Mark Underwood, PhD

Dr. Mark Underwood conducts research into the regulation of serotonergic neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus in the postmortem human brainstem in alcoholism and suicide. The studies examine serotonergic neurons directly and define their functional capacity using quantitative morphometric and receptor binding methods.

Dr. Underwood and colleagues are also performing translational studies examining gene-environment interactions and effects on the development of the serotonergic system in the brain of transgenic mice and how this affects behaviors in adulthood. He directs the Laboratory of Molecular Physiology in the Department of Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology where he also directs in vivo imaging studies in rodents using microPET methods supported by the Radioligand Laboratory of Columbia University. He chairs the Columbia University Medical Center Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).