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Suzanne Smith, NP
Suzanne R Smith is a Nurse Practitioner in the Department of Medicine, Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. She has been involved in mind-brain-body research at the G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience at UCLA since 2005. She worked with critically ill children and their families for many years prior to joining the center. Her research interests include chronic pain, brain-gut interactions and mindfulness meditation as a modality for various pain disorders. She is also an Integrative Health Practitioner in the Digestive Health and Nutrition Clinic at UCLA. Her clinical expertise is in functional gastrointestinal disorders, offering tools to empower and restore a sense of ease and wellbeing.
She has a BA in East/West cross cultural studies, a BS in Nursing and in 2004 completed her graduate work in the Family Nurse Practitioner program at UCLA. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing and the California Association of Nurse Practitioners.
Eric Sobel, PhD
Eric Sobel received his PhD from the UCLA Department of Biomathematics in 1996. However, having grown up in much colder climates, he does not take Califormia’s beautiful and varied environments for granted. So, after a few years in Oxford and Paris, he and his fellow bioinformatician wife, Jeanette Papp, were glad to return and join the faculty at the newly-minted Department of Human Genetics.
695 Charles Young Drive South Los Angeles CA 90095
Igor Spigelman, PhD
Dr. Igor Spigelman joined the faculty at the UCLA School of Dentistry in 1991. He contributes to teaching in the dental school curriculum and in graduate school courses including the interdepartmental Neuroscience Graduate Program. His research on the mechanisms of chronic pain and alcohol addiction resulted in numerous publications and two patents.
UCLA School of Dentistry 10833 Le Conte Ave. Los Angeles CA 90095
Jean Stains, RN
Jean has been with OCNSR for 20 years and has extensive experience in research, as well as many other areas of nursing. She has managed numerous human physiology studies for the Center. Her current focus is in brain imaging, looking for biomarkers in chronic pain syndromes such as IBS, extensive phenotyping of persons with chronic pain syndromes and studying the effects of behavioral therapies, such as MBSR (mindfulness based stress reduction training) to improve quality of life in these individuals.
Catia Sternini, MD
The “Brain in the Gut” and Taste Receptors
My research program is concerned with the neuronal circuits that control gastrointestinal motility and the mechanisms that govern receptor-mediated responses in the enteric nervous system, the “brain in the gut”, and with chemosensing in the gastrointestinal tract. Currently, the main lines of my research include: (1) trafficking and signaling of G protein-coupled receptors induced by physiological and pathophysiological events with an emphasis on µ opioid receptor, the target of opioid analgesics used for pain control, which mediates opioid bowel syndrome and tolerance, and (2) role of taste signaling molecules in the regulation of gastrointestinal functions and feeding behavior. My group was the first to demonstrate that opioids differing in their ability to induce tolerance also differ in their efficiency to induce µOR trafficking, a process that regulates receptor signaling and function. The findings of ligand-selective and stimulation-dependent µOR internalization in enteric neurons are of importance for understanding the mechanisms underlying intracellular adaptations induced by prolonged activation of µORs, which hamper the use of opioids as analgesics. Furthermore, we have shown that µOR activation exerts a protective effect on acute intestinal inflammation through cytokine and NF-KB modulation. Another focus of my research is on the role of taste signaling molecules as chemosensory receptors in the gut mucosa, which are likely to modulate gut function and food intake through the release of signaling molecules by enteroendocrine cells, with emphasis on bitter taste receptors, a putative side of defense from potentially toxic substances, drugs and pathogens. The recent discovery that taste receptors for sweet and bitter are expressed throughout the body and not only in the tongue has given rise to the concept of a broader role for these receptors beyond “taste”. My lab has shown that taste signaling molecules are expressed by distinct populations of mucosal cells, including enteroendocrine cells, which synthesize peptides affecting motility, secretion, satiety and hunger, and that bitter taste receptors are regulated by feeding and different diets, suggesting they participate in the functional detection of intraluminal content and they serve as regulators of diet-induced responses by detecting changes in the microbiota.
650 Charles E, Young Dr. South Los Angeles CA 90095
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Yvette Tache, PhD
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.
Steven Tan, MD, MTOM
Dr. Tan is one of few doctors nationwide with dual degrees, licensures and board certifications in Internal Medicine and Oriental Medicine. His expertise is promoting responsible, scientifically-grounded and effective innovations in applying integrative approaches to all aspects of health care delivery. He is a graduate of the UCLA School of Medicine (AOA honors) and completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at UCLA Medical Center. He obtained his Oriental Medicine degree at Emperor’s College (summa cum laude) and completed an externship in acupuncture and herbal medicine at the Hong Kong Baptist University. As Associate Faculty at the UCLA Center for Integrative Medicine and the UCLA Center for the Neurobiology of Stress, Dr. Tan performed NIH/NCCAM funded research in integrative medicine approaches for stress-related disorders. He has served as reviewer, advisor and collaborator with other investigators and for multiple peer-reviewed scientific journals. Dr. Tan also served on the External Board of Advisors to the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition and Dietary Supplements Research.
9730 Wilshire Blvd Suite 102 Beverly Hills CA 90212
Kirsten Tillisch, MD
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.
10833 Le Conte Avenue Center for Health Sciences 42-210 Los Angeles CA 90095
Jennie Tsao, PhD
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.
Pediatric Pain Research Program 10940 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles CA 90024
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Marmar Vaseghi, MD
Dr. Vaseghi is Assistant Professor of Medicine and Director of Clinical and Translational Research for the Cardiac Arrhythmia Center at UCLA. She received her medical degree from Stanford University in 2002. Dr. Vaseghi completed her residency in internal medicine and her fellowship in cardiovascular disease and clinical cardiac electrophysiology at UCLA. Dr. Vaseghi is board certified in Cardiovascular Disease and Internal Medicine.
James Versalovic, MD, PhD
Priten Vora
Mr. Vora is a programmer analyst at CNSR with experience in computer science, programming, and organization of large-scale neuroimaging data sets from multi-site studies. He is part of the CNSR Neuroimaging core.
10833 Le Conte Ave CHS 42-210 MC737818 Los Angeles California 90095-7378 United States
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Lixin Wang, MD, PhD
Dr. Lixin Wang received her MD and PhD in neuroanatomy at Beijing University Medical School in China, where she taught human anatomy and neuroanatomy to medical students and graduate students. She did 2.5 years research on human skin innervation in the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. She joined the Division of Digestive Diseases, Department of Medicine at UCLA in 1993. Her experimental research focus is on brain-gut interaction in regulation to feeding behavior and gastrointestinal transit under stress, inflammation and visceral obesity with some novel findings and pioneer works. She is the key investigator in several projects of Dr. Taché funded by NIHDDK and VA and 2 center grants by NIHDDK in Digestive Disease Division. Dr. Wang and Dr. Taché joined Dr. Chesselet several years ago to work on gut disorders in PD pre-clinical models and published one of the early papers in the field.
Danny JJ Wang, PhD
Dr. Wang obtained his PhD in Biophysics from the Beijing MRI Center for Brain Research, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1998. He subsequently obtained postdoctoral training in MRI Biophysics and Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania where he has been a Research Assistant Professor of Radiology and Neurology from 2003 to 2010. Dr. Wang also received training for clinical research with a MS of Clinical Epidemiology (MSCE) from the University of Pennsylvania. He joined Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center at UCLA as Associate Professor of Neurology with secondary appointment in Radiology in 2010. To date, Dr. Wang has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers and 13 book chapters/review articles (h-index=40), and has served on grant review panels for NIH, NSF and UK MRC. He has also been supporting the scientific community by disseminating arterial spin labeling sequences to over 150 Siemens imaging research centers around the world as well as the Complexity software toolbox for resting state fMRI analysis (http://www.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/spm/ext/#Complexity). Overall, Dr. Wang’s research can be summarized as technical development and clinical translations of novel MRI technologies with a focus on physiologic, metabolic and functional brain imaging.
Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center 660 Charles E. Young Dr South Los Angeles CA 90095
Zhuo Wang, PhD
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Hong Yang, MD, PhD
Hong Yang is a physiologist who has served on the UCLA School of Medicine since she joined the Department of Medicine in 1987. She became a full Researcher in 2002 and is a member of Brain Research Institute, Center for Ulcer Research and Education: Digestive Diseases Research Center and Center for Neurovisceral Sciences & Women’s Health. Dr. Yang earned her M.D and Ph.D. in Physiology at Beijing Medical University in China. She was a postdoctoral fellow, an Assistant Researcher and Associate Researcher at the Department of Medicine, UCLA where she worked on Brain-Gut Interactions. Dr. Yang’s research focuses on the medullary mechanism of autonomic disorders in metabolic diseases. She is the principal investigator of NIH and Department of Veterans Affairs funded grants for investigating the medullary mechanism of hypothyroidism-induced autonomic disorders. She is also a reviewer for multiple scientific journals including Am J Physiol (E,G,R), Metabolism and J Physiol, as well as an ad hoc grant reviewer for American Diabetes Association, the Department of Veterans Affairs and NIH/HIDDK.
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Lonnie Zeltzer, MD
Dr. Zeltzer is a Professor of Pediatrics, Anesthesiology, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Director of the Pediatric Pain Program at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, and Past-Medical Director of Trinity KidsCare pediatric hospice. She is also Associate Director of the Patients and Survivors Program in the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, on the steering committee of the UCLA Centers for Integrative Medicine, the UCLA Psychoneuroimmunology Program, and the Center for Neurovisceral Sciences. Her pain program integrates complementary and traditional therapies for treatment of chronic and cancer pain in children, and she studies the development of chronic pain, mind-body-pain connections, and the impact of complementary therapies on chronic pain. She has over 200 publications, including her recently published book, “Conquering your Child’s Chronic Pain: a Pediatrician’s Guide for Reclaiming a Normal Childhood,”(HarperCollins, 2005). She has been an invited expert on the Peter Jennings Show, Today Show, Discovery Channel, and National Public Television, as well as others, including a recent filming for the update of the Bill Moyers’ mind-body medicine series (“Good Medicine”) on PBS. She and her husband co-hosted the most widely tuned in medical program for WebMD on the internet. She was also featured in a leading Newsweek story on pediatric pain in May 2004, a September 2004 New York Times article on belly pain in children, a February 2005 Time Magazine story on chronic pain, as well as stories about pediatric pain in the Washington Post and in the Boston Globe in March 2005. She and her program were on ABC’s Good Morning America and the Evening News with Peter Jennings on May 10. She was featured in a story on pediatric pain in USA Today on May 9 and on NPR’s California Report on May 25, 2005.