Gentry Patrick

Dr. Patrick is a Professor in the Department of Neurobiology in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of California at San Diego. His lab studies how excitatory synapses in the central nervous system are modified in both health and neurodegenerative disease with a particular interest in the trafficking and turnover of glutamate neurotransmitter receptors. He served as Director of Mentorship and Diversity for the Division of Biological Sciences and served as the Associate Director of the Neurosciences Graduate Program (NGP) at UC San Diego from 2013 to 2019.  Dr. Patrick received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1999 after working in the laboratory of Dr. Li-Huei Tsai. He was a Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation and a United Negro College Fund/Merck postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Erin Schuman at California Institute of Technology. Dr. Patrick joined the UC San Diego faculty in 2004. Born and raised in South Central Los Angeles, Dr. Patrick’s lived experience is a testament to the power of access, mentorship, and advocacy. His journey into Neuroscience and academia has presented him with opportunities to leverage his own experience as an underrepresented minority student in STEM to innovate and advocate for systemic change in STEM education. Committed to diversifying the STEM and healthcare profession pipeline by building networks of support and access for under-resourced communities, Dr. Patrick has made a significant impact across the San Diego community.