adult brain.
James M. Norton
Professor of Physiology
Stella Maris 424
Phone: 207-602-2270
Fax: 207-602-5931
Email: jnorton@une.edu
Expertise
Cardiovascular and respiratory physiology and pathophysiology; evolutionary biology; evolutionary medicine.
Research Interests/ Scholarship
Erythrocyte development and deformability; the physiological basis for osteopathic manipulative procedures, including cranial osteopathy; reconstruction of the ventilatory apparatus of a predatory dinosaur; medical student beliefs in human origins.
Mark Schuenke
Assistant Professor of Anatomy
Stella Maris 431
Phone: 207-602-2206
Email: mschuenke@une.edu
Expertise
Skeletal muscle architecture, Lumbopelvic pain, Human gross and microanatomy, Biomechanics
Research Interests/ Scholarship
Examine potential countermeasures to age-related muscle atrophy and diabetes.
Examine anatomical and biomechanical relationships related to lumbopelvic pain.
Glenn W. Stevenson
Assistant Professor
Decary Hall
Phone: 207-602-2285
Email: gstevenson@une.edu
Expertise
Opioid pharmacology; acute and chronic pain; drug abuse; drug interactions.
Research Interests/ Scholarship
Development of reliable and predictive preclinical assays of chronic pain; preclinical evaluation of pharmacotherapeutics for the treatment of chronic pain and drug abuse.
James M. Vaughn
Professor and Chair, Department of Microbiology
Stella Maris
Phone: 207-283-0171
Email: jvaughn@une.edu
Frank H. Willard
Professor of Anatomy
Stella Maris 408
Phone: 207-283-0171
Email: fwillard@une.edu
Expertise
Pain mechanisms; spine pain; cervical and lumbosacral spine anatomy; problem-oriented learning in the medical school curriculum.
Research Interests/ Scholarship
The neuovascular anatomy of the cervical and lumbosacral spine; developing problem-oriented learn paradigms for training medical students
Colin L Willis
Assistant Professor of Pharmacology
Pickus Center 208
Phone: 207-602-2872
Fax: 207-602-5931
Email: cwillis1@une.edu
Expertise
Blood-brain barrier vascular biology, neuroscience, neuropharmacology, microscopy (light, confocal and electron) glutamate excitoxoicity.
Research Interests/ Scholarship
a) cell/cell interactions at the neurovascular unit. In particular the role of astrocytes in modulating the integrity of the blood-brain barrier;
b) intracellular signaling mechanisms which regulate tight and adherens junctional proteins resulting in modulation of blood-brain barrier integrity.
Barbara J. Winterson
Professor of Physiology
Phone: 207-602-2215
Email: bwinterson@une.edu
Expertise
Eye movements; vision; pain mechanisms; reflex motor control; neural plasticity; touch mechanisms; psychophysics, electrophysiology
Research Interests/ Scholarship
Eye movements, visual perception, peripheral and central pain mechanisms, reflex motor control, postural reflexes
Andrew P. Binks
Assistant Professor
Proctor Hall 207
Phone: 207-221-4387
Email: abinks@une.edu
Expertise
Respiratory physiology; neurophysiology; asthma; dyspnea; control of breathing
Research Interests/ Scholarship
The neural mechanisms of dyspnea (a.k.a. shortness of breath); functional brain imaging; the sensations of asthma; patient comfort during mechanical ventilation
Ronald D. Deprez
Director, Center for Community and Public Health; Executive Director, Center for Health Policy, Planning and Research, Associate Professor of Public Health
Linnell Hall 204
Phone: 207-221-4560
Fax: 207-523-1914
Email: rdeprez@une.edu
Timothy Ford
Dean of Graduate Studies
Linnell Hall 111
Phone: 207-221-4204
Email: tford@une.edu
Expertise
Source and drinking water microbiology, marine microbiology, waterborne disease, environmental health. Specific areas include microbial cycling and transformation of pollutants, biofilm microbiology, microbiologically influenced deterioration of materials, use of microbial populations as biomarkers of environmental stress, and exposure assessment to both chemical and microbiological contaminants in drinking water.
Research Interests/ Scholarship
Ford has both directed and participated in water quality related projects in the US, Canada, the UK, Mexico, India, Russia and the Philippines, and am currently building collaborations with colleagues in Hong Kong and China. In terms of scholarship, he has more than 150 papers, chapters and review articles published and in press and has received funding from the NIH, NSF, EPA, NASA, the Office of Naval Research and the US Air Force.
As a faculty member at the Harvard School of Public Health, he both founded and directed the School’s Program in Water and Health. He was also supported through the NIEHS Superfund program to examine marine microbial communities in sediments from an EPA-designated superfund site, New Bedford Harbor, MA, as potential ecological biomarkers of exposure to high levels of contaminant chemicals. After moving to Montana State University as head of Microbiology in 2002, Ford served as Principal Investigator for the NIH-funded Montana Idea Networks for Biomedical Research Excellence Program (MT-INBRE). This five year, $17 million program was designed to build research infrastructure in infectious disease and environmental health research throughout the state of Montana.
Denise Giuvelis
Senior Research Associate, Bilsky Laboratory; CEN Coordinator
Stella Maris 304
Phone: 207-602-2888
Email: dgiuvelis@une.edu
Expertise
I manage a variety of research projects and supervise undergraduate students in Dr. Bilsky’s laboratory. My expertise is in a number of assays assessing preclinical analgesic efficacy and side effects. I also help to organize and coordinate CEN events.
Jennifer Malon
Laboratory Coordinator
Stella Maris 203
Phone: 207-602-2517
Email: Jmalon@une.edu
Expertise
In vivo and in vitro studies in neuroimmunology and neuropathic pain.
Research Interests/ Scholarship
Maintain in vivo and in vitro studies in neuroimmunology. Supervise and provide technical assistances to medical and undergraduate students in the Cao laboratory. Oversee immunocompromised animal facility. Teaching assistant for COM Bacteriology lab.
Wendy Weissner
Pickus Center 220/219
Phone: 207-602-2427
Research Interests/ Scholarship
Nutrition, addiction, herbal medicine, Ayurveda