Chair: Dr. Ivan Soltesz

The Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology focuses its research activities in the field of neuroscience, with emphases on molecular, cellular, and systems neurobiology.

The UCI campus has been ranked consistently among the top academic institutions, measured by the impact of its research in the field of neuroscience.

The Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology comprises a world-class team of dedicated scientists in both the basic sciences and clinical sciences. Finding out what steers the nervous system towards a neurological disease or towards the repair of neurons, is the task of faculty and staff of the Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology.

The Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology has been growing steadily in the number of its faculty and the scope of their research programs. The department now includes 15 full time faculty members and 15 joint appointees.

Research projects currently underway in our department are designed to discover treatments and cures for: epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, learning and memory disorders, drug addiction, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), deafness and other hearing disorders, spinal cord injury, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, mental retardation and more.


Our research facilities are located in the City of Irvine, less than 5 miles from the Pacific Ocean, 40 miles south of Los Angeles and 90 miles north of San Diego. The Irvine area offers theater, comedy clubs, night life, art museums and many and varied restaurants. Within short driving distances, southern California offers surfing, skiing, saiilng, fishing, snowboarding and many opportunities for hiking. Irvine has been rated as one of America’s safest cities.