Dr. Kevin Wickman

Kevin earned his BA in Chemistry from St. Olaf College in 1991 and his PhD in Molecular Neuroscience from the Mayo Clinic in 1995. After completing postdoctoral training with Dr. Sandra Gendler at the Mayo Clinic (1995-1997) and Dr. David Clapham at Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School (1997-1999), he accepted a faculty position in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Minnesota in the fall of 1999. He was promoted to Associate Professor of Pharmacology in 2005 and to Professor of Pharmacology in 2011. He was named Head of Pharmacology in June 2020 and currently holds the titles of Frederick and Alice Stark Endowed Chair, Distinguished McKnight University Professor, and Distinguished University Teaching Professor.

Dr. Ezequiel Marron

Ezequiel obtained his PhD in Biology (2008) after completing separate Bachelor’s degrees in Biology (2003) and Biochemistry (2005). During this time, and during his first postdoctoral training period at the NIH, his research focused on the pharmacology of opioid receptors and molecular mechanisms regulating ion channel gating. After joining the Wickman lab in 2013, he has focused his research on experience-dependent neuroadaptations in inhibitory signaling, while maintaining an interest in a variety of fields such as genomics/proteomics, structure-activity relationships, and ion channel gating. Whenever possible he balances research with his second passion – teaching. Dr. Marron is also the Manager of the University of Minnesota Viral Vector and Cloning Core.

Dr. Patricia Alvarez

Patricia holds a PhD in Biology with emphasis in Animal Physiology. She joined the VVCC in 2022. In her free time Patricia enjoys crafting, gardening and drawing/painting.

Dr. Shirley (Haichang) Luo

Shirley earned her BS in Pharmaceutical Science from Fudan University in Shanghai, China, in 2019. During college, she spent a great deal of time traveling and studying in Europe and the United States; she became deeply attracted by the mystery of neuroscience and the human mind. She joined Wickman lab in March 2020 and completed her PhD in Pharmacology in August 2024. Inside the lab, she studies neuronal excitability in neurophysiology and neurodegenerative diseases. In her personal time, she enjoys music, movies, writing, and badminton. She loves to drink coffee, milk with coffee, and tonic water with coffee.

Alex Welter

Alex earned his BS in Neuroscience with a minor in Psychology from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN in 2022. He is interested in understanding the neuropathology of addiction and mental illness to discover reliable therapeutics. In his free time, Alex enjoys live music, mountain biking, snowboarding, climbing, and traveling.

Jay (Jaeyoon) Kim

Jay earned his B.S. in Chemistry with a concentration in Chemical Biology from the University of California, Irvine, in 2023, and joined the Wickman lab in the same year. He is interested in the pathogenesis and potential therapeutics of neurodegenerative disorders. Outside of the lab, he enjoys watching movies and sports.

Katherine Oduguwa

Katherine received her BS in Biology with minors in Chemistry and Psychology from Howard University in Washington, DC in 2023. After graduating, she started the MD/PhD program at University of Minnesota. She is interested in understanding mechanisms underlying pain and addiction. Outside of the lab, she enjoys playing video games, reading, running, and spending time with her friends and family.

Praseuth Yang

Praseuth earned his BS in Neuroscience in 2016 and his MS in 2024 from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. He worked on the molecular biology of neurodegenerative diseases using genetic mouse models before joining the Wickman lab shortly after obtaining his MS. Outside of the lab he enjoys tennis, pickleball (despite his chagrin), volleyball, snowboarding, video and board games, and spending time with friends and family