Ege T. Kavalali PhD

Dr. Kavalali studied Electrical Engineering at Bogazici University in Istanbul, Turkey. In 1995, he received his Ph.D. degree from Rutgers University, where he worked with Dr. Mark Plummer. In 1999, he completed his postdoctoral studies with Dr. Richard W. Tsien in Stanford University at the Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology. The same year, Dr. Kavalali joined the faculty at the Center for Basic Neuroscience at UT Southwestern led by Dr. Thomas C. Südhof.

Dr. Kavalali studies mechanisms of neurotransmission and synaptic signaling in the central nervous system. His group focuses on the molecular basis and functional consequences of heterogeneity among synaptic vesicle recycling pathways present within individual synapses. In particular, his work has uncovered the role and underlying mechanisms of spontaneous neurotransmitter release that holds it apart mechanistically and functionally from evoked neurotransmission.