The Hoffman group combines molecular, biochemical and electrophysiological approaches to investigate the roles of dendritic voltage-gated and neurotransmitter-activated channels in regulating neuronal development and synaptic plasticity in the mammalian hippocampus.  To achieve this, the lab comprises an interdisciplinary team with expertise in cellular and molecular biology, biochemistry, electrophysiology, fluorescence imaging and computer modeling. These approaches allow us to assay channel function and regulation at the molecular scale in living cells. At the larger scale, we are investigating how mutations or mis-regulation of ion channel function, trafficking or localization negatively affects neuronal function and development. Mouse models are employed to assay the effect of these dysfunctions on learning and memory and in pathophysiological processes thought to have a synaptic basis, including Autism, Fragile X Syndrome and Alzheimer's disease.

Opportunities

Please contact Dr. Hoffman at hoffmand@mail.nih.gov for information regarding the availability of post-doctoral and graduate fellowship positions in the lab. Graduate students may apply through the Graduate Partnership Program that sponsors doctoral students at NIH through partnerships with various Universities, including University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins University, Oxford University (UK), or Cambridge University (UK).

Mailing Address

Molecular Neurophysiology and Biophysics Section
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Bldg 35C, Room 3C905
9000 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20892

Lab phone: 301-402-6772
E-Mail: hoffmand@mail.nih.gov