WiSM - UGST112 Lab Tours!!!

Libuda Lab

Department of Biology

Utilizing molecular genetics, live and fixed imaging, super-resolution and high-resolution microscopy, CRISPR-Cas9 genome engineering, genomics, and biochemistry, the Libuda lab studies the molecular mechanisms behind how DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) are made and repaired during sperm and egg development to ensure genomic integrity and accurate chromosome segregation through generations.  

Gardner Lab

Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Advancement

The Gardner Lab studies the brain regions responsible for planning and performing complex motor sequences, such as dancing and speech.  Songbirds have specialized regions for learning and planning song, and we study them to understand how the brain cells in these areas work together to coordinate sequences. As part of the Bioengineering Department, the Gardner Lab also designs and builds custom devices to measure brain activity.  By measuring and understanding how brains generate these patterns, we can better understand what underlies neurodegenerative disorders, informing treatment development.

Soil-Plant-Atmosphere (SPA) Lab

Ecology

The Soil-Plant-Atmosphere (SPA) Lab research combines theory, experiments, and real-world observations to create new strategies for conservation, ecosystem management, and restoration. Students in our lab gain hands-on experience through fieldwork, lab experiments, and computer modeling. We collaborate with scientists and communities around the world to better understand the causes of climate change and to help reduce its impacts.

RESTORATION AND COMMUNITY ECOLOGY LAB (Hallett Lab, Biology and Environmental Science)

Biology and Environmental Science

The UN has declared a coming Decade of Ecological Restoration, but amidst enthusiasm there is growing uncertainty of what restoration means in a human-dominated age. Global changes - climate change, nitrogen enrichment, and species invasions - can turn restoration goals into moving targets. The Hallett Lab aims to produce usable science to improve restoration outcomes. We use a combination of long-term data analysis, population modeling and field experiments, and work across a variety of systems, including working rangelands, serpentine grasslands, oak woodlands, alpine and rivers.

Brozek Lab

Chemistry

The Brozek lab is a group of synthetic chemists who look at the properties of novel porous materials called metal-organic frameworks. They investigate the dynamics of these materials, electrochemical properties, and fundamentals of their nucleation and growth to make nanocrystals. These materials have potential applications in chemical storage, catalysis, filtration, and much more!  

Niell Lab

Biology/Neuroscience

Research in the Niell lab is focused on understanding how the visual system performs the computations underlying our perception of the natural world, and how this enables different types of behaviors. We are pursuing this in three main branches of research : Visual processing and brain states, Natural visual behavior, and Neural circuits for vision in the octopus.

The Action Control Lab (Dr. Greenhouse and Dr. Swann)

Human Physiology

The Action Control Lab (Dr. Ian Greenhouse) and the Swann Lab (Dr. Nicki Swann) research how the brain controls movement in both health and disease. The Action Control Lab focuses on how we start and stop our movements, while the Swann Lab studies how brain networks break down in movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease. Using tools such as behavioral testing, brain stimulation, neuroimaging, and electrophysiology, the labs take complementary approaches to reveal the physiological foundations of human movement.

mcCormick Lab

Biology/Neuroscience

By examining how neurons operate electically, and how they talk to each other chemically, we are uncovering the neural circuits responsible for behavior. We are particularly interested in the neural circuits that transforms a sensory input into a decision that is then implemented in an action. We find great hope that revealing these neural circuits will increase our understanding of not only the ordered, but also the disordered, human brain.

Oregon IONs Lab

Quantum Mechanics

The Oregon Ions study quantum information using trapped ions, which is a leading platform for making quantum computers. We use lasers and oscillating electric and magnetic fields to probe the external motional and internal electronic states of individual calcium ions and develop tools and methods to further understand how to control quantum states. We also have a variety of molecular spectroscopy experiments, including one involved in the search for Dark Matter.   

Louca Lab

Microbial Ecology and Evolution

The Louca lab studies the ecology and evolution of Bacteria and Archaea, the most ancient and the most ubiquitous form of life on Earth. Their metabolism drives biogeochemical fluxes in virtually every ecosystem and has shaped Earth's surface chemistry over billions of years. In our lab we focus on how these microorganisms interact with their environment to drive biogeochemical fluxes and, reciprocally, how this interaction affects microbial diversity. In addition, we are interested in understanding microbial evolutionary dynamics over geological time scales.

Miller Lab

Biology/ Neuroscience

In the Miller Lab, we are interested in understanding the building blocks of how the nervous system develops and functions. Brain cells, called neurons, talk to each other at specialized sites, called synapses. Chemical synapses release neurotransmitters, like dopamine, but the brain also uses another synapse, called electrical synapses. These synapses are broadly used, but we know very little about how they are formed, used or maintained. Work in the Miller lab uses zebrafish as a model organism to identify the molecules that build and maintain electrical synapses. Our goal is to uncover the basics of how electrical synapses are built so we can understand what may go wrong in different disease states.

Social and Affective Neuroscience (SAN) Lab 

Center for Translational Neuroscience 

The mission of the SAN Lab is to generate knowledge about goals, motivation, and self-regulation using tools from psychology and neuroscience and translate that knowledge to inform pressing social issues. The purpose of this work is to enrich society and drive innovation in theory, methods, and applications. Current projects focus on cigarette smoking cessation, future self-perception, and goal pursuit.