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.
T
Yvette Tache, PhD
Co-Director, UCLA Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress; Director, Cure: Animal Models Core; Professor, Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Dr. Yvette Taché is a recognized leading expert in brain-gut interactions and the role of peptides in the underlying mechanisms of stress-related gut dysfunction. She and her research team reported some of the pioneer work on the central actions of peptides to influence digestive function and feeding behavior. Her laboratory provided the preclinical ground work showing potential benefit of blocking corticotropin releasing signaling pathways in experimental models of irritable bowel syndrome.
Dr. Taché joined the Digestive Disease Division in 1982 and as been appointed Professor-in Residence in 1987. Professor Taché developed this field of research through continued competitive grants obtained from the National Institute of Health (NIH) since 1982 as well as Veteran Administration (VA) Merit Award since 2000. She is Director of the Animal core within the Digestive Disease Center and a co-Director of the UCLA Gail and Gerald Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress. She published 370 peer-reviewed articles articles and 160 reviews and edited several books. Professor Taché has been the recipients of NIH MERIT Award, the Distinguished Research Award in Gastrointestinal Physiology from the American Physiological Society, the Janssen Award for Basic Research in Gastrointestinal Motility, the Senior Investigator–Basic Science Award from the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders, the Research Scientist Award from the Functional Brain-Gut Research Group, the Outstanding American Gastroenterology Association Women in Sciences , the Research Mentor Award, AGA Institute Council Neurogastroenterology & Motility Section and senior VA Research Career Scientist Award. She served on NIH and VA Administration grant application review panels and editorial boards of many peptides, integrative physiology and stress-related journal and is an associated editor of PLoS One.
Kirsten Tillisch, MD
Director, Mind Body Research Program, G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience; Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Dr. Kirsten Tillisch completed her undergraduate work at the Otis Institute of Parsons School of Design, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honors. She obtained her medical degree from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and was elected to the medical honor society Alpha Omega Alpha. She continued on at UCLA to complete her training in internal medicine and gastroenterology, graduating in 2003. Her clinical interests are functional bowel disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome, functional dyspepsia, and cyclic vomiting syndrome. Her research interests include brain-gut interactions , the effects of nonpharmacological therapies on functional gastrointestinal disorders, and pharmacological treatment of irritable bowel syndrome. Her recent research projects include defining resting state brain dysfunction in irritable bowel syndrome patients, evaluating the role of gut microbiota modulation on emotional processing in the brain, and assessment of neurokinin-1 receptor antagonists effects on the gut and brain in irritable bowel syndrome. She is a member of the Neuroimaging Program of the Gail and Gerald Oppenheimer Family Center for Neurobiology of Stress.
Selected References:
Mayer EA, Tillisch K, Gupta A. Gut/brain axis and the microbiota. J Clin Invest. 2015 Mar 2;125(3):926-38. doi: 10.1172/JCI76304. Epub 2015 Feb 17. Review. PubMed PMID: 25689247; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4362231.
Mayer EA, Knight R, Mazmanian SK, Cryan JF, Tillisch K. Gut microbes and the brain: paradigm shift in neuroscience. J Neurosci. 2014 Nov 12;34(46):15490-6. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3299-14.2014. Review. PubMed PMID: 25392516; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4228144.
Mayer EA, Padua D, Tillisch K. Altered brain-gut axis in autism: comorbidity or causative mechanisms? Bioessays. 2014 Oct;36(10):933-9. doi: 10.1002/bies.201400075. Epub 2014 Aug 22. Review. PubMed PMID: 25145752.
Tillisch K, Labus JS. Neuroimaging the microbiome-gut-brain axis. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2014;817:405-16. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-0897-4_18. Review. PubMed PMID: 24997044.
Tillisch K. The effects of gut microbiota on CNS function in humans. Gut Microbes. 2014 May-Jun;5(3):404-10. doi: 10.4161/gmic.29232. Epub 2014 May 16. Review. PubMed PMID: 24838095; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4153780.
Tillisch K, Labus J, Kilpatrick L, Jiang Z, Stains J, Ebrat B, Guyonnet D, Legrain-Raspaud S, Trotin B, Naliboff B, Mayer EA. Consumption of fermented milk product with probiotic modulates brain activity. Gastroenterology. 2013 Jun;144(7):1394-401, 1401.e1-4. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2013.02.043. Epub 2013 Mar 6. PubMed PMID: 23474283; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3839572.
Jennie Tsao, PhD
Director of Pediatric Pain Research; Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics, UCLA
Dr. Jennie C. I. Tsao completed her PhD in Clinical Psychology at UCLA and is currently a Professor of Pediatrics in the UCLA Children’s Pain & Comfort Care Program. Dr. Tsao’s research interests center on the relationships among pain, anxiety, and health outcomes, including pain-related functioning and utilization of conventional and complementary/alternative healthcare. Dr. Tsao’s research is particularly focused on the laboratory pain models in relation to acute and chronic/recurrent pain, as well as on parent-child pain relationships.