405-271-8001, ext. 32064
Education:
- B.S. and M.S. Biology and Physiology (MS Thesis with Honors), Kazan State University, Kazan, Russia
- Ph.D. Neurophysiology, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Anesthesia Research Department, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Select Honors and Accomplishments:
- 2026 Provost’s Teaching Award for Seasoned Faculty, OU Health Sciences
- 2025 Aesculapian Award (nominated by the second-year medical students), College of Medicine
- 2024 Dewayne Andrews, MD, Excellence in Teaching Award, College of Medicine
- 2024 Excellence in Teaching Award, Medical Education Committee and Office of Faculty Affairs and Professional Development, College of Medicine
Teaching Interests:
- Cell Physiology
- Neurophysiology
- GIHB
Research Interests:
We are interested in the mechanisms of regulation of neuronal gap junctions (electrical synapses) during development and neuronal injury. We also study the role of neuronal gap junctions in death of neurons in the developing nervous system and in the secondary, glutamate-dependent neuronal death following ischemic stroke, traumatic brain injury and epilepsy. As a result of these studies, a novel model of the mechanisms of glutamate-dependent neuronal death has been proposed, where neuronal gap junctions play a critical role