Our Scholars
Since its inception, the BSSP has been the flagship recruiting mechanism for attracting junior instructional faculty in key areas of biomedical investigation. Scholars earn many of the most prestigious awards in biomedical sciences.
The program also invigorated a new culture of excellence in the biomedical sciences by establishing world-renowned programs in key scientific fields, taking advantage of U-M’s interdisciplinary culture and mentorship.
Browse scholars by recruitment year, below.
Year Recruited: 2023
( 2 Scholars )
Sarah Hill, Ph.D.
Yale University
Affiliation(s):
Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
Research Interests
TBA
Paul Kramer, Ph.D.
The Vollum Institute, Oregon Health and Science University
Affiliation(s):
Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
Research Interests
Our lab researches the neurophysiology of axonal signaling, and how axonal signal impacts the development of substance use disorders. The axon is the thinnest structure that emerges from a neuron but it can sometimes account for the vast majority of the neuronal membrane because of how long axons are. Therefore, changes to axonal physiology can have dramatic effects on the function and output of the cell. Axons are well known for propagating action potentials, but emerging research shows they can also signal actively from one axon to another and can even initiate action potentials locally, a non-canonical method for signal transmission in the nervous system as it does not involve somatodendritic processing. These recent data force us to reevaluate what roles axons can have in neuronal physiology, and open the door for future research in axonal neurobiology. Our lab will expand our understanding on this topic, together with an exploration of how nicotine and alcohol use disorders impact the function of axonal signaling and how axonal signaling impacts the development of these neurological disorders.