I am an Associate Professor and the Graduate Program Director in the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology. Throughout my career I have gained significant expertise in the field of molecular and cellular neuroscience and pharmacology which built on a background in the medical field in neurology and psychiatry. My overall research goal is to advance the understanding and therapies of disorders associated with nerve function by identifying key molecular determinants of intrinsic neuronal properties and synaptic integration that might be mechanistically linked to the biological cause of the disease. Currently, our approach spans from in vitro to animal-based assays including electrophysiology, high-resolution imaging, biochemistry, biophysics, molecular biology and bioluminescence-based technology for drug discovery targeting ion channels involved in nerve function. Over the course of the past years we targeted the protein:protein interactions (PPI) at the level of voltage-gated Na+ channels and discovered mechanisms of regulation of neuronal excitability on the basis of intracellular FGFs. This research has opened new horizons in neuropharmacology revealing potential druggable sites suitable for the development of novel allosteric modulators of Nav channels. Since at UTMB I have secured three funded R01 grants as PI or MPI and a number of private foundations or internal grants. I have been actively training PhD, undergraduate and high school students in my laboratory. Since 2017 I have also taken over the Graduate Program of Pharmacology & Toxicology as Director.