DAVID DIGREGORIO NAMED CHAIR OF PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOPHYSICS
April 2023
David DiGregorio, PhD, head of the neuroscience department at Pasteur Institute in Paris, joined the CU School of Medicine as chair of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics on Jan. 1, 2023.
At the Pasteur Institute, DiGregorio led a multidisciplinary research team of neurophysiologists, computational neuroscientists, and physicists specializing in optics and statistical analyses. His research program identifies the biological rules governing how synaptic function and integration contribute to the temporal dynamics of neural circuit activity underlying precisely timed behaviors.
DiGregorio’s laboratory is searching for the biological rules governing how communication between neurons at synapses sculpt brain activity underlying temporally precise behaviors. His team also brings expertise in advanced optical and electrophysiological methods that are essential for monitoring, interpreting, and predicting neural circuit function.
The combination of theoretical neuroscience, careful laboratory experimentation using advanced technology, and precise measurement and analysis of DiGregorio’s research program will build on other investments, such as the creation of the new CU Department of Biomedical Informatics, that have been made by the CU School of Medicine in recent years to advance scientific discovery and understanding.
“At the Pasteur Institute, I have had the privilege of directing an initiative designed to leverage multiple disciplines, including immunology, microbiology, cell and infection biology, to explore holistic approaches to understanding the nervous system and its associated diseases,” DiGregorio said. “I’m pleased that the University of Colorado School of Medicine emphasizes such collaboration too because working together creates new opportunities for discovery.”
DiGregorio succeeds Angie Ribera, PhD, who has been a member of the School of Medicine faculty since 1990 and has led the department since 2012. She also serves as associate dean for research education, providing leadership for the School of Medicine’s PhD-granting programs in the basic sciences.