Welcome Two New Faculty Members

Pictured: Ronald Kim (left); Mala Ananth (right) 

This fall, we welcomed two new faculty members to the UGA Cellular Biology Department this fall. Both come to UGA with impressive experiences and research emphases. Dr. Ronald Kim and Dr. Mala Ananth both join our faculty as associate professors. 

Ronald Kim holds an extensive background in multidisciplinary discovery and innovation. As a graduate student at UNC Chapel Hill, Kim utilized rodent models of cocaine self-administration to investigate maladaptation in nucleus accumbens astroglial signaling associated with motivation to seek drugs of abuse. Postdoctoral, he continued on to work with the NIH to examine the role of ventral pallidal (VP) cholinergic neurons in innate motivated behaviors. In discussion of his specialties and goals for his research, Kim noted, "Bidirectional communication between neurons and astro­cytes is critical for the maintenance and function of neural circuits. Our goal is to understand how disruptions in neuron-astrocyte communi­cation leads to the develop­ment of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. Specifically, I am interested in how astrocytes interact with cholinergic signaling to mediate motivated behaviors." 

As for Mala Ananth, she ventures to discover the why and how our brains are consistently changing. Within her field of research, Ananth’s goal is to identify factors that underlie the differential resilience and vulnerability of brain circuits across the lifespan. “I am interested in identifying factors that underlie the differential resilience and vulnerability of brain circuits across lifespan. As the primary input-output structure to the hippocampus and a critical mediator of cortico-hippocampal communication, the entorhinal cortex (EC) is uniquely poised to affect cognition. Using a cross­ species, multi-modal approach, our goal is to investigate how EC susceptibility contributes to developmental, psychiatric, and degenerative disorders. In complementary studies, we will investigate how a resilient EC leads to long-term, intact cognition across lifespan,” Ananth said.  

We are thrilled to have their expertise and look forward to the impact they will make through research, mentorship, and collaboration. Please join us in giving them a warm welcome to the Cell Biology community!