NPP has an outstanding scientific heritage, built on the seminal contributions of many notable members of the former departments of Biophysics, Pharmacology and Physiology. These include James Black, Alfred Clark, John Gaddum, Paul Fatt, Archibald Hill, Andrew Huxley, Bernard Katz, Ricardo Miledi, and Heinz Otto Schild, whose work led to the development of modern, quantitative pharmacology, the first detailed descriptions of synaptic transmission, and the mechanistic understanding of ion channel function.

Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience

Our work focuses on the study of ligand- and voltage-gated ion channels, G-protein-coupled receptors, and organelles, from structural and functional perspectives to their role in synaptic transmission during health and disease.

Staff MemberResearch Interests
Professor Trevor G. SmartMolecular pharmacology of GABA and glycine receptor-ion channels
Professor Shamshad CockcroftLipid signalling
Professor Stuart Cull-CandyCalcium-permeable AMPARs and synaptic plasticity
Professor Annette DolphinVoltage-dependent calcium channels
Dr Frances EdwardsThe hippocampus in health and disease
Professor Mark FarrantIonotropic GABA and glutamate receptor signalling
Dr Jonathan FrySteroid hormones
Professor Alasdair GibbIon channel receptors and synaptic transmission
Dr Matthew GoldMolecular basis of neuronal second messaging
Dr Brian KingSignalling of the purinoceptor family
Professor Josef KittlerCell biology of the synapse
Professor Neil MillarNeuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors
Dr Guy MossCellular and molecular biophysics
Professor Paola PedarzaniIon channels regulating neuronal excitability and firing properties
Professor Ralf SchoepferMolecules found in synapses
Professor Talvinder SihraMechanisms of neurotransmitter release
Professor Lucia SivilottiNicotinic and glycine receptors
Dr Martin StockerMolecular pharmacology and physiology of potassium channels
Dr Dean WillisMechanisms of physiological and pathological inflammation
Dr Anselm ZdebikChloride/proton antiporters

Cellular and Circuit Neuroscience

Our work focuses on the use of state-of-the-art optical-, electrical- and pharmacological techniques to reveal fundamental mechanisms of cellular and circuit function.

Staff MemberResearch Interests
Professor Jonathan AshmoreCellular mechanisms of hearing
Professor David AttwellNeuron-glial interactions and brain energy supply
Dr Marco BeatoGlycinergic inhibition in the ventral spinal cord
Dr Isaac BiancoZebrafish circuits and behaivour
Professor Maria FitzgeraldThe developmental biology of spinal cord and cortical pain processing
Professor Alexander GourineCardiovascular and respiratory neurophysiology
Dr Andrew MacaskillSynaptic and circuit basis of emotional behaviour
Professor Angus SilverSynaptic transmission and neural computation

Circuit and Systems Neuroscience

Our work focuses on the use of state-of-the-art behavioural tasks, optogenetics, pharmacogenetics, in vivo imaging and electrophysiology to directly explore how cellular and circuit function generates and controls behaviour.

Staff MemberResearch Interests
Dr Francesca CacucciHippocampal neural circuits
Professor Anthony DickensonTransmission and control of pain
Dr Lorenzo FabriziDevelopment of cortical function in humans
Professor Giandomenico IannettiHuman sensory neuroscience
Dr Tara KeckCortical synaptic plasticity
Professor Andy RamageModulation of chemical neurotransmission
Professor Andreas SchaeferNeurophysiology of behaviour
Dr Stefan TrappAutonomic neuroscience and metabolic disease
Professor Christopher YeoHow the cerebellum generates behaviour

Epithelial Biology

Our work focuses on the investigation of the function of channels and transporters in epithelial membranes, in relation to homeostasis and disease.

Staff MemberResearch Interests
Dr Brian KingSignalling of the purinoceptor family
Dr Joanne MarksRegulation of epithelial transport in health and disease
Dr Paola VerganiCFTR in cystic fibrosis
Dr Anselm ZdebikChloride/proton antiporters

NPP associations