Faculty Bios
Faculty teaching in the University of Vermont's Summer Medical Program are members of the faculty at the university's College of Medicine. They teach the same courses during the regular medical school year as they do during the summer session.
Elizabeth B. Ezerman
Lecturer
Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology
Education: Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, 1968
Research interests: Pattern formation and development of specific neuron-target interactions in the nervous system.
"I am interested in factors that influence the development of appropriate axon pathways in the central and peripheral nervous systems. The model system used is the preganglionic sympathetic system. With Dr. Cynthia Forehand, I am involved in experiments using double labeling (fluorescent dextran amines and fluorescent carbocyanine dyes) of the developing sympathetic chain in chick and rodent to study the development of specificity of interaction of preganglionic sympathetics with their targets."
More information and publications: website
Robert Low
Professor
Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics
Education: Ph.D., University of Chicago, physiology, 1968; postdoctoral fellow in biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1968-70
Research interests: Cell biology of remodeling tissues (lung, heart, skeletal muscle); molecular regulation of smooth muscle contractile protein expression (alpha actin; smooth muscle myosin).
More information and publications: website
Gary Mawe
Professor
Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology
Education: Ph.D., Ohio State University, 1984; postdoctoral training, Columbia University
Research interests: Neural regulation of gastrointestinal function; studies of the modulation of ganglionic and smooth muscle activity by neural, hormonal, and immune-mediated inputs; pharmaco-electrophysiological (intracellular and patch clamp recording) and immunohistochemical approaches.
"Neurons in the wall of the intestines control how the gut reacts to an ingested meal, and they regulate the processes of digestion, nutrient absorption, and waste elimination. In states of inflammation, such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, various features of gut function, including motility, secretion, and sensitivity are altered. As nerve cells of the bowel regulate all of these functions, it is likely that changes in these neurons cause the symptoms that lead to so much suffering in these individuals. Discoveries in gut neurobiology over the past two decades have provided us with a solid understanding of the components that make up gut reflex circuits, and how these neurons function under normal physiological conditions. We are now examining what changes occur in various parts of the reflex circuits and the mechanisms responsible for these changes."
More information and publications: website
Victor May
Professor
Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology
Education: Ph.D., Northwestern University, 1983; postdoctoral training, Johns Hopkins University
Research interests: Regulation of neuronal peptide and transmitter biosynthesis and secretion; neuronal phenotype plasticity.
"Recently, our work has focused on the roles of presynaptic signal modulation of superior cervical ganglion (SCG) functions. We demonstrated that preganglionic neurons in the spinal cord projecting to the SCG express the bioactive peptide pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP). Further investigations have identified and localized the specific isoforms of the PACAP-selective PAC1 receptor, a putative seven transmembrane G-protein-coupled receptor, expressed by sympathetic neurons. In SCG neurons, these receptors are coupled to the activation of multiple intracellular signaling pathways; we are currently characterizing the mechanisms by which PACAP activation of these second messenger pathways regulates sympathetic neuron development, function, neurophenotypic plasticity."
More information and publications: website
John McCormack
Professor Emeritus
Department of Pharmacology
Education: Dr. McCormack earned a Ph.D. in pharmacology at Yale University in 1964. His post-doctoral research was completed in the laboratory of Professor Adrien Albert at the John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
Dr. McCormack has served on the Developmental Therapeutics and the Cancer Biology-Immunology Committees of the National Cancer Institute and on a Scientific Advisory Committee (Chemotherapy and Hematology) of the American Cancer Society. He also has served on the Research and Clinical Investigations Committee of the American Cancer Society and on review commitees of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. His research activities have been supported by grants and contracts from the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society and other organizations.
Research interests: Dr. McCormack's primary research interests have been in the medicinal chemistry and pharmacokinetics of compounds under development as chemotherapeutic agents for use in cancer and certain viral diseases. Among the types of compounds investigated in his laboratory are nitrogen heterocyclic compounds of the azanapthalene type and modified oligodeoxynucleotides. Recent research activities include the development and application of novel chemical and biochemical methods for the analysis of anticancer and antiviral drugs.
More information and publications: website
