Dr. Moss has been a faculty member in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics since 2014. He earned his B.Sc. (Hons.) in Physiology and Pharmacology from the University of Southampton and his Ph.D. in Pharmacology from University College London. He completed postdoctoral fellowships at the California Institute of Technology (Division of Biology) and at Case Western Reserve University (Dept. of Physiology and Biophysics), and he also spent a period of his training working in and sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry.
Dr. Moss is a quantitative physiologist with expertise that spans membrane protein biophysics, gas transport physiology, acid-base homeostasis, and advanced fluorescence imaging. He is the lead inventor of U.S. patent US8642352 B2 describing a pixel-by-pixel FRET analysis technique for resolving membrane protein oligomerization states at subcellular resolution and a co-inventor of the Neutral Buoyancy Assay (NBA), a novel digitally controlled pressure-feedback method for quantifying transmembrane gas flux in heterologous expression systems. His research has been supported by the Department of Defense (Air Force Research Laboratories and Office of Naval Research), the American Heart Association, and the National Institutes of Health.
Teaching Information
Teaching Interests
Dr. Moss is committed to quantitative and integrative approaches to physiology education. He is co-course director for PHOL 429 (Biophysical Modeling and Simulation), a graduate-level course introducing computational methods for modeling physiological systems. He also lectures on acid-base transport and extracellular fluid regulation in the Masters in Medical Physiology (MSMP) program and has previously served as teaching faculty in the Masters in Aerospace Physiology program. He facilitates small-group, team-based learning (TBL), Case Inquiry (IQ) and Sciences and Art of Medicine Integrated (SAMI) sessions in the School of Medicine’s curriculum.
Dr. Moss has mentored students at all levels, from high school STEM outreach to doctoral training. He has supervised three Ph.D. students in the department. He has also served as personal advisor to multiple graduates of the MSMP program and recognized undergraduate researchers who have been honored for outstanding work at national meetings.
Research Information
Research Interests
Dr. Moss integrates experimental, proteomic, and computational modeling approaches to address fundamental questions in membrane transport physiology and oxygen delivery. His collaborative projects span the following interconnected areas:
Gas Transport and Red Blood Cell Oxygen Physiology
A central focus of Dr. Moss's research is understanding how biologically important gases (O2, CO2, NH3, N2) cross cell membranes. Dr. Moss and colleagues demonstrated that AQP1 and the Rhesus complex are responsible for ~60% of red blood cell (RBC) oxygen permeability, with protein-mediated pathways accounting for over 90% of total membrane gas transport. This research integrates morphological/proteomic, and computational approaches to create a detailed model of how RBCs exchange gases, which is important for understanding how oxygen is released in diseases like sickle cell anemia, type 2 diabetes, and sepsis.
Acid-Base Physiology and Na⁺-Coupled Bicarbonate Transport
Dr. Moss employs FRET microscopy, pH-sensitive microfluorimetry, two-electrode voltage-clamp, and ion-sensitive microelectrode electrophysiology to investigate the kinetics and regulation of Na⁺-coupled bicarbonate transporters (NCBTs), particularly NBCe1-A. This work focuses on identifying residues conferring substrate specificity and electrogenicity and on defining the role of receptor protein tyrosine phosphatases (RPTPγ and RPTPζ) as molecular sensors of acid-base disturbances in neurons and astrocytes which regulate the downstream activity of NCBTs and other acid-extruding or acid-loading transporters. A CTSC Core Utilization Pilot Grant helps fund Dr. Moss's ongoing studies on gene activity related to pH imbalances in mixed cultures of hippocampal neurons and astrocytes derived from RPTPγ-knockout and Alzheimer’s disease knockin model mice.
Quantitative Fluorescence Methods and FRET
Dr. Moss has developed and applied quantitative fluorescence techniques—including pixel-based FRET analysis, imaging flow cytometry, and fluorescence in situ hybridization paired with immunofluorescence (FISH-IF)—to study membrane protein oligomerization, subcellular localization, and protein-protein interactions in living and fixed tissues. He serves as a FRET consultant in collaboration on projects with several faculty colleagues within the department, including work on ion channel and transporter assembly, trafficking and intracellular interactions. His fluorescence expertise also contributes to studies of STING pathway signaling in glomerular cells in collaboration with Dr. Gonzalez-Vicente.