Meet Our Lab Team!
Principal Investigator
Tim Cope, Ph.D.
Professor, School of Biological Sciences and Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering
Director of Undergraduate Neuroscience
My research interests center on control of movement by sensorimotor integration in the mammalian spinal cord. Using predominantly electrophysiological methods applied in vivo, we study neural signaling by spinal motoneurons, somatosensory neurons, and their central synapses. Our primary analyses include electrical properties, synaptic function, and firing behavior of single neurons. We are actively examining how these neurons and synapses respond soon and long after peripheral nerve injury and regeneration.
Research Scientist II
My research centers on motor and sensory integration in the mammalian spinal cord. Using in vivo electrophysiological methods, my primary focus is on nerve injury and repair, the chronic effects of chemotherapeutic drugs, and intensive care unit acquired weakness following sepsis. Specifically recording from afferents and motoneurons and analyzing the intrinsic and firing properties in response to a stimulus along with synaptic changes to these neurons.
Postdocs
I have a background in neuroanatomical approaches including immunohistochemistry and retrograde tracing techniques in combination with confocal and 2photon imaging. Since joining the Cope lab 4 years ago I have become a proficient electrophysiologist studying changes in motor circuitry specifically in the context of peripheral nerve injury. Recently, I have also developed a project working with a rodent model of Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease which is an inherited neurodegenerative condition impacting both motor and sensory axons ultimately leading to behavioral deficits
Graduate Researchers
Undergraduate Researchers
Recent Lab Alumni:
- Emily Pfhal
- Violet Garcia
- Evelyn Gardolinski
- Oreoluwa Amosu
- J’Ana Reed
- Sebinne Lee