Levine, Michael S., Ph.D.

Research

The mechanisms underlying neuronal dysfunction in the basal ganglia and cortex in neurodegenerative disorders

Appointments

• Chair, Interdepartmental Undergraduate Program
• Professor, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences
• Professor in Residence, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior
• Member, Center for Developmental Neurobiology (IDDRC)
• Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Studies
• Neuroengineering Training Program
• Neuroscience GPB Home Area

Biography

Our primary research interests are directed toward understanding the mechanisms underlying neuronal dysfunction in the basal ganglia and cortex in neurodegenerative disorders. The research consists of a multidisciplinary approach combining neurophysiological, morphological and molecular techniques. This research has evolved into several major projects:

• Examining the physiological changes in mutant mouse models of Huntington’s disease;
• Assessment of neuromodulation in the striatum as it pertains to Parkinson’s disease and assessment of new genetic mouse models of Parkinson’s disease;
• Examining cellular cortical electrophysiological and morphological abnormalities occurring in children suffering from intractable pediatric epilepsy.

Publications

1. Dolsten, GA, Cofer, EM, Bing, XY, Brack, B, Curlin, M, Theesfeld, CL et al.. 3D chromatin structures precede genome activation in Drosophila embryogenesis. Cell Genom. 2025; :101002. doi: 10.1016/j.xgen.2025.101002. PubMed PMID:40957418 .
2. Hintiryan, H, Zhu, M, Zhao, P, Zhang, M, Barry, J, Nanda, S et al.. Neural networks of the mouse visceromotor cortex. Nature. 2025; :. doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09360-w. PubMed PMID:40866707 .
3. Babu, T, Levine, MS, Acharya, S, Maier, EY, Sessler, JL. Three Is Better than One: A Multimetal Complex that Triggers Immunogenic Cell Death. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2025; :e202514351. doi: 10.1002/anie.202514351. PubMed PMID:40792484 .
4. Östlund-Sholars, G, Lemaire, LA, Levine, MS. A pair-rule-like transcription network coordinates neural tube closure in a proto-vertebrate. bioRxiv. 2025; :. doi: 10.1101/2025.06.18.660479. PubMed PMID:40666853 PubMed Central PMC12262576.
5. Levine, MS, Sen, S, Maier, EY, Mota, M, Won, M, Li, J et al.. Long-Lived Immunogenic Cell Death Induced by a Water-Soluble Redox Active Au(I) Bis-N-Heterocyclic Carbene. J Am Chem Soc. 2025;147 (27):23574-23582. doi: 10.1021/jacs.5c03455. PubMed PMID:40570165 .

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