Chair’s Welcome

Welcome to the Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neurobiology. This department incorporates two long-standing College of Medicine departments with strong histories of excellence at the University of Cincinnati. Our department is pursuing research initiatives exploring how organ systems interact to promote health and impact disease processes. Key areas of emphasis include cardiovascular biology, neurobiology, metabolic biology, chronobiology, computational biology, and membrane transport. We use systems biology and informatics to develop innovative new approaches for our research endeavors.

The department is committed to the training of the next generation of scientists, with a Pharmacology and Physiology PhD program and rigorous master’s programs geared toward preparing students for entry into the biomedical sciences workforce and enhancing competitiveness for medical school admissions. We look forward to a strong period of growth in both our research and education missions, and welcome you to consider joining us in this exciting time.

James P Herman, PhD
Flor van Maanen Professor and Chair

PPN Happenings

Congratulations to recent PhD graduate Dr. Shruti Eswar!

Jan 2026 – Following graduation, Dr. Eswar is working as a Scientist at the Genome Institute of Singapore.

Congratulations to Dr. Verba!

Dec 8, 2025 – Mark Verba (Lu lab) successfully defended his doctoral dissertation "Chromatin remodeler Znhit1 controls angiogenic programs to safeguard retinal and cerebral vascular integrity".

Congratulations to Dr. Howard!

Dec 15, 2025 – Drew Howard (Thompson lab) successfully defended his doctoral dissertation "Structural and functional studies of the anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) procomplex".

PhD students Madison Ringer and Luis Tron Esqueda publish in "Circulation"

Dec 2025 – Madison (shown; Cebrian lab), Luis (Phoenix lab), and collaborators report that Endothelial transcription factor EB protects against doxorubicin-induced endothelial toxicity and cardiac dysfunction.

Dr. Mackenzie new Editor-in-Chief of "Advances in Physiology Education"

Dec 2025 – Dr. Mackenzie introduces himself with an article Advances: Serving physiology educators, scholars, and students.

Latest News

UC professor curates Little Women exhibition to accompany Playhouse in the Park production

2/17/2026

UC professor curates Little Women exhibition to accompany Playhouse in the Park production Full Story

Knitting possibilities with a new machine coming to UC

2/17/2026

Knitting possibilities with a new machine coming to UC Full Story