Prior to accepting his postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Jerrel Yakel at NIEHS, Oliver Goral received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Biophysics from the University of Jena (Germany) and completed postdoctoral training at the University of Iowa. His long-term research interests include investigating ion-channel function and neurotransmitter release to better understand the role of neuromodulatory effects on synaptic plasticity in neurons as well as how the brain regulates efficient information transfer and computation.