Members of the Center for Neurobiology of Stress fall into one or more of the following categories: (1) investigators at UCLA, VAGLAHS, Ohio State University, University of Pittsburgh, or other campus who are principal or co-principal investigators with peer-reviewed, competitive funding for research in neurovisceral sciences, gastrointestinal disorders, urological disorders, and stress neurobiology, and stress-immune system interactions, particularly related to sex-based differences and whose research directly impacts the goals of the Center; (2) division chiefs in gastroenterology, urology, obstetrics and gynecology, and psychiatry; (3) directors or co-directors of programs or cores, or individuals who have relevant roles within the Center and (4) clinicians who have made significant contributions to the main subject matters of the Center.
If you are interested in becoming a member, please contact Million Mulugeta, DVM, PhD at mmuluget@ucla.edu.
Members are listed in alphabetical order.
E
Benjamin Ellingson, PhD
Director, UCLA Brain Tumor Imaging Laboratory (BTIL); Co-Director, Center for Computer Vision and Imaging Biomarkers; Professor, Department of Radiology at David Geffen School of Medicine
As Director of the UCLA Brain Tumor Imaging Laboratory and Co-Director of the UCLA Center for Computer Vision and Imaging Biomarkers (CVIB) his research focuses on the development, testing, validation, and implementation of advanced MR and PET imaging biomarkers for brain pathology and response evaluation in clinical trials. He possess a broad background in biomedical engineering, image processing, MR and PET imaging physics, functional and molecular imaging, bioelectronics, medical instrumentation, and statistical parameter mapping. He has been co-author on more than 100 peer-reviewed original research articles relating to advanced neuroimaging and medical imaging physics. He has wide-ranging experience in designing and implementing multicenter neuroimaging trials. This includes trials in primary and metastatic brain cancers; neurotrauma including traumatic brain injury (TBI), traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI), and degenerative spinal disease; psychiatric diseases including schizophrenia; epilepsy, tuberous sclerosis complex, and other neurodegenerative diseases; and chronic pain syndromes including cervical spondylotic myelopathy, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), chronic headaches, and urological chronic pelvic pain syndrome (UCPPS). He is also the principal investigator for the imaging core in numerous industry-funded therapeutic clinical trials in brain tumors, chronic pain, epilepsy, and schizophrenia.
In this proposal, he will be Co-Lead of Project 2 and will be responsible for the design and analysis of all brainstem and brain MRI experiments, including optimization of protocols for both 3T and 7T imaging. His laboratory will post-process anatomic and diffusion MR imaging data, and work closely with Neuroimaging and Bioinformatics Core to identify sex-related differences in the brain and brainstem within IBS patients and the association with clinical symptoms and gut microbial parameters.
Publications
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/myncbi/1t5OXTmr85Skz/bibliography/50293169/public/
Eric Esrailian, MD
Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Medicine; Lincy Foundation Chair, Clinical Gastroenterology; Co-Chief of the Division of Digestive Diseases at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Dr. Esrailian attended the University of California at Berkeley and graduated with a major in Integrative Biology and a minor in English. He subsequently graduated from the Loma Linda University School of Medicine and completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of Southern California.
He was named intern, junior resident, and senior resident of the year during all three years of his residency training. He completed his gastroenterology fellowship at UCLA where he also obtained a Masters of Public Health degree with the assistance of an NIH sponsored training grant. He is also a graduate of the Executive Program in Management from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Dr. Esrailian served on the Medical Board of California from 2010-2011 after being appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Dr. Esrailian’s primary clinical interests include gastrointestinal endoscopy, inflammatory bowel diseases, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, and functional gastrointestinal diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome. In addition to disease areas within gastroenterology and internal medicine, Dr. Esrailian has a particular interest in the development of biomedical innovations, value in health care, medical education, and initiatives towards patient-centered care.
In 2012, the School of Medicine awarded him the Lincy Foundation Chair in Clinical Gastroenterology. He is closely involved in growth strategy and strategic planning efforts for the UCLA Health System and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He also works to facilitate community engagement with a number of other schools and departments within the UCLA campus and its Los Angeles community partners, and he is on the UCLA campus steering committee for the Centennial Campaign.
Christopher Evans, PhD
Director, Brain Research Institute, Hatos Center for Neuropharmacology; Professor, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA
Dr. Chris Evans is currently Director of the UCLA Brain Research Institute and the Stefan Hatos Professor directing the Shirley and Stefan Hatos Center for Neurophamacology in the UCLA Semel Institute. Dr. Evans is also director of a NIH-funded center – The Center for Opioid Receptors and Drugs of Abuse or CSORDA. CSORDA, with continuous NIH funding for over 25 years.
Selected References:
Gioiosa, L. Chen, X. Watkins, R. Klanfer, N. Bryant, C. D. Evans, C. J. Arnold, A. P. Sex chromosome complement affects nociception in tests of acute and chronic exposure to morphine in mice. Horm Behav. 2008; 53(1): 124-30.
Walwyn, W. Evans, C. J. Hales, T. G. Beta-arrestin2 and c-Src regulate the constitutive activity and recycling of mu opioid receptors in dorsal root ganglion neurons. J Neurosci. 2007; 27(19): 5092-104.
Kho, S. T. Lopez, I. A. Evans, C. Ishiyama, A. Ishiyama, G. Immunolocalization of orphanin FQ in rat cochlea. Brain Res. 2006; 1113(1): 146-52.
Bryant, C. D. Roberts, K. W. Byun, J. S. Fanselow, M. S. Evans, C. J. Morphine analgesic tolerance in 129P3/J and 129S6/SvEv mice. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2006; 85(4): 769-79.
Walwyn, W. M. Wei, W. Xie, C. W. Chiu, K. Kieffer, B. L. Evans, C. J. Maidment, N. T. Mu opioid receptor-effector coupling and trafficking in dorsal root ganglia neurons. Neuroscience. 2006; 142(2): 493-503.