Lorne M. Mendell
Distinguished Professor Emeritus
John S. Toll Professor
PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Lorne.Mendell@stonybrook.edu
Life Sciences Building
Office: Room 532
Phone: (631) 632-8632
Fax: (631) 632-6661
DR. MENDELL'S LAB IS NO LONGER ACCEPTING STUDENTS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST.
Biosketch
Lorne Mendell was awarded a B.Sc. degree in Mathematics and Physics from McGill University in 1961. In 1965, he received a Ph.D. in Neurophysiology from M.I.T. He was on the faculty of Duke University Medical Center from 1968 to 1980, and joined Stony Brook University in 1980. He served as chair of the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior from 1986 to 2006 and is currently Distinguished Professor of Neurobiology and Behavior. From 1983-89 he was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Neurophysiology, and he currently serves on its Editorial Board. He was on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Neuroscience from 1984 to 1989. In 1991-1992 he was President of the Association of Neuroscience Departments and Programs. In 1996 to 1997 he was Treasurer of the Society for Neuroscience and from 1997 to 1998 served as its President. He is presently Chair of the Spinal Cord Injury Research Board of the State of New York as well as a Director of the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation. His research interests focus on neuroplasticity of the mammalian spinal cord.
Research Interests/Expertise
My laboratory has long been interested in functional effects of neurotrophins in neonatal and adult mammals. For many years this interest was focused on the role of neurotrophins, particularly nerve growth factor (NGF), in inflammatory pain. Another aspect of this research was concerned with the sensitizing effect of Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) on synaptic transmission from nociceptors onto their synaptic target in the superficial dorsal horn. BDNF is upregulated in nociceptors during inflammation and its release into the dorsal horn sensitizes transmission in nociceptive pathways.
More recently we have been studying the role of a third neurotrophin (NT-3) in modifying the synapse involved in transmission between stretch receptors and motoneurons.
Our experiments in spinal cord injury are in collaboration with the International Research Consortium on Spinal Cord Injury established and funded by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.