CoNDA Committees
Advisory Committee
William Mobley, MD, PhD
Dr. William Mobley is the Chair of Department of Neurosciences at University of California San Diego. Dr. Mobley is a clinician and researcher who is internationally known for his work on degenerative diseases of the central nervous system such as Alzheimer’s disease and the neurobiology of Down syndrome. Dr. Mobley serves as the Chair of the CoNDA Center's External Advisory Committee.
Patricia Reuter-Lorenz, PhD
Dr. Patricia Reuter-Lorenz is the Chair of the Department of Psychology and the Michael I. Posner Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Michigan. Dr. Reuter-Lorenz serves as a member of the CoNDA Center’s External Advisory Committee. Her research investigates how aging affects the neural and cognitive mechanisms of attention, working memory and executive control.
Rick Bevins, PhD
Dr. Rick Bevins is the Chair of Department of Psychology at University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Dr. Bevins is also the director of the Rural Drug addiction Research Center, another COBRE center in NE. Dr. Bevins’ expertise is in neuroscience, pharmacology and animal learning and behavior. Dr. Bevins uses preclinical animal models to elucidate the behavioral, neural, and pharmacological factors involved in the etiology of drug abuse.
Qian-Quan Sun, PhD
Dr. Qian-Quan Sun is a Professor in the Department of Zoology and Physiology and the Neuroscience Program at the University of Wyoming. Dr. Sun is the Director of the Laboratory of Neural Development and Learning, with a main research interest in understanding the adaptive changes in the properties of neural circuits at multiple spatial levels during the sensitive-periods of neurodevelopment, and maladaptive changes associated with disease states. Dr. Sun is also the Principle Investigator of the Wyoming Sensory Biology Center (SBC) COBRE.
Kenneth Bayles, PhD
Dr. Kenneth W. Bayles received his training in bacterial genetics at Kansas State University, where he earned his PhD in 1989 for his studies of toxin production by the Gram-positive pathogen, Staphylococcus aureus. He then performed postdoctoral research at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, examining the regulatory response to DNA damage in Bacillus subtilis and S. aureus. After nine years as a faculty member at the University of Idaho, he moved to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, where he became the founding director of the Center for Staphylococcal Research and combined the talents of several investigators to focus on the role of Staphylococcal biofilm in the development of disease. In 2011, Dr. Bayles was promoted to associate vice chancellor for basic science research at UNMC. He then served as the associate vice chancellor for research and creative activity at the University of Nebraska at Omaha from 2018-22. He was named vice chancellor for research at UNMC in 2022.
Jennifer Blackford, PhD
Dr. Jenni Blackford is the Hattie B. Munroe Endowed Chair and Associate Dean of Research at the Munroe-Meyer Institute. She is also a Professor of Neurological Sciences, Pediatrics and Psychology. Blackford obtained her doctorate in developmental psychology with minors in quantitative psychology and developmental disabilities from Vanderbilt University. She obtained post-doctoral training in neuroimaging and genetics, supported by a National Institute of Mental Health Mentored Career Development Award. Blackford's research program aims to identify and characterize the neurobiological basis of anxiety across the lifespan and the role of anxiety neurocircuitry in people with psychiatric disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol use disorders and schizophrenia. The long term goal of her research program is to use these discoveries to develop new prevention strategies for individuals for children at high-risk for developing anxiety disorders and new treatments for individuals suffering with these disorders. Blackford’s research has been funded by multiple federal agencies including the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Mentoring Committee
Howard Fox, MD, PhD
Dr. Howard Fox is the Senior Associate Dean of Research & Development in the College of Medicine and a Professor in the Department of Neurological Science at UNMC. He serves as a Supervisory Committee member for the CoNDA Center.
Jeff French, PhD
Dr. Jeff French is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at UNO. He serves as a member of the CoNDA Center’s Supervisory Committee. His research areas include reproductive physiology and behavior as well as vocal communication in primates.
Wallace Thoreson, PhD
Dr. Wallace Thoreson is a Professor of Ophthalmology at UNMC, specializing in Retinal Physiology. He serves on the CoNDA’s Internal Advisory Committee and as a mentor to Dr. Peng Zhong. Dr. Thoreson’s lab combines state-of-the-art electrophysiological and imaging techniques to study the physiology of retinal neurons in vision.
Peter Steyger, PhD
Dr. Peter Steyger is a Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Creighton University. He is also the Director of the Dr. Richard J. Bellucci Translational Hearing Center COBRE. His unique expertise in mechanisms of iatrogenic hearing loss originates from acquiring hearing loss via treatment with the life-saving aminoglycosides when afflicted with bacterial meningitis as an infant. Dr. Steyger recognizes how critical it is to translate our now wide-ranging collective knowledge in the etiologies of hearing loss and vestibular disorders into efficacious strategies that preserve or restore optimal hearing and vestibular function to maximize the personal goals, familial relationships, friendships and career trajectories of those afflicted with these sensory disorders.
David E. Warren, PhD
Dr. David E. Warren is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurological Sciences at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He serves as an Internal Advisory Committee Member for the CoNDA Center. Dr. Warren is an expert in neuroimaging and brain stimulation, particularly MRI and TMS methods.