University of California-San Diego · PharmacologyRoeben Neuroscience Lab
Roeben Munji · La Jolla, California
Research Focus
Dr. Roeben Munji's lab at UC San Diego focuses on understanding how blood-brain barrier functions impact the health of the central nervous system (CNS). They specifically investigate how the metabolism of neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin by endothelial cells can influence behavior and neuronal function. Through their research, they aim to uncover novel genes involved in these processes, which may lead to new insights for treating neurological disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.
blood-brain barrierneurotransmitter metabolismdopamineserotoninneurological diseasesendothelial cellsCNS healthgene functionbehavioral responsesneuropharmacology
Research Aims
5AIM 01Identify novel genes regulating blood-brain barrier functions.
AIM 02Examine the impact of endothelial cell neurotransmitter metabolism on CNS health.
AIM 03Investigate the relation between monoamine levels and behavioral responses.
AIM 04Determine mechanisms of blood-brain barrier regulation in neurological diseases.
AIM 05Explore the changes in monoamine signaling in genetic knockout models.
Skills the Lab Values
conditional knockout modelsgene editingbehavioral assayshigh pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC)cell culturemolecular biology techniquesfluorescence microscopydata analysis in neurobiologyWestern blottingRNA isolation
Output against the department
Publications16bottom 2% of dept.453rd of 462
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations2.3kbottom 16% of dept.387th of 462
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.