Neuroscientist Joseph
Erlichman has earned international respect for his neuroscience research,
which often involves undergraduate students. He
says these opportunities help them develop skills that will serve
them well long after leaving the University.
Erlichman teaches courses
in comparative vertebrate morphology and human biology.
His current
area of research is the brain's glial cells, which in the past have
been little studied; he's investigating how they provide metabolic
support to neurons and modulate their activity.
The
National Science Foundation (NSF) has Erlichman a $315,000 grant
to conduct research, assisted by two undergraduate students.
They will study the role of medullary glial cells in the regulation
of pH levels, beginning in June of 2006 and continuing for four
years. According to Erlichman, "Undergraduate students participating
in the research will be fully immersed in all aspects of
experimental design, data collection, analysis and interpretation,
thereby providing opportunities for the students to explore their
own ingenuity and creativity within the context of a scientifically
relevant problem.
One of the primary goals of this faculty-initiated,
student-driven research is to establish a mentoring partnership between
the student and faculty member that fosters the student's understanding
of the process of scientific inquiry and the refinement of scientific
questions through experimentation. The students will gain
a clear understanding of the process of doing science and consequently
hone many life skills – critical thinking, plus
oral, visual and written communication – that will serve
them well throughout their careers."
Erlichman's work has been
published in a variety of academic journals, including The
American Journal of Physiology, Neuroscience Methods, Journal of
Applied Physiology and Respiration
Physiology and Neurobiology.
Erlichman earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees
at the University of Colorado at Boulder, then earned the Ph.D.
at Dartmouth Medical School. He has been a postdoctoral fellow
at Dartmouth Medical School as well as a research associate there
and at Wright State School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio.
