Biosketch 

Brenda J. Claiborne

Dr. Claiborne is a Professor and former Dean of Graduate Studies and Associate Vice President for Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She received her baccalaureate degree in Zoology from the University of California, Berkeley, her master's degree in Biology from the University of Oregon, and her Ph.D. degree in Biology from the University of California, San Diego. She was a Postdoctoral Fellow in Developmental Neurobiology at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. In 1986, she joined the faculty at the University of Texas at San Antonio, an institution with approximately 24,000 graduate and undergraduate students. About 59% of the students are minorities. As a faculty member, Dr. Claiborne has taught undergraduate and graduate courses, has participated in minority student training programs, and has mentored numerous students in research. Dr. Claiborne also served as the Dean of Graduate Studies and Associate Vice President for Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio; she was responsible for all graduate programs and research development on campus, as well as for all research centers and institutes. She was instrumental in establishing six new graduate degree programs, and played an important role in increasing graduate enrollments and research funding. Dr. Claiborne has served on review panels for the National Institutes of Health, and has been a member of the Minority Education, Training and Professional Advancement Committee, and the Education Committee of the Society for Neuroscience. Dr. Claiborne's laboratory recently demonstrated that synaptic activity affects the development of neurons in very young animals, and that administration of estrogen to young and aged rats affects both the structure of brain neurons and behavioral performance. Her research efforts are currently focused on elucidating the effects of aging on neurons in the mammalian brain.