MSU Department of Physiology

MSU Department of Physiology The Physiology Department at Michigan State University focuses on understanding normal physiology and disease at the molecular and cellular levels.

Research and teaching faculty integrate molecules and their function to whole organisms, including animals and humans.

Briggsies! Today was your day! Your moment! We congratulate our newest alumni from PSL and NEU đź’š  The smiles and celebra...
05/03/2026

Briggsies! Today was your day! Your moment! We congratulate our newest alumni from PSL and NEU 💚 The smiles and celebrations say it all 🎉 Well done, class of 2026! 👏🏻 The world needs you to make your mark 🌎 Shine on 💫 GO GREEN!

Look at all these GREAT SS26 PSL 475 Capstone students and projects! 👀  ……..Effects of Acute Box Breathing on Physiologi...
05/02/2026

Look at all these GREAT SS26 PSL 475 Capstone students and projects! đź‘€

……..Effects of Acute Box Breathing on Physiological and Psychological Anxiety Markers (Salivary Cortisol and STAIT) and Implications for Academic Performance by Isabel Stoller, Tierney Ordway, Jordyn Procissi, Helen Barr ……..Vestibular-Ocular Reflex Training (VOR) Improves Balance and Increases Independence in Elderly Women by Julia Scarpetta, Santa Kalaj, Jocelyn Austin
……..Newbie Gains: How Strength Training Changes Muscle Fatigue by Tyler Hulka, Joseph Walsh, Tisha Saha
……Caloric Expenditure Differences Between Fasting and High-Carbohydrate Diets by Jeneen Daoud, Julia Sanford, Morgan Militello-Gasidlo, James Dubin
……..The effects of caffeine on the heart rate and blood pressure of heavy coffee drinkers versus non-coffee drinkers by Jules Shaman, Faiz Hussain
…..Short-Term Ketogenic Diet-Induced Modulation of Glucose Processing in High-Carbohydrate Consumers by Ryan Hertz Alexa Green Linden Wells
……..Cortisol levels and the biopsychosocial mechanism on muscle hypertrophy by Alexandra Levra, Alexander Casagrande, Trevor Stocker, Cordelia Kraus
………Does Box Breathing KO Glucose Spikes? By Alaina Pabbathi, Elise Yoder, Murphy Alexa, Sophie Bonnema
………Sugar Yay or Nay: Oral microbiome’s pH effects on dental caries by Easton Anderson, Hien-Tran Bui
……….Blue Light Blocking Glasses Reduce Eye Strain- Fact or Fad? By Sydney Mueller, Evan Madden, Richard Colon
……….Effects of Stress on Salivary Cortisol, Reaction Time, and Muscular Performance by George Hebb, Kloie Farago
………..How does the number of chews affect the pH of the saliva? By Ava Xiromeritis, Gracie Burns, Winter Runyan, Brooke Seal

Look at them go 🎓 Congratulations to our newest NatSci alumni from the PSL and NEU majors 🥳  The future is bright for th...
05/02/2026

Look at them go 🎓 Congratulations to our newest NatSci alumni from the PSL and NEU majors 🥳 The future is bright for these graduates. Go make your mark on the world! 🌎 The Department of Physiology is so proud 🥹 GO GREEN 💚 🤍

It's all you today, Kelly! Congrats!
05/01/2026

It's all you today, Kelly! Congrats!

This past Tuesday, Alyssa Vadovsky received the Jack R. Hoffert Memorial Scholarship research award from her mentor, Dr....
03/26/2026

This past Tuesday, Alyssa Vadovsky received the Jack R. Hoffert Memorial Scholarship research award from her mentor, Dr. Jason Bazil, and Dr. Gina Leinninger, director of the MCIP graduate program. Congratulations, Alyssa!

Last week, our undergraduate students in the Physiology Society and Neuroscience Club volunteered at Marble Elementary S...
02/24/2026

Last week, our undergraduate students in the Physiology Society and Neuroscience Club volunteered at Marble Elementary School’s annual Science Night. They were among about 30 groups providing hands-on science activities. Organizers estimated more than 250 people attended the event.
 

Today is your last chance to register for the Foundations of Neuroscience Education Abroad program and experience a summ...
02/15/2026

Today is your last chance to register for the Foundations of Neuroscience Education Abroad program and experience a summer like you’ve never before.

"The program offers an incredible opportunity for personal growth, cultural enrichment, deep academic engagement, and the development of long-term friendship that will leave a lasting impact both personally and professionally,” said Dr. Charlotte Vanacker, who succeeded Dr. Laura Symmond as program director upon her retirement. “How better to appreciate the discovery of anesthetics than by actually lying on an old operating theater table, imagining your expert tour guide preparing to amputate your right leg? Likewise, standing in front of Michelangelo’s David at the Accademia museum sparked a lively discussion about the anatomy of a young man ready for battle, which naturally led us to explore the physiology of the cardiovascular system and the stress response. It’s a powerful, unforgettable experience that really brings history—and science—to life for our students.”

Make it all about you and register now!

Registration closes at midnight. For more information or to register, click the link found in our bio. But hurry, spots are limited!

Questions? Email Dr. Vanacker at [email protected]

There’s only one more week left to say yes to new friends, new places, and taking that leap you’ll remember forever. The...
02/07/2026

There’s only one more week left to say yes to new friends, new places, and taking that leap you’ll remember forever. The Foundations in Neuroscience Education Abroad Program is about learning and living.
 
For neuroscience senior Adelyn Davis, last summer meant gaining fresh perspective, building lifelong friendships, and growing in ways she didn’t expect.
 
“I knew that studying abroad would deepen my knowledge in the sciences, but I was most after how my perspectives would change while and after being immersed in a new culture abroad,” she said. “I’ve learned how to think, not just memorize and repeat. My passions for neuroscience, medicine, and public health have been set further ablaze by this refreshed and freeing way of thinking, and for this I’m endlessly grateful.”
But the cherry on top of it all?
 
“Without a doubt, I have made lifelong friends from this program,” she said. “With those who I knew coming in, I am more confident than before of our long-lasting relationship; and for those I met during the program, I’ve made about a handful of friendships that will live outside of Europe.”
Registration closes Feb. 15. Hey now, space is limited, so apply today and discover what your dreams are made of.
For more information or to register, click the link found in our bio!
 
studyabroad england italy london
 📸: A. Davis
msupsl physiology neuroscience educationaboardspartansabroad globalspartans  studyabroad englanditaly whatdreamsaremadeof hilaryduff msu spartans

There’s only one more week left to say yes to new friends, new places, and taking that leap you’ll remember forever. The...
02/07/2026

There’s only one more week left to say yes to new friends, new places, and taking that leap you’ll remember forever. The Foundations in Neuroscience Education Abroad Program is about learning and living.
 
For neuroscience senior Adelyn Davis, last summer meant gaining fresh perspective, building lifelong friendships, and growing in ways she didn’t expect.
 
“I knew that studying abroad would deepen my knowledge in the sciences, but I was most after how my perspectives would change while and after being immersed in a new culture abroad,” she said. “I’ve learned how to think, not just memorize and repeat. My passions for neuroscience, medicine, and public health have been set further ablaze by this refreshed and freeing way of thinking, and for this I’m endlessly grateful.”
But the cherry on top of it all?
 
“Without a doubt, I have made lifelong friends from this program,” she said. “With those who I knew coming in, I am more confident than before of our long-lasting relationship; and for those I met during the program, I’ve made about a handful of friendships that will live outside of Europe.”
Registration closes Feb. 15. Hey now, space is limited, so apply today and discover what your dreams are made of.
For more information or to register, click the link found in our bio!
 
studyabroad england italy london
 📸: A. Davis

Join us tomorrow from 4–5 p.m. in BPS Room 1425 for our Department’s Hoffert Research Award presentations!Featured prese...
01/29/2026

Join us tomorrow from 4–5 p.m. in BPS Room 1425 for our Department’s Hoffert Research Award presentations!

Featured presenters:
• Lulu An (Wang Lab), “The Neurobiology of Forgetting”
• Kelly Bonekamp (Crandall Lab), “Presynaptic Control of Top-Down Signaling in Neocortical Layer I”
• Brett Trombley (Mohr Lab), “Steroids and Müller Cell Function During Hyperglycemic and Inflammatory Stress”
• Alyssa Vadovsky (Bazil Lab), “Explaining Susceptibility to Calcium Overload in Male Cardiac Mitochondria”

The Jack R. Hoffert Research Award is a competitive, merit-based award recognizing outstanding research by students in the Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology (MCIP) Ph.D. program. As part of the selection process, applicants deliver a brief research presentation highlighting their scientific progress and impact.

Come and learn more about the innovative physiology research being conducted by our graduate students!

It is always a pleasure to celebrate our graduates from the Department of Physiology đź’š Congratulations to our newest alu...
12/13/2025

It is always a pleasure to celebrate our graduates from the Department of Physiology 💚 Congratulations to our newest alumni with degrees in Physiology or Neuroscience 🎉 We love to represent both Natural Science and Lyman Briggs! Go green! Go white! Go forth and change the world for the better. We are so proud of your hard work and curiosity. Spartans for life!

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567 Biomedical & Physical Sciences Building
East Lansing, MI
48824

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

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