The University of Texas at Dallas

Dr. Hays’ research focuses on enhancing neuroplasticity, or the ability of the brain to change, to treat neurological disease. As part of his research, Dr. Hays is testing vagus nerve stimulation to enhance recovery in models of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke bearing complicating factors observed in the clinical population of stroke patients.

Dr. Delk is researching cancers that are currently incurable once they have metastasized to bone, particularly prostate and breast cancers. Dr. Delk is investigating autophagy and its role in cancer treatment resistance. She is working to identify signaling pathways that regulate autophagy in cancer cells and then use those pathways as therapeutic targets.

Dr. Greg Dussor’s research focus is on uncovering pathological mechanisms and therapeutic targets for migraine headache. Since the most likely mechanism contributing to migraine pain is activation of peripheral nociceptive signaling from the meninges, experiments in the Dussor laboratory have focused on identifying cellular mechanisms of dural afferent activation/sensitization as well as understanding plasticity at the central terminals of these neurons.

Dr. Hayenga is the PI of the Vascular Mechanobiology Lab, where she and her team are conducting research to understand and prevent the progression of cardiovascular diseases using experimental and computational models.

Dr. Kim’s research is focused on understanding the role of hypoxic response in the regulation of tumor microenvironmental remodeling and metabolic reprogramming in cancers. He is also working to understand the role of stromal cells, including fibroblasts, adipocytes, and inflammatory cells in cancer progression.

Dr. Price’s research involves understanding how neuronal plasticity alters the way the brain receives nociceptive information from the sensory system and how this relates to chronic pain in human patients. He has discovered several new targets that regulate the excitability of sensory neurons after injury and that mediate plasticity in the central nervous system that cause pain to become chronic.

Dr. Qin and his team are researching the bio-nano interface and translating this to biomedical applications. He and his team are currently focused on the thermos-plasmonic fundamentals and its effects at the interface between biological systems and nanomaterials.