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College of MedicineCollege of MedicineAboutDepartments & UnitsTranslational Medicine and Physiology

Department of Translational Medicine and Physiology

The Department of Translational Medicine and Physiology is the central hub of foundational and translational biomedical research at the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine. Our faculty represent a diverse set of interests, ranging from the neuroscience of sleep to cancer. Their work encompasses both foundational and translational research, extending from cell and molecular physiology to behavioral studies and they employ a full range of model systems as well as human subjects.

Our goal is to make foundational physiological discoveries and translate them to clinical application. To this end, we recruit to our faculty talented and collaborative scientists, and provide them with state-of-the art laboratories and core facilities. We strive for discovery in the function of basic physiologic systems and their associated disease states with an intent to translate our finding to improve human health.

We are a faculty comprised of scientists and clinicians investigating questions of foundational importance in medicine. As our name indicates, we strive to conduct research across the spectrum from basic discovery to application in human medicine.  Our faculty work in neuroscience, emphasizing the effects of sleep and circadian rhythms on health and performance, neuroimmunology, and cancer and reproduction. Our researchers work on model systems, such as C. elegans and Drosophila, animal models, and humans. We conduct work at the cellular and molecular level, whole organism physiology, and human behavioral studies.  The department is the home department of the core faculty in the Sleep and Performance Research Center (SPRC). Our goal is to make new scientific discoveries, work in areas relevant to human health and well-being, and translate those discoveries into clinical practice.

The faculty in the Department of Translational Medicine and Physiology maintain highly competitive and extramurally funded research programs and train graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and medical students in their laboratories. Our faculty participates in several WSU graduate programs, including the Neuroscience, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Psychology, and Prevention Science programs. Our faculty teaches undergraduate, graduate, and medical students, both in the research laboratory and in the classroom. The faculty and staff are also committed to bringing awareness of career opportunities in health sciences to secondary students in underserved areas across our state.

I invite you to explore our website and contact me or any member of our faculty if you have questions about our research areas, graduate education opportunities, or are interested in supporting the work that we do.

Yours in the pursuit of scientific excellence,

Ken Roberts, PhD
Professor and Chair
Department of Translational Medicine and Physiology
kenroberts@wsu.edu
509-358-7516

Areas of Research

Neuroscience of Sleep
Neuroimmunology and Aging
Cancer: Mechanisms and Treatments
Sperm Maturation and Function

Areas of Education

PhD in Neuroscience
MD Program
BS in Pharmaceutical Medical Sciences

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