Research Profile

Dr. Waterhouse holds a B.S. degree in Biology from Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pennsylvania and a PhD in Pharmacology from Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia. He was previously at Drexel University College of Medicine (formerly Hahnemann University; MCP-Hahnemann University) from 1986 until 2016 where he was a tenured Professor of Neurobiology and Anatomy. He was initially recruited to the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Hahnemann University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA as an Associate Professor and to assist in the development of a neuroscience research program at the university.

In 1988 he developed and was subsequently appointed Director of the university's first Neuroscience Graduate Program; a post he held until 1994. In 1992 he was promoted to Professor of Physiology and Biophysics with tenure. In 1994 Hahnemann University merged with the Medical College of Pennsylvania and Dr. Waterhouse was invited to join the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy in the newly formed medical school. He continued in his role as Director of the Neuroscience Graduate Program at MCP-Hahnemann (now Drexel University College of Medicine) until 2001 when he was appointed Associate Dean of Biomedical Graduate Studies in the College of Medicine -  Drexel University (2001-06) and, later, Vice-Dean of Biomedical Graduate and Postgraduate Studies (2006-14), and more recently Vice Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies, and Interim Director, Division of Biomedical Science Programs (2014-15).

In 2016 he was appointed Professor and Chair of the Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience at Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine (formerly University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey).  His primary research interest is the neurobiology of central monoaminergic systems, norepinephrine and serotonin, and the actions of psychostimulant drugs. His laboratory has been continuously funded by federal (NIH) and private agencies since 1980.  He has used a combination of electrophysiological (anesthetized and waking animals), neuroanatomical, behavioral and molecular profiling techniques to characterize the fundamental neurobiology of these two monoamine transmitter systems.

Dr. Waterhouse is best known for demonstrating the ability of norepinephrine and serotonin to modulate the responsiveness of single neurons and ensembles of single neurons to synaptic inputs thereby altering the signal processing capabilities of the sensory, motor and cognitive circuitries.  His laboratory has also identified important neurochemical and topographic organizational features of these two monoamine pathways. Most recently, he and his colleagues have been using multi-neuron recording strategies in waking animals to evaluate the impact of psychostimulant drugs on the signal processing capabilities of cells and circuits along sensory pathways and in prefrontal cortex decision-making networks.

Overall, his work has contributed significantly to our understanding of the role of noradrenergic and serotonergic systems in sleep-waking, arousal, and attention; as well as mechanisms underlying stress/anxiety, depression, psychostimulant drug abuse and ADHD.  To his credit are more than 100 publications in refereed journals, over 145 abstracts, 11 book chapters, and one monograph.  He has served as primary mentor for 17 postdoctoral fellows and 30 graduate students and is currently Senior Associate Editor for the journal Brain Research and a reviewer for the Biobehavioral Regulation, Learning and Ethology Study Section of NIH.

Among numerous awards are a NIH Research Career Development Award 1987-92 and the Esther A. and Joseph Klingenstein Fellowship Award in the Neurosciences in 1983.  He was elected as a member of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology in 1996 and promoted to fellow in 2014. 

Research Interests

The primary research focus of my laboratory is to understand the role of the central monoaminergic systems in brain function and behavior. More specifically we are concerned with the anatomy, physiology, and molecular biology of the brainstem noradrenergic and serotonergic efferent systems as they relate to executive functions and the sensory processing capabilities of the organism. These studies employ a broad spectrum of neuroanatomical, electrophysiological, and molecular profiling techniques including single and multi-unit extracellular recording from anesthetized and waking animals, computer based acquisition and analysis of spike train data, mapping of monoamine projections from source nuclei using retrograde tracer substances, single cell laser capture and qRT-PCR profiling of specific neuronal sub-types. The underlying theme of this work is that synaptically released norepinephrine and serotonin operate in mammalian brain as complimentary neuromodulatory substances; regulating the responsiveness of neurons and circuits along sensory pathways and within local networks of the prefrontal cortex that are innervated by noradrenergic and serotonergic systems. As such these systems may play a significant role in the ability of the organism to orient and attend to novel or salient stimuli from the sensory surround and adopt appropriate behavioral responses to these stimuli. The clinical implications of this work include: 1) the neurobiological basis of stress and anxiety disorders including PTSD and depression, 2) clinically approved and off-label use of psychostimulant drugs (methylphenidate) for treatment of attention disorders and cognitive enhancement, respectively.

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