John Maunsell, PhD – Chicago

 

Professor, Department of Neurobiology Director, Grossman Institute for Neuroscience, Quantitative Biology and Human Behavior

Maunsell’s research is aimed at understanding how neuronal signals in visual cerebral cortex generate perceptions and guide behavior. Our approach is to record from individual neurons in trained, behaving monkeys and mice while they perform visual tasks. Another line of research has been exploring the more general question of how the activity of given neurons contributes to specific visual behaviors.

Web Information

Webpage: neurobiology.uchicago.edu/page/john-maunsell Neuroscience at University of Chicago  BRAIN Initiative Grant – “The role of patterned activity in neuronal codes for behavior”

Contact Information

Emailmaunsell@uchicago.edu Phone: (773) 702-3203 Address: The University of Chicago 5812 S Ellis Street, MC0912 Chicago, IL 60637

 

Biography

Since 2007, Maunsell has served as editor-in-chief of The Journal of Neuroscience, one of the top peer-reviewed journals in its field and primary publication of the Society for Neuroscience, the largest neuroscientist organization in the world. Maunsell brings to the University of Chicago an intimate knowledge of the people, projects and landscape of the international neuroscience research community.

Maunsell’s honors include election to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Academy of Arts and Sciences and appointment as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. Previous to Harvard, he served on the faculty of the ...

OnAir Post: John Maunsell, PhD – Chicago

Kit S. Lam, MD/PhD – UC Davis

 

Professor and Chair, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, UC Davis Professor, Hematology and Oncology, UC Davis Director, Kit Lamb Lab

Dr. Lam is an expert in combinatorial chemistry, chemical biology, drug development, molecular imaging, nanotherapeutics and medical oncology. His laboratory is engaged in the development and application of combinatorial library methods for basic research and drug discovery. Lam is also interested in signal transduction, antibiotics development, molecular immunology, chemical microarray, and proteomics.

Web Information

Webpage: ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/publish/facultybio UC Davis Center for Neuroscience BRAIN Initiative Grant – “Genetically encoded reporters of integrated neural activity for functional mapping of neural circuitry”

Contact Information

Emailkit.lam@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu Phone: (916) 734 – 0910 Address: Oak Park Research Center Building Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine 2700 Stockton Blvd., Suite 2102 Sacramento, CA 95817

 

Biography

Education:

M.D., Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, 1984 Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, 1980 B.A., University of Texas, Austin, Texas, 1975

Residency:

University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 1984-87

Fellowships:

University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 1987-89

Board Certifications:

American Board of Internal Medicine, 1987 American Board of Internal Medicine, Medical Oncology, 1989

Professional Memberships:

American Association for Cancer Research American Chemical Society American College of Physicians American Peptide Society Society of Chinese Bioscientists in America

Select Honors and Awards:

Fellow of American College of Physicians, 2008

Award of the Society of Combinatorial Sciences for pioneering contribution to and remarkable scientific accomplishments in combinatorial sciences throughout ...

OnAir Post: Kit S. Lam, MD/PhD – UC Davis

David Kleinfeld, PhD – UCSD

 

Professor of Biophysics Director, David Kleinfeld Laboratory

David Kleinfeld and his colleagues take biophysical and computational approaches to bridge phenomena at different levels in the brain, ranging from intracellular electrophysiology to multi-cellular recording to animal behavior. This provides an opportunity to discover algorithms and principles that underlie computations within nervous systems. In additional, they develop instrumentation and analysis procedures that facilitate the study of physiology.

Web Information

Neurograd Program webpage: healthsciences.ucsd.edu/education/neurograd/faculty/david-kleinfeld Lab webpage: https://physics.ucsd.edu/neurophysics/kleinfeldcv.php UCSD Neuroscience BRAIN Initiative Grant – “Revealing the connectivity and functionality of brain stem circuits”

Contact Information

Email: dk@physics.ucsd.edu Phone: 858-822-0342 Address: Physics Department UC San Diego

 

Biography

1984 The Neurobiology Summer School, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole. 1984 Doctor of Philosophy in Physics, University of California at San Diego. Dissertation: On the Dynamics of Electron Transfer in Photosynthetic Reaction Centers (with Prof. George Feher). 1977 Master of Science, Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 1976 Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (High Honors), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Senior Thesis: Growth of Ionization Tracts in Pulsed Microwave Field

Research

David Kleinfeld and his colleagues take biophysical and computational approaches to bridge phenomena at different levels in the brain, ranging from intracellular electrophysiology to multi-cellular recording to animal behavior. This provides an opportunity to discover algorithms and principles that underlie computations within nervous systems. In additional, they ...

OnAir Post: David Kleinfeld, PhD – UCSD

Craig Forest, PhD – Ga. Tech

Associate Professor of Bioengineering and BioMedical Engineering, Georgia Tech Principal Investigator, Precision Biosystems Laboratory Facilitator of the Invention Studio

Forest conducts research on miniaturized, high-throughput robotic instrumentation to advance neuroscience and genetic science, working at the intersection of bioMEMS, precision machine design, optics, and microfabrication. Prior to Georgia Tech, he was a research fellow in Genetics at Harvard Medical School.

Web Information

Webpage: me.gatech.edu/faculty/forest Neuro@Tech Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Emailcraig.forest@me.gatech.edu Phone: 404-385-7645 Address: IBB Building, Room 1310

Biography

Education

Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2007 M.S.M.E., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003 B.S.M.E., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2001

Background

Dr. Craig Forest joined the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering as an Assistant Professor in August 2008.  Since then he has established a research program focused on the creation and application of miniaturized, high-throughput robotic instrumentation to advance biomolecular science, along with the fundamental engineering that makes such instrumentation possible. Dr. Forest’s laboratory works at the intersection of bioMEMS, machine design, signal processing, optics, and manufacturing at the frontiers of the emerging bio-nano field. The development of instruments that can load, manipulate, and measure many biological samples at the resolution of single cells simultaneously with better accuracy and reliability than current approaches opens the door to essential, comprehensive biological system studies.

“New directions in science are ...

OnAir Post: Craig Forest, PhD – Ga. Tech

Doris Ying Tsao, PhD – Caltech

 

Professor of biology and biological engineering at Caltech Director, Tsao Lab

Doris Ying Tsao is a systems neuroscientist interested in the neural mechanisms underlying primate vision i.e. how visual objects are represented in the brain, and how these representations are used to guide behavior. She is investigating mechanisms at multiple stages in the visual hierarchy. Techniques we use include: electrophysiology, fMRI, electrical microstimulation, anatomical tracing, psychophysics, and mathematical modeling.

Web Information

Website:  cns.caltech.edu/people/faculty/tsao Lab:   brain2015.onair.cc/tsao-lab/

Contact Information

Email: dortsao@caltech.edu Phone: 626-395-1702 Address: 34 Broad

Biography

Harvard University PhD 2002 Neuroscience (Advisor: Margaret Livingstone)

California Institute of Technology BS 1996 Biology and Math

Research

I am a systems neuroscientist interested in the neural mechanisms underlying primate vision. The central problem I want to understand is how visual objects are represented in the brain, and how these representations are used to guide behavior. To address this, my lab is investigating mechanisms at multiple stages in the visual hierarchy, from early processes for segmenting visual input into discrete objects, to midand high-level perceptual processes for assigning meaningful identity to specific objects, to processes by which these perceptual representations govern behavior. Techniques we use include: electrophysiology, fMRI, electrical microstimulation, anatomical tracing, psychophysics, and mathematical modeling.

Publications

2013

Ohayon S, Grimaldi P, Schweers N, Tsao D. Saccade modulation evoked by ...

OnAir Post: Doris Ying Tsao, PhD – Caltech

Bryan Roth, MD/PhD – UNC

Professor. Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina Director, NIMH Psychoactive Drug Screening Program Director, Roth Lab

Roth studies all aspects of GPCR structure and function ranging from the atomic-level analysis of ligand-receptor interactions to in vivo studies. Currently we are focused on members of the serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) and opioid receptor families and their accessory proteins. Other goals are to discover and develop novel small molecule probes for in vitro and in vivo validation of molecular targets for therapeutic drug discovery.

 

Web Information

Webpage: med.unc.edu/pharm/people/primaryfaculty/bryan-roth-1 UNC Neuroscience BRAIN Initiative Grant – ” Dreadd2.0: An Enhanced Chemogenetic Toolkit”

Contact Information

Emailbryan_roth[at]med.unc.edu Phone: 919-966-7535 Address: 4072 Genetic Medicine UNC-CH School of Medicine Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7365

Biography

Carroll College, Helena MT BA 06/77 Biology and Chemistry St. Louis University Medical School, St. Louis, MO MD, PhD 06/83 Medicine and Biochemistry NIMH Lab of Preclinical Pharmacology, Washington, DC Postdoctoral Training 07/83-06/88 Pharmacology Stanford University Medical Center Psychiatry Residency 07/88-06/91 Psychiatry Nancy Pritzer Laboratory, Stanford University Fellowship

Research

Research Interests

GPCR Structure and Function Drug Discovery

Research Synopsis

GPCR structure and function

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) represent one of the most evolutionarily diverse superfamilies of the human genome. My lab studies all aspects of GPCR structure and function ranging from the atomic-level analysis of ligand-receptor interactions to in vivo studies. Currently we are focused on members of the serotonin ...

OnAir Post: Bryan Roth, MD/PhD – UNC

Fritjof Helmchen, PhD – Zurich

 

Professor, Departement of Neurophysiology, Zurich Brain Research Institute Director, Laboratory of Neural Circuit Dynamics

Helmchen is characterizing the properties of individual neurons in vivo and investigate how synaptic inputs are integrated in their dendrites to eventually cause action potentials that are transmitted to target neurons. Using in vivo electrophysiology and 2-photon imaging we perform both intracellular recordings from individual neurons as well as optical measurements of population activity. Development of 2-photon microscopy techniques for high-resolution imaging in living and behaving rodents.

 

Web Information

Webpage:  neuroscience.ethz.ch/research/molecular_cellular/helmchen Zurich Brain Research Institute BRAIN Initiative Grant – “Multi-area two-photon microscopy for revealing long-distance communication between multiple local brain circuits”

Contact Information

Email: helmchen@hifo.uzh.ch Phone: +41 44 635 3340 Address: Winterthurerstrasse 190 8057 Zurich

Research

Main Goals, Keywords

Principles of single-cell and neural network computation in the mammalian neocortex. In vivo analysis of spontaneous, sensory-evoked, and behavior-related neural activity. Neuron-glia relationships. (Synaptic integration, dendrites, excitability, synaptic plasticity, action potentials, population activity, cortical column, microcircuits)

Group Members

1 professor, 1 scientific coordinator, 5 postdocs, 6 PhD students, 4 technicians

Previous and Current Research

The outside-world is represented in the brain by the concerted activity of neuronal ensembles. We are interested how information is encoded and processed in neuronal assemblies within the local microcircuits of the intact neocortex. ...

OnAir Post: Fritjof Helmchen, PhD – Zurich

Patrick Kanold, PhD – UMD

 

Associate Professor of Biology Director, Kanold Lab

Dr. Kanold studies the development and plasticity of the brain, in particular how periods of learning and plasticity are initiated and controlled. His work focuses on the development of the central auditory and visual system in particular on the role of early cortical circuits in brain wiring. He uses advanced neurophysiological, in vivo imaging, optogenetic, molecular and computational techniques.

 

Web Information

Webpage:  biology.umd.edu/patrick-kanold.html UMD Neuroscience and Cognitive Science  BRAIN Initiative Grant – “Crowd coding in the brain: 3D imaging and control of collective neuronal dynamics”

Contact Information

Emailpkanold@umd.edu Phone: 301.405.5741 Address: 1116 Bioscience Research Building College Park, MD 2074

 

Biography

Awards

2007 Ralph E Powe Award 2010 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation 2013 NOHR/ARo Burt Evans Award

Education

Dipl. Ing (M.Sc.), Technische Universität Berlin, Germany, 1994 Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, 2000 PostDoc, Harvard Medical School 2000-2005 Instructor, Harvard Medical School 2005-2006

 

Research

Dr. Kanold studies the development and plasticity of the brain, in particular how periods of learning and plasticity are initiated and controlled. His work focuses on the development of the central auditory and visual system in particular on the role of early cortical circuits in brain wiring. He uses advanced neurophysiological, in vivo imaging, optogenetic, molecular and computational techniques. His work furthers our understanding of how prenatal and postnatal brain injury ...

OnAir Post: Patrick Kanold, PhD – UMD

Elly Nedivi, PhD – MIT

 

Professor of Brain & Cognitive Sciences and Biology, MIT Neuroscience Principal Investigator, Nedivi Lab

The Nedivi lab, part of the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, studies the cellular mechanisms that underlie activity-dependent plasticity in the developing and adult brain through studies of neuronal structural dynamics, identification of the participating genes, and characterization of the proteins they encode.

Web Information

Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences page: biology.mit.edu/people/elly_nedivi

Picower Institute for Learning and Memory page:  picower.mit.edu/Faculty/

Lab page: web.mit.edu/nedivi-lab/

MIT Neuroscience: neuroscience.onair.cc/mit-neuroscience/

Contact Information

Email: nedivi@mit.edu

Phone: 617-253-2344

Address: Room 46-3239

 

Biography

Elly Nedivi received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Stanford University Medical School and completed her postdoctoral training at The Weizmann Institute in Israel. In 1998, after two years at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, she joined the faculty of the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT. She also has an appointment in the Department of Biology at MIT.

Selected Awards

Julie Martin Mid-Career Award in Aging Research

Edgerly Innovation Fund Award

Dean’s Education and Student Advising Award

Sloan Research Fellow

NSF POWRE Award

Ellison New Scholar Award

 

Research

Candidate Plasticity Genes

To understand the cellular mechanisms that underlie activity-dependent plasticity in the developing and adult brain, we are identifying and characterizing the participating genes and the function of ...

OnAir Post: Elly Nedivi, PhD – MIT

Chris Xu, PhD – Cornell

Xu's research has two main thrusts: biomedical imaging and fiber optics. He is exploring new concepts and techniques for in vivo imaging deep into scattering biological specimens, such as mouse brain; developing new medical endoscopes for non-invasive real-time diagnostics of tissues without any exogenous contrast agent and novel optical fibers and fiber-based devices for biomedical imaging and optical communications.

OnAir Post: Chris Xu, PhD – Cornell

Joshua R Sanes, PhD – Harvard

 

Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University Director, Sanes Lab and Center for Brain Science

Key questions that Joshua Sanes is exploring is how are complex neural circuits assembled in young animals and how do they process information in adults? To understand how these circuits form, we mark retinal cell types transgenically, map their connections, seek recognition molecules that mediate their connectivity, use genetic methods to manipulate these molecules, and assess the structural and functional consequences of removing or swapping them.

Web Information

Webpage: mcb.harvard.edu/mcb/faculty/profile/joshua-r-sanes/ Center for Brain Science website:  cbs.fas.harvard.edu/ Neuroscience@Harvard Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Email: sanesj@mcb.harvard.edu Phone: 617-496-8683

Address: NW 335.30 Northwest Building 52 Oxford St Cambridge, MA  02138

 

Biography

 From PNAS 12/27/04

Mental Fascination

Sanes was born in 1949 in Buffalo, NY, and “wanted to be a scientist when I was pretty young,” he says. His father, who owned an automobile parts supply store, was an avid reader, and there were many books around the house for Sanes to read. Sanes often picked up the popularized science books on psychoanalysis prevalent in the 1950s. Sanes attributes his fascination with mental illness to reading these books, especially while in junior high school. By the time he went to high school, Sanes was already working in the laboratory of a ...

OnAir Post: Joshua R Sanes, PhD – Harvard

Mark J Schnitzer, PhD – Stanford

 

Associate Professor of Biology and Applied Physics, Stanford HHMI Investigator Principal Investigator, Schnizer Group

Dr. Schnitzer has longstanding interests in neural circuit dynamics and optical imaging focusing on: the development and application of fiber-optic, micro-optic, and nanophotonic imaging techniques for studies of learning and memory; in vivo fluorescence imaging and behavioral studies of hippocampal-dependent cognition and learning; and development of high-throughput, massively parallel imaging techniques for studying brain function in Drosophila.

 

Web Information

Webpage: stanford.edu/dept/app-physics/cgi-bin/person/schnitzer-mark-j/ Stanford School of Medicine webpage: med.stanford.edu/profiles/mark-schnitzer Stanford Neurosciencs Institute Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Email: mschnitz@stanford.edu Phone: 650) 723-4027 Address: James H. Clark Center – Room W080 318 Campus Drive Stanford, CA 94305

 

Biography

Education

Harvard University Cambridge, MA A.B. summa cum laude 1988-1992 Physics

Cambridge University Cambridge, UK Certificate 1992-1993 Mathematics Princeton University Princeton, NJ M.A. 1993-1994 Physics

Princeton University Princeton, NJ Ph.D. 1994-1999 Physics (advisor: Prof. Steven M. Block)

Positions and Honors

2008-present Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Stanford University.

2006-present Janelia Farm Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Scientific Visitor Program, Ashburn VA.

2003-present Assistant Professor, Dept. of Applied Physics and Dept. of Biological Sciences; Faculty Member, Neuroscience Program, Biophysics Program, Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA.

1999-2003 Member of Technical Staff, Physical Sciences Laboratory, Biological Computation Research Department, Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, Murray Hill, NJ.

1994-1999 Ph.D. Research, with Steven M. Block, Dept. of Molecular Biology, ...

OnAir Post: Mark J Schnitzer, PhD – Stanford

Serge Picaud, PhD – Vision Institute

 

Head of the Department of Visual Information Processing Vision Institute, Pierre and Marie Curie University

The goal of Serge Picaud’s three-dimensional holography research is to enable Neuroscientists to manipulate neural circuits in order to discover how patterns of activity relate to sensation, perception and cognition. This capability is essential for discovering how communication between neurons gives rise to healthy brain function. These insights will improve our ability to identify effective targets and methods for treating neurological diseases and disorders.

 

Web Information

Webpage: institut-vision.org/-picaud Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Email: serge.picaud@inserm.fr Phone: 33 1 53 46 25 92 Address: The Vision Institute 17 rue Moreau 75012 Paris – France

 

Biography

1987-1988 Max-Planck Institut of Brain Research, (Germany,) Pr H. Wässle, 1990 PhD Marseille University, Postdoc, 1991-1995 University of Berkeley (USA) Pr. F. Werblin. 1995-2002 INSERM-ULP Strasbourg (France) Dr Dreyfus – Pr Sahel 2002 – now INSERM-UPMC Paris (France) Pr Sahel

Research

Our team investigates cellular mechanisms in retinal information processing to take advantage of this knowledge to design therapeutic or rehabilitating strategies. This project has first focused on the photoreceptor synapse with a specific emphasis on its inhibitory feedbacks. We thus demonstrated the presence of GABA and glycine receptors in mammalian cone photoreceptors.

In parallel, we examined the pathological role of GABA when discovering the origin for the toxicity of an anti-epileptic drug inhibiting the GABA-transminase ...

OnAir Post: Serge Picaud, PhD – Vision Institute

Joseph R. Ecker, PHD – Salk

 

Professor Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Investigator Salk International Council Chair in Genetics Director, Ecker Lab

Ecker is one of the nation’s leading authorities on the molecular biology and genetics of plants. He is interested in understanding the roles of genetic and ‘epigenetic’ processes in cell growth and development thereby understanding the complexity of gene regulatory processes that underlie development and disease in plants and humans.

Ecker is one of the nation’s leading authorities on the molecular biology and genetics of plants. He is interested in understanding the roles of genetic and ‘epigenetic’ processes in cell growth and development thereby understanding the complexity of gene regulatory processes that underlie development and disease in plants and humans.

 

Web Information

Webpage: salk.edu/faculty/ecker.html Salk Institute for Biological Studies  Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Email: ecker@salk.edu Address: 10010 N Torrey Pines Rd City: La Jolla, CA 92037

 

Biography

BA, Biology/Chemistry, The College of New Jersey, Ewing, N.J. PhD, Microbiology, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine Postdoctoral fellow, Stanford University School of Medicine

 

Research

Joseph R. Ecker, a professor in the Plant Biology Laboratory, is one of the nation’s leading authorities on the molecular biology and genetics of plants. Ecker was a principal investigator in the multinational ...

OnAir Post: Joseph R. Ecker, PHD – Salk

Sacha Nelson, MD, PhD – Brandeis

 

Professor of Biology, Brandeis University Director, Nelson Lab

Sacha Nelson’s research focuses on understanding the cell types and circuits that comprise the mammalian neocortex, and how these circuits are altered by normal experience and during disease. His work employs a combination of electrophysiology, anatomy and mouse genetics and genomics to define cortical cell types and to identify alterations in cortical connectivity in epilepsy and autism spectrum disorders.

Web Information

Webpage:   http://www.bio.brandeis.edu/faculty/nelson.html Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Emailnelson@brandeis.edu Phone: 781-736-3181 Address: Carl J. Shapiro Science Center, 1-21

 

Biography

B.A., B.S., Brown University M.D., University of California, San Diego Ph.D., University of California, San Diego

 

Research

The mammalian neocortex is our most complex organ and plays an indispensable role in many human behaviors. Impaired function of cortical circuits are central to a diverse set of neurological and psychiatric diseases including autism spectrum disorders, epilepsy, schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease.  Despite their functional and clinical importance, the cell types that comprise the neocortex and the molecular mechanisms that specify their properties and connectivity are only partly understood. We study the development and function of the neocortex in the laboratory mouse using a combination of genetic, genomic and electrophysiological approaches. Question that we focus on include: “What genetic and epigenetic mechanisms allow different cell ...

OnAir Post: Sacha Nelson, MD, PhD – Brandeis

Nenad Sestan, MD/PhD – Yale

 

Professor of Neurobiology, of Genetics and of Psychiatry, Yale University Director, Sestan Lab

Research Interests- the evolution and development of neuronal circuits of the human cerebral cortex. Research in the Sestan Lab investigates how neurons acquire distinct identities and form precise connections in the developing cerebral cortex, a part of the brain involved in a variety of higher cognitive, emotional, sensory, and motor functions. The Lab also studies how these developmental processes have changed during evolution and in human disorders.

Web Information

Webpage:  medicine.yale.edu/neurobiology/people/nenad_sestan.profile Yale Neuroscience BRAIN Initiative Grant – “A Novel Approach for Cell-Type Classification and Connectivity in the Human Brain”

Contact Information

Email: nenad.sestan@yale.edu Phone: (203) 737-2190 Address: Department of Neurobiology PO Box 208001 333 Cedar Street New Haven, CT 06520-8001

 

Biography

PhD Yale University School of Medicine (1999) MD University of Zagreb (1995)

 

Research Summary

Research in our laboratory investigates how neurons acquire distinct identities and form precise connections in the developing cerebral cortex, a part of the brain involved in a variety of higher cognitive, emotional, sensory, and motor functions. We also study how these developmental processes have changed during evolution and in human disorders. We study these problems for primarily two reasons. The first reason is to explore what it is about our brain that makes us human. The most important distinction between humans and other ...

OnAir Post: Nenad Sestan, MD/PhD – Yale

Massimo Scanziani, PhD – UCSD

 

Professor, Neurobioloby section, UC San Diego Director, Scanziani Lab

The goal of Scanziani’s research is to understand the circuits controlling the spatial and temporal structure of cortical activity. Towards this goal his lab uses in vivo and in vitro electrophysiological, imaging and anatomical approaches. Model systems are the rodent’s somatosensory cortex and hippocampus. His lab focuses on the role played by elementary cortical circuits resulting from the interaction between excitatory and inhibitory neurons.

Web Information

Webpage: biology.ucsd.edu/research/faculty/mscanziani HHMI page: hhmi.org/scientists/massimo-scanziani UCSD Neuroscience  Brain Initiative Grant– “Classifying Cortical Neurons by Correlating Transcriptome with Function”

Contact Information

Email: mscanziani@ucsd.edu Phone: (858) 822-3840 Address: Center for Neural Circuits and Behavior, Room 213 9500 Gilman Dr. La Jolla CA 92093-0634

 

Biography

BS, biochemistry, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology PhD, neurophysiology, University of Zurich and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology

From HHMI page

As a child in Rome, Massimo Scanziani grew up on a steady diet of culture. Discussions at the family dinner table revolved around history, literature, and art—not neuroscience. But a deep interest in nature led him to study science and the mysteries of the brain. Although his career path diverged from the marvels of Roman antiquities and the nuances of Renaissance frescoes, Scanziani wants to understand how we think about such things. In short, he wants to eavesdrop on ...

OnAir Post: Massimo Scanziani, PhD – UCSD

Albert Baldwin Goodell – Gray Matter Research

 

Principal Investigator: Gray Matter Research

Goodell and his company Gray Matter Research focuses on Microdrive Systems and Recording Chamber Systems. For the BRAIN Initiative, Goodell and his colleagues aim to develop optrodes, which are implantable columns of lights and wires for simultaneous electrical recording of neurons and delivery of light flashes to multiple brain areas.

Web Information

Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Emailbaldwin@graymatter-research.com Phone: (406) 672-1915 Address: Gray Matter Research 920 Technology Blvd. Suite 106 Bozeman, MT 59718

OnAir Post: Albert Baldwin Goodell – Gray Matter Research

Lihong Wang, PhD – Washington U

 

Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University Director, Optical Imaging Laboratory

His lab reported the first functional photoacoustic tomography, 3D photoacoustic microscopy (PAM), optical-resolution PAM, photoacoustic Doppler effect, photoacoustic reporter gene imaging, microwave-induced thermoacoustic tomography, the universal photoacoustic reconstruction algorithm, frequency-swept ultrasound-modulated optical tomography, time-reversed ultrasonically encoded (TRUE) optical focusing, sonoluminescence tomography, Mueller-matrix optical coherence tomography, and optical coherence computed tomography.

Web Information

Webpage: bme.wustl.edu/people/Pages/faculty-bio.aspx?faculty=19 Washington University Neuroscience Program BRAIN Initiative Grant – “Fast High-Resolution Deep Photoacoustic Tomography of Action Potentials in Brains”

Contact Information

Email: lhwang@biomed.wustl.edu Phone: (314) 935-6152 Address: One Brookings Drive Campus Box 1097 Whitaker Hall, Room 190D St. Louis, MO 63130

 

Biography

Lihong Wang earned his Ph.D. degree at Rice University, Houston, Texas under the tutelage of Robert Curl, Richard Smalley, and Frank Tittel and currently holds the Gene K. Beare Distinguished Professorship of Biomedical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis.

His book entitled “Biomedical Optics: Principles and Imaging,” one of the first textbooks in the field, won the Joseph W. Goodman Book Writing Award. He also coauthored a book on polarization and edited the first book on photoacoustic tomography. Professor Wang has published more than 420 peer-reviewed articles in journals including Nature (Cover story), Science, PNAS, and PRL with an h-index of 93 (Google Scholar) and delivered over ...

OnAir Post: Lihong Wang, PhD – Washington U

Euisik Yoon, PhD – Michigan

 

Professor oElectrical Engineering and Computer Science and Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan Principal Investigator, Yoon Lab

Yoon’s research group realizes self-contained microsystems that combine and process natural signals (such as bio, chemical, optical and thermal signals) as well as electrical signals on a single chip platform by integrating new MEMS/nano structures with low-power, wireless VLSI circuits and systems.

Web Information

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science webpage: web.eecs.umich.edu/~esyoon/ Biomedical Engineering webpage:  bme.umich.edu/people/index.php?un=esyoon University of Michigan Neuroscience  BRAIN Initiative Grant – ” Modular High-Density Optoelectrodes for Local Circuit Analysis”

Contact Information

Email: esyoon@umich.edu Phone: (734) 615-4469 Address: 2400 EECS Bldg., 301 Beal Avenue Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2122

 

Biography

Euisik Yoon received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in electronics engineering from Seoul National University in 1982 and 1984, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1990.

From 1990 to 1994 he worked for the Fairchild Research Center of the National Semiconductor Corp. in Santa Clara, CA, where he engaged in researching deep submicron CMOS integration and advanced gate dielectrics. From 1994 to 1996 he was a Member of the Technical Staff at Silicon Graphics Inc. in Mountain View, CA, where he worked on the design of the MIPS microprocessor R4300i and the RCP 3-D graphic coprocessor. He took ...

OnAir Post: Euisik Yoon, PhD – Michigan

Tim Gardner, PhD – BU

 

Assistant Professor of Biology in Boston University Department of Biology Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering Principal Investigator, Gardner Lab

Gardner studies the mechanisms of temporal sequence perception and production, focusing on vocal learning in songbirds.The song circuit produces stereotyped structure over a range of time-scales from milliseconds to tens of seconds. He also develops minimally invasive electrodes that provide stable neural recordings in behaving animals.

 

Web Information

Webpage: bu.edu/bme/people/joint/gardner/ Lab: http://people.bu.edu/timothyg/index.html Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Email: timothyg(at) bu.edu Phone: (347) 683-7642 Address: 24 Cummington Mall Room 402 Boston, MA 02215

 

Biography

PhD, Rockefeller University

 

Research

Research interests include: Neural circuits, vocal learning, time-frequency analysis, brain-machine interfaces

The Gardner lab studies the mechanisms of temporal sequence perception and production, focussing on vocal learning in songbirds.

The song circuit produces stereotyped structure over a range of time-scales from milliseconds to tens of seconds. We ask how complex songs are assembled from elementary neural units. What are the relationships between patterns of neural activity on different time-scales?

The lab also studies information processing in auditory cortex, examining how auditory signals are transformed as they move from low to high level sensory areas. How are memories for temporal patterns formed?

To address these questions, we develop minimally invasive electrodes that provide stable neural recordings in behaving animals. We also develop high-resolution signal processing algorithms ...

OnAir Post: Tim Gardner, PhD – BU

Julie Brefczynski-Lewis, PhD – WVU

 

Research Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology Director, Brefczynski-Lewis Lab

Brefczynski-Lewis studies how we perceive people we love and people we don’t like, both famous and political, and how training in compassion can affect those perceptions. She is examining the neural and physiological correlates of the liked and disliked persons and how these change after training in compassion. Grudge forgiveness study: fMRI response to the face of the grudge person, as well as cardio and reactive measures will be tested before and after the intervention.

 

 

Web Information

Webpage:  directory.hsc.wvu.edu/UserDetails/36369 WVU Center for Neuroscience BRAIN Initiative Grant – “Imaging the Brain in Motion: The Ambulatory Micro-Dose, Wearable PET Brain Imager”

Contact Information

Emailjblewis@hsc.wvu.edu Phone: 304-293-6898 Address: Radiology Research One Medical Center Drive HSC South, PO Box 9236 Morgantown, WV 26506-9236

Biography

Medical College of Wisconsin, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy 1996 – 2004

Lawrence University, Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Biology with Interdisciplinary Neuroscience 1993 – 1997

Research

My research experience has been in studying the neural correlates of cognitive, affective and social processes. Specifically I have focused in recent years in examining the effects of training in compassion meditation and empathy on brain activation and behavior. I have a publication and a private grant in ...

OnAir Post: Julie Brefczynski-Lewis, PhD – WVU

Michael Garwood, PhD – Minnesota

 

Professor, University of Minnesota Center for Magnetic Resonance Research

Garwood focus has been on developing cutting-edge MRI and MR spectroscopy techniques and on exploiting them in studies of tissue function, metabolism, and microstructure. An emphasis has been on identifying and validating quantitative metrics to assess normal and disease states non-invasively with imaging, and on applying them to learn about metabolism, hemodynamics, and tissue micro-environment.

 

Web Information

Webpage:  cmrr.umn.edu/facultystaff/gar.shtml Institute for Translational Neuroscience BRAIN Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Email: gar@cmrr.umn.edu Phone: 612-626-2001 Address: 1-211B CMRR

Research

For the past 26 years, researchers in the Garwood laboratory have had a focus on developing cutting-edge MRI and MR spectroscopy techniques and on exploiting them in studies of tissue function, metabolism, and microstructure. An emphasis has been on identifying and validating quantitative metrics to assess normal and disease states non-invasively with imaging, and on applying them to learn about metabolism, hemodynamics, and tissue micro-environment. On the technical side, the Garwood group has recently made a significant advancement in the way MRI is performed – a technique called SWIFT. SWIFT exploits time-shared RF excitation and acquisition to preserve signals from water molecules possessing extremely short transverse relaxation times, T2 and T2*. With SWIFT, ...

OnAir Post: Michael Garwood, PhD – Minnesota

Sarah Stanley, PhD – Rockefeller

Senior Research Associate , Rockefeller University and Laboratory of Molecular Genetics 

The technology Stanley is developing would enable researchers to manipulate the activity of neurons, as well as other cell types, in freely moving animals in order to better understand what these cells do. Staley’s new nanoparticle-based technique has a unique combination of features that may enable new types of experimentation.

 

 

Web Information

Webpage: rockefeller.edu/research/faculty/labmembers/JeffreyFriedman/ Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Email: Sarah.Stanley@rockefeller.edu AddressAddress: The Rockefeller University 1230 York Avenue New York, NY 10065 (212) 327-8000

BRAIN Initiative Press Release

Rockefeller neurobiology lab is awarded first-round BRAIN initiative grant

Rockfeller Newswire 10/7/14

A proposal to develop a new way to remotely control brain cells from Sarah Stanley, a Research Associate in Rockefeller University’s Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, headed by Jeffrey M. Friedman, is among the first to receive funding from U.S. President Barack Obama’s BRAIN initiative. The project will make use of a technique called radiogenetics that combines the use of radio waves or magnetic fields with nanoparticles to turn neurons on or off.

The NIH is one of four federal agencies involved in the BRAIN (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) initiative. Following in the ambitious footsteps of the Human Genome Project, the BRAIN initiative seeks to create a dynamic map of ...

OnAir Post: Sarah Stanley, PhD – Rockefeller

John L. R. Rubenstein, MD/PhD – UCSF

 

Professor of Psychiatry and Child Psychiatry, UC San Francisco Director,Rubenstein Lab

Rubenstein’s research focuses on the regulatory genes that orchestrate development of the forebrain. His lab has demonstrated the role of specific genes in regulating neuronal specification, differentiation, migration and axon growth during embryonic development and on through adult life. His work may help to explain some of the mechanisms underlying human neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism.

 

Web Information

Webpage: physio.ucsf.edu/rubenstein/members/bios/jrubenstein.asp UCSF Neuroscience  BRAIN Initiative Grant – “Identification of enhancers whose activity defines cortical interneuron types”

Contact Information

Email: john.rubenstein@ucsf.edu Phone: 415-476-7862 Address: John L.R. Rubenstein, M.D., Ph.D. Genetics, Development and Behavioral Sciences Building 1550 4th Street, 2nd Floor South, Room GD 284C University of California at San Francisco San Francisco, CA 94143-2611:

Biography

M.D. Stanford University, 1983 PhD. Stanford University, 1982 Pasteur Institute, Postdoctoral Fellowship in Developmental Biology Stanford University, Residency in Adult Psychiatry Stanford University, Residency in Child Psychiatry

John L. R. Rubenstein, M.D., Ph.D. is the Nina Ireland Distinguished Professor in Child Psychiatry at UCSF. Dr. Rubenstein graduated in Chemistry from Stanford University, completed doctoral training in Biophysics at Stanford University, and postdoctoral research training in Developmental Biology at the Pasteur Institute and Stanford. Following graduation from Stanford School of Medicine, he completed his residency in Adult and Child Psychiatry at Stanford. In 1991 he joined the faculty at UCSF. Dr. Rubenstein is ...

OnAir Post: John L. R. Rubenstein, MD/PhD – UCSF

X. William Yang, MD/PhD – UCLA

 

Professor, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UC Los Angeles Director, X. William Yang Research Group

Yang is interested in using the mouse molecular genetic approach to study the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. One recurring theme in neurodegenerative diseases is that a widely expressed mutant protein can cause highly selective degeneration of a subset of neurons. The pathogenesis of such selective neurodegeneration remains unclear. Currently, we are focusing on Huntington’s disease (HD) to study the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the disease.

Web Information

Webpage: bioscience.ucla.edu/faculty/x-william-yang UCLA Neuroscience BRAIN Initiative Grant– “Novel Genetic Strategy for Sparse Labeling and Manipulation of Mammalian Neurons”

Contact Information

Email: xwyang@mednet.ucla.edu Phone: 310-267-2761 Address: 695 Charles Young Drive, #3309 Los Angeles, CA 90095 695 Charles Young Drive, Gonda 3506B Los Angeles, CA 90095

Biography

Dr. X. William Yang is a professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He is also a member of the Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics at Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behaviors, and a member of the Brain Research Institute at UCLA. He has served as a regular member at the NIH’s Cell Death in Neurodegeneration (CDIN) Study Section, a Scientific Advisory Board member of the Hereditary Disease Foundation, and a faculty member for Faculty 1000 Medicine?s Neurogenetics ...

OnAir Post: X. William Yang, MD/PhD – UCLA

Arnold Kriegstein, MD/PhD – UCSF

 

Director, Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, UC San Francisco, Department of Neurology

Kriegstein’s research in our lab focuses on the way in which neural stem and progenitor cells produce neurons, and ways in which this information can be used for cell based therapies to treat diseases of the nervous system. He has found that radial glial cells, long thought to simply guide nerve cells during migration, are neuronal stem cells in the developing brain.

Web Information

Webpage: ucsf.edu/directory/faculty/arnold-kriegstein-md-phd UCSF Profiles: profiles.ucsf.edu/arnold.kriegstein#toc-id1 UCSF Neuroscience BRAIN Initiative Grant –  “Mapping the Developing Human Neocortex by Massively Parallel Single Cell Analysis”

Contact Information

Email: KriegsteinA@stemcell.ucsf.edu Phone: (415) 476-0766 Address:35 Medical Center Way RMB-1038, Box 0525 San Francisco, CA 94143-0525

 

Biography

Dr. Kriegstein received BA from Yale University and his MD and PhD degrees from New York University in 1977 where his thesis advisor was Dr. Eric Kandel. He subsequently completed Residency training in Neurology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital, and Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. He has held academic appointments at Stanford University, Yale University, and Columbia University. In 2004 he joined the Neurology Department at the University of California, San Francisco. He is currently the John Bowes Distinguished Professor in Stem Cell and Tissue Biology and Founding Director ...

OnAir Post: Arnold Kriegstein, MD/PhD – UCSF

Kendall H Lee, MD/PhD – Mayo

 

Professor of Neurosurgery and Physiology, Mayo Clinic

The research interests of Kendall H. Lee, M.D., Ph.D., are to develop deep brain stimulation (DBS) for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, tremor, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and epilepsy. Dr. Lee is fascinated with the possibility of combining sophisticated electrophysiological recordings with miniaturized analytical elements (microprocessors) to augment or repair disrupted function of the brain.

Web Information

Webpage: http://www.mayo.edu/research/faculty/lee-kendall-h-m-d-ph-d/bio-00027489 Department of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering: mayo.edu/research/department-physiology-biomedical-engineering Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Email: Lee.Kendall@mayo.edu Address: Joseph Building 4-184W 200 First St. SW Rochester, MN 55905

 

Biography

Chief Resident – Neurosurgery Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center

Resident – Neurosurgery Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center

Internship – General Surgery Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center

Resident – Neurology Partners’ Neurology Program, Harvard Medical School

Internship – Internal Medicine Hospital of St. Raphael, Yale University School of Medicine

PhD Department of Neurobiology, Yale University Graduate School

MD Yale University Graduate School

M. PhilYale University Graduate School

BA – Major-Biology/Minor-Philosophy University of Colorado, Denver

Research

The research interests of Kendall H. Lee, M.D., Ph.D., are to develop deep brain stimulation (DBS) for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, tremor, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and epilepsy. Dr. Lee is fascinated with the possibility of combining sophisticated electrophysiological recordings with miniaturized analytical elements (microprocessors) to augment or repair disrupted function of the brain.

Focus areas

Real-time DBS. It is currently possible to record pathological behavior in ...

OnAir Post: Kendall H Lee, MD/PhD – Mayo

Ivan Soltesz, PhD – UC Irvine

Professor & Chair: Anatomy & Neurobiology, Physiology & Biophysics, and Neurobiology & Behavior Director, Soltesz Lab

Research Focus: Working to understand: traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic epilepsy, fever-induced (Febrile) seizures in childhood, learning and memory deficits. 

Scientific Focus: functions, development and plasticity of hippocampal interneuronal networks. Physiological basis of hyperexcitability. Mechanisms of selective neuronal vulnerability.

Web Information

Webpage: anatomy.uci.edu/soltesz.html UC Irvine Neuroscience Brain Initiative Grant – “Towards a Complete Description of the Circuitry Underlying Memory replay”

Contact Information

Email: isoltesz@uci.edu Phone: 949-824-3957 and 3967 Address: Dep’t Anatomy & Neurobiology 117 Irvine Hall School of Medicine University of California Irvine, California 92697-1280

 

Biography

1983-1988

Diploma in Biology L. Eotvos University, Budapest, Hungary

1988-1989

Ph.D., Comparative Physiology L. Eotvos University, Budapest, Hungary

1989-1990

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, MRC Anatomical Neuropharmacology Unit Oxford University, England

1990-1991

Postdoctoral Researcher, Dept of Visual Science, Institute of Opthalmology University of London, U.K.

1991-1992

Post-graduate Postdoctoral Researcher, Centre de Recherche en Neurobiologie Université Laval, Quebec

1992-1993

Postdoctoral Researcher, Dept of Neurology and Neurological Sciences Stanford University, Palo Alto, California

1993-1995

Postdoctoral Researcher, Dept of Anesthesiology and Pain Management UT Southwestern, Dallas, Texas

1995-1999

Assistant Professor, Dept.’s of Anatomy & Neurobiology and Physiology & Biophysics University of California, Irvine, California

1999-2003

Associate Professor, Dept.’s of Anatomy & Neurobiology and Physiology & Biophysics University of California, Irvine, California

2002-2003

Associate Professor, Dept. of Neurobiology & Behavior University of California, Irvine, California

2001-present

Fellow, Center for the Neurobiology of Learning & Memory University of California, Irvine, California

2003-present

Professor, ...

OnAir Post: Ivan Soltesz, PhD – UC Irvine

Richard Kramer, PhD – Berkeley

 

Associate Professor of Neurobiology, UC Berkeley Director, Kramer Lab

Kramer uses a combination of optical, electrophysiological, and molecular methods to study ion channels, the proteins that generate electrical signals, and synaptic transmission, the process that allows a neuron to communicate chemically with other cells. Many of our most recent studies utilize novel chemical reagents, designed to manipulate or monitor the function of ion channels and synapses. Current Project: Optical studies of synaptic transmission in the retina.

Web Information

Webpage: vision.berkeley.edu/?p=415 UC Berkeley Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Email: rhkramer@berkeley.edu Phone: (510) 643-2406 Address: University of California Department of Molecular and Cell Biology 121 Life Sciences Addition Berkeley, CA 94720-3200

 

Research

Measuring and controlling neural activity in the retina

Neurons in the retina communicate using electrical and chemical signals. We use a combination of optical, electrophysiological, and molecular methods to study ion channels, the proteins that generate electrical signals, and synaptic transmission, the process that allows a neuron to communicate chemically with other cells. Many of our most recent studies utilize novel chemical reagents, designed to manipulate or monitor the function of ion channels and synapses.

Current Projects

Optical studies of synaptic transmission in the retina Rod and cone photoreceptors transmit information to other neurons through specialized structures called ribbon synapses. Insights into how these synapses ...

OnAir Post: Richard Kramer, PhD – Berkeley

Loren M Frank, PhD – UCSF

 

Core Faculty, Program in Biological Sciences, UCSF Physiology Department Director:  Frank Laboratory

Frank’s research interests center around learning and spatial coding in the hippocampal-cortical circuit. Frank is interested in understanding the neural correlates of learning and memory. In particular, his laboratory focuses on the circuitry of the hippocampus and adjacent regions. His goal is to examine the relationships among neural firing patterns, behavior, and anatomy to understand how the brain uses and stores information.

 

 

Web Information

Webpage: keck.ucsf.edu/physio/people/frankl.html#research UCSF Neuroscience  Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Email: loren@phy.ucsf.edu Phone: 415-502-6317 Address: UCSF 513 Parnassus Box 0444 San Francisco, CA 94143-0444

 

Research

The ability to use experience to guide behavior (to learn) is one of the central functions of the brain. We are interested in understanding the neural correlates of learning and memory. In particular, our laboratory focuses on the circuitry of the hippocampus and adjacent regions. Our goal is to examine the relationships among neural firing patterns, behavior, and anatomy to understand how the brain uses and stores information. Ultimately we should be able to generate accurate computational models of learning to both test hypotheses concerning hippocampal-cortical interactions and to generate new predictions that can be tested experimentally.

Anatomical organization

The hippocampal formation has a unique anatomical organization in that the connectivity between adjacent hippocampal regions is ...

OnAir Post: Loren M Frank, PhD – UCSF

Daniel H Geschwind, MD/PhD – UCLA

 

Professor of Human Genetics and of Neurology and Psychiatry, UCLA School of Medicine Director, Neurogenetics Program and the Center for Autism Research and Treatment (CART) Co-director, UCLA Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics Director, Geschwind Lab

Geschwind lleverages genetics and genomics to understand neurodevelopment and neurodegenerative disease mechanisms developing new treatments for these disorders. Dr. Geschwind also fosters large-scale collaborative patient resources for genetic research and data sharing.

Web Information

Webpage: geschwindlab.neurology.ucla.edu/person-category/principal-investigator UCLA Neuroscience Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Email: dhg@mednet.ucla.edu Phone: 310 794-6570 Address: 2506 Gonda 695 Charles E. Young Dr. South Los Angeles CA 90095

 

Biography

Dr. Geschwind obtained A.B. degrees in psychology and chemistry at Dartmouth College and his M.D./Ph.D. at Yale School of Medicine prior to completing his internship, residency, and postdoctoral fellowship at UCLA. He joined the UCLA faculty in 1997.

 

Research

Dr. Geschwind’s laboratory leverages genetics and genomics to understand neurodevelopment and neurodegenerative disease mechanisms, with the goal of developing new treatments for these disorders. In addition to his research, Dr. Geschwind has put considerable effort into fostering large-scale collaborative patient resources for genetic research and data sharing. He advocates strongly for data and biomaterial sharing, having provided scientific oversight for the Autism Genetic Research Exchange (AGRE) and has served on numerous scientific advisory boards, including the Faculty of 1000 Medicine, the Executive ...

OnAir Post: Daniel H Geschwind, MD/PhD – UCLA

John Yu-Luen Lin, PhD – UCSD

 

Research Scientist, Tsien Lab, UC San Diego

Lin’s current research interests include developing new molecular techniques to map activities of neurons, manipulating the strength of communication between neurons and disrupting intracellular signaling. These new techniques can be used to understand how neurons encode and store information, with potential implications for ameliorating Alzheimer’s disease, addiction, traumatic brain injury, and neurodegeneration.

 

 

Web Information

Webpage: tsienlab.ucsd.edu/HTML/People/John%20Lin/John.html UCSD Neuroscience Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Email: j8lin@ucsd.edu Address: HHMI – UCSD 9500 Gilman Dr George Palade 310 La Jolla, CA 92093-0647

 

Biography

2000-2005            Doctor of Philosophy in Physiology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

1996-1999            Bachelor of Technology (First class honours), University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

Research

Current research interests include developing methods to manipulate and monitor the activities of neurons and studying single-molecule photophysical properties of fluorescent proteins

Publications

Lin J.Y., Lin M.Z., Steinbach P. and Tsien R.Y. Characterization of engineered channelrhodopsin variants with improved properties and kinetics. (2009) Biophysical Journal. (In Press)

Sheng G., Chang G.Q., Lin J.Y., Yu Z.X., Fang Z.H., Rong J., Lipton S.A., Li S.H., Tong G., Leibowitz S.F., Li X.J. (2006)Hypothalamic huntingtin-associated protein 1 as a mediator of feeding behavior. Nature Medicine 12, 526-533

Lin J.Y., Chung K.K.H., de Castro D., Funk G.D. & Lipski J. ...

OnAir Post: John Yu-Luen Lin, PhD – UCSD

Hongkui Zeng, PhD – Allen Institute

 

Senior Director, Research Science Allen Institute Research and Development

Zeng explores novel technologies and develop high-throughput paradigms for generating large-scale, public datasets and tools to fuel neuroscience discovery. Zeng  has broad scientific experience and a keen interest in using a combined molecular, genetic and physiological approach to unravel mechanisms of brain circuitry and potential approaches for treating brain diseases.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73lUjX_8-T4Video can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: Hongkui Zeng: 2011 Allen Institute for Brain Science Symposium (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73lUjX_8-T4)

Web Information

Allen Webpage: alleninstitute.org/hongkui-zeng Allen Brain Atlases Allen Institute for Brain Science

Contact Information

Email:  hongkuiz@alleninstitute.org 

 

Biography

Hongkui Zeng joined the Allen Institute in 2006. She leads the Research and Development program to explore novel technologies and develop high-throughput paradigms for generating large-scale, public datasets and tools to fuel neuroscience discovery. Since joining the Allen Institute, she has led several research programs or projects, including the Transgenic Technology program, the Human Cortex Gene Survey project, the Allen Mouse Brain Connectivity Atlas project, and the Mouse Cell Types program. She has broad scientific experience and a keen interest ...

OnAir Post: Hongkui Zeng, PhD – Allen Institute

Dmitry Rinsberg, PhD – NYU

 

Associate Professor, Department of Neuroscience & Physiology,NYU Neuroscience Institute Principal Investigator: Rinberg Lab

Rinsberg’s research uses electrophysiology, optogenetics, and psychophysics to understand the principles of the sensory information processing. Specifically we are focused on two questions: 1) how is odor information coded in the brain of the awake, behaving mouse? And 2) how is information relevant to animal behavior extracted by the brain? In short, we want to know what the mouse’s nose tells its brain.

 

Web Information

Webpage: neuro-physio.med.nyu.edu/faculty/Dmitry-rinberg Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Email: Dmitry.Rinberg@nyumc.org Phone: 646-501-4535 Address: 450 East 29th St Room 935 East River Science Park New York, NY 10016

 

Biography

Research

Our lab is using electrophysiology, optogenetics, and psychophysics to understand the principles of the sensory information processing. Specifically we are focused on two questions: 1) how is odor information coded in the brain of the awake, behaving mouse? And 2) how is information relevant to animal behavior extracted by the brain? In short, we want to know what the mouse’s nose tells its brain.

Recently, our laboratory has been focused on temporal aspects of olfactory coding. We discovered that a) olfactory neuronal code at the level of olfactory bulb is temporally very precise (~10 ms) [Shusterman-2011], and b) the mammalian olfactory system can read and interpret temporal patterns at ...

OnAir Post: Dmitry Rinsberg, PhD – NYU

Lin Tian, PhD – UC Davis

 

Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, UC Davis Director, Tian Lab

The goal of Tian’s research is to invent new molecular tools for analyzing and engineering functional neural circuits. We also leverage these tools, combined with optical imaging techniques, to study molecular mechanisms of neurological disorders at system level and to empower searching for novel therapeutic treatments.

Web Information

Webpage: ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/biochem/faculty/tian/ UC Davis Neuroscience Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Email: lintian@ucdavis.edu Phone: (916) 734-8070 Address: 2352 Oak Park Research Building Sacramento Campus

 

Biography

I was born and raised in China. After graduating from University of Science and Technology of China, I joined a interdisciplinary PhD program at Northwestern University, where I studied the mechanisms of protein processing via ubiquitin-proteasome pathway in Dr. Andreas Matouschek’s lab. I then moved to HHMI Janelia Farm as a postdoc. The highly collaborative environment at Janelia resulted in my multidisciplinary training under three principle investigators, Dr. Loren Looger, Dr. Karel Svoboda and Dr. Luke Lavis. There, my research focused on engineering optical probes for monitoring and controlling neural circuitry in living behaving animal. These new imaging techniques have greatly impacted the field of neuroscience, facilitating new types of biological experiments performed to address previously intractable questions. One indication of the impact of this ...

OnAir Post: Lin Tian, PhD – UC Davis

Kevin J. Staley, MD – Harvard Med

 

Professor of Child Neurology and Mental Retardation, Harvard Medical School Unit Chief, Pediatric Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital Director, Pediatric Epilepsy Research Lab

Staley focuses on neuronal ion transport and the spread of activity in neural networks. Research interests include epilepsy, synaptic physiology, and neural network activity. Research techniques used: single cell electrophysiology, in vivo radiotelemetry, ion-sensitive fluorescent imaging of ion transport and neural network activity, computer modeling.

 

Web Information

Webpage: massgeneral.org/neurology/researcher_profiles/staley_kevin Neuroscience@Harvard BRAIN Initiative grant

Contact Information

Email: staley.kevin@mgh.harvard.edu Clinic Phone: 617-724-6400 Address: Kevin J. Staley, MD Massachusetts General Hospital 114 16th Street Charlestown, MA 02129

Biography

Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School

Unit Chief, Pediatric Neurology, Mass General Hospital Department of Neurology

Kevin Staley received his MD degree from the University of California, San Diego. He completed his postdoctoral research training at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr Staley studies neuronal ion transport in neonatal seizures and neural network dysfunction in epilepsy. He has served as Chair of the Investigator’s Workshop Committee and the Research and Training Committee of the American Epilepsy Society, as Chair of the Research Council of the Epilepsy Foundation of America, as co-chair of the inaugural Gordon Conference on Mechanisms of Epilepsy and Neuronal Synchronization, and as an Associate Editor for the Journal of ...

OnAir Post: Kevin J. Staley, MD – Harvard Med

Vincent Allen Pieribone, PhD – Yale

 

Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology and of Neurobiology, Yale University Fellow, John B. Pierce Laboratory

Dr Pieribone is developing genetically encoded fluorescent probes of membrane electrical potential. These probes allow one to use optical instruments (microscopes) to monitor the electrical activity of neurons. He has also engineered miniature imaging systems that can be head mounted on mammels and allow mobile recording of neuronal activity.

Web Information

Webpage: medicine.yale.edu/bbs/people/vincent_pieribone-3 Fluorogenetic Voltage Sensors website:  fluorogenetic-voltage-sensors.org/ Yale Neuroscience Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Email: vincent.pieribone@yale.edu Phone: (203) 562-9901 x214 Address: The John B. Pierce Laboratory 290 Congress Avenue New Haven, CT 06519

 

Biography

B.A. New York University, Washington Square University College, Biology and Chemistry, 1986

Ph.D. New York University, Graduate School, Washington Square, Neurobiology, 1992

Research Associate, The American Museum of Natural History Scientific Board of Directors, Mystic Aquarium and Center for Exploration

Research

Research Interests

The brain uses complex and highly parallel computational paradigms to process sensory information, create and retrieve memories, and execute motor actions. The unit of this computing network is the neuron and its attendant synaptic connections. The structure and physiology of the brain makes direct study of these structures in the living organisms very difficult – neurons and synapses are tiny, very delicate, and tightly packed. Our laboratory is dedicated to the study of how neuronal ...

OnAir Post: Vincent Allen Pieribone, PhD – Yale

Dean Foster Wong, MD/PhD – JHU

 

Professor, Johns Hopkins Medicine Department of Radiology and Radiological Science Radiology Vice Chair, Research Administration and Training Director Section of High Resolution Brain PET Imaging, Division of Nuclear Medicine

Dr. Wong has used PET scanning to uncover key insights into brain chemistry and to identify receptors for the major neurotransmitters. He oversaw the first dopamine PET receptor imaging in human beings; led the first study suggesting D2 dopamine receptors in schizophrenia, and how dopamine is transported in and out of cells.

Web Information

Webpage: neuroscience.jhu.edu/resources/directory/faculty/dean-f.-wong-m.d.-ph.d/ Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Email: dfwong@jhmi.edu Phone: 410-955-8433 Address: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Department of Neuroscience 1003 Wood Basic Science Building 725 N. Wolfe St. Baltimore, MD 21205

Biography

MD (University of Toronto)

PhD (Johns Hopkins University)

Research

In vivo Neurochemistry with PET, SPECT and MRI

The use of novel methods in positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) have, in the past few decades, been used to study a wide variety of neuropsychiatric illness, basic brain chemistry and pharmacology. Our focus is on the design, development and application of radiopharmaceuticals imaged PET and SPECT for the study of in vivo brain chemistry. Our research extends from collaborations in basic chemistry ...

OnAir Post: Dean Foster Wong, MD/PhD – JHU

Pavel Osten, MD, PhD – CSHL

 

Associate ProfessorCold Spring Harbor Laboratory Principal Investigator: Osten Lab

To understand what’s going wrong in illnesses like autism and schizophrenia, we need to know more about how neural circuits are connected in the healthy brain. We’ve developed advanced imaging methods to draw the first whole-brain activation map in the mouse.  Now we’re applying that technology to study changes in brain activity in mice whose behavior models human autism and schizophrenia.

 

Web Information

Webpage: cshl.edu/Faculty/osten-pavel Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Emailosten@cshl.edu Phone: (516) 367-6990 Address: One Bungtown Road Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724

 

Biography

M.D., Medical School of Charles University, Prague, 1991 Ph.D., SUNY Downstate Brooklyn, 1995

 

Research

To understand what’s going wrong in illnesses like autism and schizophrenia, we need to know more about how neural circuits are connected in the healthy brain. We’ve developed advanced imaging methods to draw the first whole-brain activation map in the mouse.  Now we’re applying that technology to study changes in brain activity in mice whose behavior models human autism and schizophrenia.

Pavel Osten’s lab works on identification and analysis of brain regions, neural circuits, and connectivity pathways that are disrupted in genetic mouse models of autism and schizophrenia. Osten hypothesizes that (1) systematic comparison of multiple genetic mouse models will allow determination ...

OnAir Post: Pavel Osten, MD, PhD – CSHL

Florian Engert, PhD – Harvard

 

Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University Director, Engert Lab

The general goal of my research is the development of the larval zebrafish as a model system for the comprehensive identification and examination of neural circuits controlling visually induced behaviors. My lab plans to establish and quantify a series of visually induced behaviours and analyze the individual resulting motor components. Using these assays we will monitor neuronal activity throughout the fish brain in an awake and intact preparation.

 

Web Information

Webpage: mcb.harvard.edu/mcb/faculty/profile/florian-engert/ Program in Neuroscience @Harvard  Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Emaillorian@mcb.harvard.edu Phone: 617-495-4382 Address: Harvard University BioLabs 16 Divinity Avenue Cambridge, MA 2138

 

Research

Neuroscientists have long been working to understand how biological structures can produce the complex behaviors that are generated by the nervous system. However, even the basic operational principles governing a brain’s interconnected network of cells have remained painfully elusive. My laboratory is working on a scientific strategy focused on building a complete, multi-level picture of simple neural circuits that will advance our basic understanding of brain function and offers a complete view into the neuronal activity underlying a series of relatively complex behaviors. We are taking a first step towards this rather lofty goal via the comprehensive identification and examination of neural circuits controlling behavior in the ...

OnAir Post: Florian Engert, PhD – Harvard

Changhuei Yang, PhD – Caltech

 

Professor of Electrical Engineering, Bioengineering and Medical Engineering, Caltech Director, Biophotonics Lab

Professor Yang’s research efforts are in the areas of novel microscopy development and time-reversal based optical focusing. Prof. Yang’s group is developing a number of technologies aimed at transforming the conventional microscope into high throughput, automated and cost-effective formats. Prof. Yang’s group is working on the use of ‘time-reversal’ techniques to undo the effect of tissue light scattering.

Web Information

Webpage:   biophot.caltech.edu/people/yang Caltech Neuroscience BRAIN Initiative Grant – Time-Reversal Optical Focusing for Noninvasive Optogenetics

Contact Information

Email:  chyang@caltech.edu Phone: (626) 395-8922 Address: Moore Laboratory MC 136-93, 262 Moore

 

Biography

PhD, EECS, MIT, 2002 BSc, Mathematics, MIT, 2002 MEng, EECS, MIT, 1997 BSc, Physics, MIT, 1997 BSc, EECS, MIT, 1997

Research

Professor Yang’s research efforts are in the areas of novel microscopy development and time-reversal based optical focusing. Prof. Yang joined the California Institute of Technology in 2003. He is a professor in the areas of Electrical Engineering, Bioengineering and Medical Engineering. He has received the NSF Career Award, the Coulter Foundation Early Career Phase I and II Awards, and the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award. In 2008 he was named one of Discover Magazine’s ‘20 Best Brains Under 40’. He is a Coulter Fellow, an AIMBE Fellow and an OSA Fellow.

His research efforts can be categorized ...

OnAir Post: Changhuei Yang, PhD – Caltech

Michael Roukes, PhD – CalTech

 

Professor of Physics, Applied Physics, and Bioengineering, CalTech Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences Director, Roukes Group

Roukes research activities are currently focused on developing advanced nanodevices, engineering them into complex systems, and using them to enable fundamental problems in neuroscience and proteomics. A continuing thread in theoretical and experimental investigations focuses on fundamental properties of nanomechanical systems.

 

Web Information

Lab webpage: caltech.edu/people/3185/profile Division webpage: nano.caltech.edu/people/roukes Caltech Neuroscience Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Email: roukescaltech.edu Phone: 626-395-2916 Address: MC 149-33Pasadena, CA 91125

 

Biography

B.A., University of California (Santa Cruz), 1978; Ph.D., Cornell University, 1985. Associate Professor, Caltech, 1992-96; Professor of Physics, 1996-2002; Professor of Physics, Applied Physics, and Bioengineering, 2002-11; Abbey Professor, 2011-; Director, Kavli Nanoscience Institute, 2004-06; Co-Director, 2008-2013.

 

Research

Research Overview

Professor Roukes’s research focuses on nanobiotechnology, nanotechnology, nanoscale physics, nanoscale and molecular mechanics.

List of Research Areas

nanobiotechnology, nanotechnology, nanoscale physics, nanoscale and molecular mechanics

Research Centers

The Kavli Nanoscience Institute, Center for the Physics of Information

OnAir Post: Michael Roukes, PhD – CalTech

Allen Song, PhD – Duke

 

Professor of Radiology, Neurobiology, Psychiatry and Behavioral Science and Biomedical Engineering Director, Duke-UNC Brain Imaging and Analysis Center

Allen Song’s research interests focus on the acquisition methodology, processing strategies and contrast mechanism for functional MRI. Additional interests include the application of innovative fMRI acqusition and analysis methods to study functional neuroanatomy.

Web Information

Webpage:  biac.duke.edu/people/asong Duke Institute for Brain Sciences  Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Emailallen.song@duke.edu Phone: (919) 684-1215 Address: Duke-UNC Brain Imaging and Analysis Center Duke University Hock Plaza, Suite 501 2424 Erwin Road Durham, NC 27705

Biography

Ph. D., 1995, Medical College of Wisconsin (Biophysics)

Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Lab of Brain and Cognition, NIH

Research

Research Interests

The acquisition methodology, processing strategies and contrast mechanism for functional MRI. Additional interests include the application of innovative fMRI acqusition and analysis methods to study functional neuroanatomy.

Research Statement

The research in this lab is concerned with the advancement of fMRI data acquisition methods that includes the development of real-time imaging using echo-planar and spiral data acquisition with high-order shimming control, development of robust and reliable single-shot image acquisition methods and optimization of the acquisition methods for improved functional sensitivity and specificity.

Our lab is also focused on understanding the contrast mechanism of the functional MRI, which includes the source localization of the functional signal using the blood ...

OnAir Post: Allen Song, PhD – Duke

Oliver Hobert, PhD – Columbia

 

Professor Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, Columbia Neuroscience HHMI Investigator Director, Hobert Lab

Oliver Hobert studies molecular mechanisms that control the generation of the enormous diversity of cell types in the nervous system. Using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system, his laboratory decodes genomic cis-regulatory information of gene batteries expressed in specific neuronal cell types and identifies trans-acting factors that act at various stages of neuronal development to impose specific terminal differentiation programs onto individual neuron types.

Web Information

Webpage:   columbia.edu/cu/biology/faculty-data/oliver-hobert/faculty HHMI profile: hhmi.org/research/how-build-nervous-system Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Emailor38@columbia.edu Phone: (212) 305-0065 Address: 701 W. 168th St. HHSC 724 New York, NY 10032

Research

From HHMI page (see webpage above for videos)

How to Build a Nervous System

Oliver Hobert studies molecular mechanisms that control the generation of the enormous diversity of cell types in the nervous system. Using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system, his laboratory decodes genomic cis-regulatory information of gene batteries expressed in specific neuronal cell types and identifies trans-acting factors that act at various stages of neuronal development to impose specific terminal differentiation programs onto individual neuron types.

The main focus of my laboratory is to understand the gene regulatory control mechanisms that generate the astounding diversity of cell types in the nervous system. We study this problem by ...

OnAir Post: Oliver Hobert, PhD – Columbia

Michael Dickinson, PhD – Caltech

 

Zarem Professor of Bioengineering, Caltech Neuroscience Director, Dickinson Lab

The aim of Dickinson’s research is to elucidate the means by which flies accomplish their aerodynamic feats. A rigorous mechanistic description of flight requires an integration of biology, engineering, fluid mechanics, and control theory. The long term goal, however, is not simply to understand the material basis of insect flight, but to develop its study into a model that can provide insight to the behavior and robustness of complex systems in general.

Web Information

Webpage:   eas.caltech.edu/people Lab:  http://depts.washington.edu/flyarama/ TEDx video:  ted.com/talks/michael_dickinson_how_a_fly_flies Wikipedia Entry: wiki/Michael_Dickinson BRAIN Initiative grant

Contact Information

Email: flymancaltech.edu Phone: 626-395-5775 Address: The California Institute of Technology Mail Code 216-76 Pasadena, CA 91125

 

Biography

from Wikipedia page

Michael H. Dickinson (born 1963) is an American fly bioengineer and neuroscientist, and Zarem Professor of Biology and Bioengineering at the California Institute of Technology. He studies Drosophila flight control systems and sensory processing.

He graduated from Brown University with a B.S. in 1984, and from University of Washington with a Ph.D. in 1989. He was previously part of the faculty at the University of Chicago,  the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Washington.

He is a Monitoring Editor at the Journal of Experimental Biology.He was a course director of the Neural Systems and ...

OnAir Post: Michael Dickinson, PhD – Caltech

Gregory Hannon, PhD – CSHL

 

Professor at Cold Springs Harbor Laboratory & HHMI Investigator Principal Investigator, Hannon Lab

Greg Hannon explores the processes that cells use to turn genes on and off. My work is focused on understanding a relatively new class of cellular pathways, governed by molecules known as small RNAs, that control gene activation and repression. Our studies of small-RNA biology in early development provide insights into human evolution, diversity, and diseases such as cancer.

 

Web Information

CSHL Website:  cshl.edu/Faculty/Gregory-Hannon.html HHMI webpage: hhmi.org/scientists/gregory-j-hannon Lab:   hannonlab.cshl.edu/index.html

Contact Information

Emailhannon@cshl.edu Phone: (516) 367-8455 Address: One Bungtown Road Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724

Biography

Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University,1992

Research

I explore the processes that cells use to turn genes on and off. My work is focused on understanding a relatively new class of cellular pathways, governed by molecules known as small RNAs, that control gene activation and repression. Our studies of small-RNA biology in early development provide insights into human evolution, diversity, and diseases such as cancer.

Gregory Hannon is a pioneer in the study of RNA interference (RNAi), a process in which double-stranded RNA molecules induce gene silencing. Hannon and colleagues have elucidated key elements of the RNAi machinery. During the past several years, the Hannon lab has focused on the ...

OnAir Post: Gregory Hannon, PhD – CSHL

John J. Ngai, PhD – Berkeley

Professor of Neurobiology, Coates Family Professor of Neuroscience, Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute Director, Ngai Lab

My focus is understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the function, development and regeneration of the vertebrate olfactory system. My lab uses a wide range of experimental tools and model systems, including molecular biology, genomics, computational biology and behavior to study these processes using the mouse and zebrafish as model systems.

 

Web Information

Faculty Research page:  http://mcb.berkeley.edu/faculty/all/ngaij Full Directory Information: http://mcb.berkeley.edu/directory/search/detail/62 Lab:  https://sites.google.com/site/ngaineuro/home

Contact Information

Emailjngai@socrates.berkeley.edu Phone: (510) 642-9885 Address: Ngai Lab University of California, Berkeley 142 Life Sciences Addition # 3200 Berkeley, CA 94720-3200

 

Research Interests

Our lab is interested in understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the function, development and regeneration of the vertebrate olfactory system. We use a wide range of experimental tools and model systems, including molecular biology, genomics, computational biology and behavior to study these processes using the mouse and zebrafish as model systems. We are also developing genomics and genome engineering technologies to characterize the neuronal diversity in the cerebral cortex and other regions of the nervous system.

 

Current Projects

Olfactory Stem Cells and Neural Regeneration. In the vertebrate olfactory system, primary sensory neurons are continuously regenerated throughout adult life via the proliferation and differentiation of multipotent neural progenitor cells. This feature ...

OnAir Post: John J. Ngai, PhD – Berkeley

Sebastian Seung, PhD – Princeton

 

Professor, Computer Science Department and Princeton Neuroscience Institute Principal Investigator, Seung Lab

Seung is a multi-disciplinary expert whose research efforts have spanned the fields of neuroscience, artificial intelligence. physics and bioinformatics. His TED talk “I am my connectome” has been viewed more than 750,000 times. His book Connectome: How the Brain’s Wiring Makes Us Who We Are is considered by some as “the best lay book on brain science I’ve ever read.” Seung is also the organizer of the Citizens Science project/game called EyeWire.

 

Web Information

Lab website:  eunglab.org/

Wikipedia entry :  wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastian_Seung

Twitter: twitter.com/sebastianseung 

Contact Information

E-mail:  sseung@princeton.edu

Address: 153 Princeton Neuroscience Institute Washington Road Princeton, NJ 08544

 

Biography

From Wikipedia entry

Hyunjune Sebastian Seung (Hangul: 승현준; hanja: 承現峻; is a Korean American multi-disciplinary expert whose research efforts have spanned the fields of neuroscience, physics and bioinformatics. He was a professor of Computational Neuroscience in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and a professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is now a professor at Princeton University. He also was an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He is the son of the philosopher, T. K. Seung.

Seung studied theoretical physics at Harvard University where he obtained his Ph.D. degree ...

OnAir Post: Sebastian Seung, PhD – Princeton

Alan Jasanoff, PhD – MIT

 

Associate Professor of Biological Engineering with appointments in Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Nuclear Science and Engineering, MIT Neuroscience Associate member of the McGovern Institute Principal Investigator, Jasanoff Lab

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has revolutionized our understanding of the human brain, but the method is now approaching the limit of its capabilities. Alan Jasanoff hopes to break through this limit and to develop new technologies for imaging the molecular and cellular phenomena that underlie brain function.

Web Information

McGovern Webpage: mcgovern.mit.edu/principal-investigators/alan-jasanoff

Lab page:  mit.edu/~jasanofflab/

Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences page: bcs.mit.edu/people/jasanoff.html

MIT Neuroscience: neuroscience.onair.cc/mit-neuroscience/

Contact Information

Email: jasanoff@mit.edu

Phone:617-452-2538 

Address: MIT Rm. 16-561 | 77 Massachusetts Avenue | Cambridge, MA 02139

 

Biography

Alan Jasanoff is an associate member of the McGovern Institute and Associate Professor of Biological Engineering, with appointments in Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Nuclear Science and Engineering.  He was awarded tenure in 2011. Prior to joining the MIT faculty, he was a Whitehead Fellow at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at MIT. He was named a Raymond and Beverly Sackler Foundation Scholar in 2004 and received the McKnight Technological Innovations in Neuroscience Award in 2006. Jasanoff was also a 2007 recipient of the Director’s New Innovator Award from the National Institutes of Health.

 

Research

Pushing the frontiers of ...

OnAir Post: Alan Jasanoff, PhD – MIT

Robert Desimone, PhD – MIT

 

Doris and Don Berkey Professor of Neuroscience, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Director, McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Desimone Lab

Robert Desimone studies the brain mechanisms that allow us to focus our attention on a specific task while filtering out irrelevant distractions. Our brains are constantly bombarded with sensory information. The ability to distinguish relevant information from irrelevant distractions is a critical skill, one that is impaired in many brain disorders.

 

Web Information

McGovern Webpage: mcgovern.mit.edu/principal-investigators

Lab page:  desimonelab.org/robert-desimone/

Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences page: bcs.mit.edu/people/desimone

MIT Neuroscience: brain2015.onair.cc/mit-neuroscience/

Contact Information

E-mail: desimone@mit.edu

Phone:  617-324-2077

Address: MIT Bldg 46-3160 | 43 Vassar Street | Cambridge, MA 02139

Biography

Robert Desimone is Director of the McGovern Institute and Professor in the Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department. Prior to coming to MIT, he was Director of the NIMH Intramural Research Program, the largest mental health research center in the world. Desimone received his B.A. from Macalester College and his Ph.D. from Princeton University . He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts of Sciences, and a recipient of numerous awards, including the Troland Prize of the National Academy of Sciences, and the Golden Brain Award of ...

OnAir Post: Robert Desimone, PhD – MIT

Ed Boyden, PhD – MIT

 

Associate Professor and AT&T Chair, MIT Media Lab and McGovern Institute, Departments of Biological Engineering and Brain and Cognitive Sciences Co-Director, MIT Center for Neurobiological Engineering Principal Investigator, Synthetic Biology Group

Ed Boyden develops new strategies for analyzing and engineering brain circuits to develop broadly applicable methodologies that reveal fundamental mechanisms of complex brain processes. A major goal of his current work is the development of technologies for controlling nerve cells using light.

 

Web Information

Personal Website: edboyden.org/

McGovern Institute for Brain Research page: mcgovern.mit.edu/principal-investigators/ed-boyden

Lab Page: syntheticneurobiology.org/

Twitter: twitter.com/eboyden3

Wikipedia pageen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Boyden

Contact Information

E-mail: esb@media.mit.edu

Phone: (617) 324-3085

Address:  Room E15-421 |20 Ames St. | Cambridge, MA 02139

Biography

From Lab Page

Ed Boyden is Associate Professor of Biological Engineering and Brain and Cognitive Sciences, at the MIT Media Lab and the MIT McGovern Institute. He leads the Synthetic Neurobiology Group, which develops tools for analyzing and engineering the circuits of the brain. These technologies, created often in interdisciplinary collaborations, include ‘optogenetic’ tools, which enable the activation and silencing of neural circuit elements with light, 3-D microfabricated neural interfaces that enable control and readout of neural activity, and robotic methods for automatically recording intracellular neural activity and performing single-cell analyses in the living brain. He has launched an ...

OnAir Post: Ed Boyden, PhD – MIT

David Feinberg, MD/PhD – UCSF

 

Adjunct professor of neuroscience at UC Berkely and of Radiology at UCSF Board Certified Diagnostic Radiologist and Neuroradiologist President, Advanced MRI Technologies (AMRIT)

Dr. Feinberg is an internationally recognized expert on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), with numerous publications and research studies to his credit. In addition, he holds many patents in MRI technology.

 

Web Information

Redwood Regional Medical Group webpage: rrmginc.com/physicians Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Email: david.feinberg@advancedmri.com Phone: 707-829-2933 Address: Advanced MRI Technologies 652 Petaluma Ave, Suite J Sebastopol, CA 95472

 

Biography

Dr. Feinberg completed his B.A., M.S. and Ph.D., at the University of California, Berkeley. After completing his Ph.D, Dr. Feinberg attended the University of Miami, School of Medicine’s ‘Ph.D to M.D’ medical program. He remained on the east coast for his internship and residency at Brigham and Womens Hospital (Harvard Medical School), and at NYU Medical Center. He has a fellowship in Neuroradiology from Washington University. He received his board certification in Diagnostic Radiology in 1997.

Dr. Feinberg is an internationally recognized expert on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), with numerous publications and research studies to his credit. In addition, he holds many patents in MRI technology.

In his spare time he enjoys cycling, hiking and traveling.

Articles

From UC Berkely News 9/30/15

Surface imaging of the brain

David Feinberg, a UC ...

OnAir Post: David Feinberg, MD/PhD – UCSF

Mriganka Sur, PhD – MIT

 

Professor of Neuroscience, MIT Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences Director, Simons Center for the Social Brain Principal Investigator, Laboratory of Mriganka Sur

Dr. Sur studies the organization, development and plasticity of the cerebral cortex of the brain using experimental and theoretical approaches. He has discovered fundamental principles by which networks of the cerebral cortex are wired during development and change dynamically during learning.

 

 

Web Information

Webpage: web.mit.edu/msur/www/profile.html Simons Center for the Social Brain website: web.mit.edu/scsb/ MIT Neuroscience Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Email: msur@mit.edu Phone: 617.253.8785 Address: 43 Vassar St. 46-6227 Cambridge, MA, 02139

 

Biography

Dr. Mriganka Sur is the Paul E. and Lilah Newton Professor of Neuroscience and Director of the Simons Center for the Social Brain at MIT, which he founded after 15 years as head of the MIT Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. Dr. Sur studies the organization, development and plasticity of the cerebral cortex of the brain using experimental and theoretical approaches. He has discovered fundamental principles by which networks of the cerebral cortex are wired during development and change dynamically during learning. His laboratory has identified gene networks underlying cortical plasticity, and pioneered high resolution imaging methods to study cells, synapses and circuits of the intact brain. Recently, his group has demonstrated novel mechanisms underlying disorders of brain ...

OnAir Post: Mriganka Sur, PhD – MIT

Ian Wickersham, PhD – MIT

 

Research Scientist Head of MIT Genetic Neuroengineering Group

Research interests: viral vector engineering, synthetic biology. Engineering genetic tools for neuroscience.

Web Information

LinkedIn Webpage:  linkedin.com/in/ianwickersham MIT Neuroscience Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Email: wickersham@mit.edu

Biography

Ian obtained a PhD from UCSD, where he developed new retrograde viral technologies for cell-targetable transsynaptic circuit tracing. After a postdoctoral fellowship in MIT Brain and Cognitive Science, he joined the Synthetic Neurobiology group as a research scientist to develop new integrative cell and circuit analysis methods. He then went on to launch the MIT Genetic Neuroengineering Group.

Research

Ian is eveloping new integrative cell and circuit analysis methods

Publications

2015

A circuit mechanism for differentiating positive and negative associations.

Namburi, P., A. Beyeler, S. Yorozu, G.G. Calhoon, S.A. Halbert, R. Wichmann, S.S. Holden, K.L. Mertens, M. Anahtar, A.C. Felix-Ortiz, I.R. Wickersham, J.M. Gray & K.M. Tye, Nature 520(7549):675-8 (2015).

Lentiviral vectors for retrograde delivery of recombinases and transactivators

Wickersham, I.R., H.A. Sullivan, G.M. Pao, H. Hamanaka, K.A. Goosens, I.M. Verma & H.S. Seung, Cold Spring Harbor Protocols 2015 Apr 1;2015(4):368-74.

Rabies viral vectors for monosynaptic tracing and targeted transgene expression in neurons

Wickersham, I.R. & H.A. Sullivan, Cold Spring Harbor Protocols 2015 Apr 1;2015(4):375-85.

Concentration and purification of rabies viral and ...

OnAir Post: Ian Wickersham, PhD – MIT

Carlos D Brody, PhD – Princeton

 

Professor of neuroscience and molecular biology, Princeton  Neuroscience Institute Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator Principal Investigator, Brodylab

Brody’s focus is on novel quantitative behaviors that allow exploring high-level cognitive questions. Brody’s group now uses rats to investigate the neural bases of decision making, working memory and executive control using a combination of high-throughput semiautomated behavior as well as computational, electrophysiological, pharmacological and optogenetic methods.

Web Information

Webpage: molbio.princeton.edu/faculty/molbio-faculty/142-brody HHMI page:  hhmi.org/scientists/carlos-d-brody Simons Foundation page: simonsfoundation.org/life-sciences/collaboration-on-the-global-brain/ Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Email: brody@princeton.edu Phone: (609) 258-7645 Address: Princeton University 119 Lewis Thomas Laboratory Washington Road Princeton, NJ 08544-1014

 

Biography

Carlos Brody completed his Ph.D. in 1997, in computation and neural systems with John Hopfield at California Technical Institute. Starting in 2001, he led a computational neuroscience group as an assistant professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Inspired by the efforts that Zachary Mainen’s and Anthony Zador’s experimental groups at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory were making in developing highly controlled behaviors for rats, Brody added experimental approaches to his research portfolio. His focus is on novel quantitative behaviors that allow exploring high-level cognitive questions using powerful emerging tools for studying neural mechanisms in rats. Brody’s group now uses rats to investigate the neural bases of decision making, working memory and executive control using a ...

OnAir Post: Carlos D Brody, PhD – Princeton

Lawrence Wald, Phd – Harvard Med

 

Associate Professor in Radiology, Harvard Medical School Associate Biophysicist, Massachusetts General Hospital Director, MGH NMR Core, Martinos Center

Technique development for high field imaging of the Brain. Development of 7 Tesla scanner and coils for imaging human brain function, highly parallel phased array coil development for 3T and 7T, Parallel transmit methods for B1+ mitigation in the head at 7T, and highly accelerated echo volume imaging.

Web Information

Webpage:  martinos.org/user/5615 Harvard Catalyst Profile: https://connects.catalyst.harvard.edu/Profiles/display/Person/42452 Neuroscience@Harvard  Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Email: wald@nmr.mgh.harvard.edu Phone: 617-724-9706 Address: Building 75, Room 2.109 13th Street Charlestown, MA 02129 USA

 

Biography

PhD Physics, U.C. Berkeley, 1992

Research

Technique development for high field imaging of the Brain. Development of 7 Tesla scanner and coils for imaging human brain function, highly parallel phased array coil development for 3T and 7T, Parallel transmit methods for B1+ mitigation in the head at 7T, and highly accelerated echo volume imaging.

OnAir Post: Lawrence Wald, Phd – Harvard Med

Wei Chen, PhD – Minnesota

 

Professor, Departments of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota Faculty, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research

Chen’s research focuses on development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)/spectroscopy (MRS) methodologies and technologies for noninvasively studying cellular metabolism, bioenergetics, function and dysfunction of the brain and other organs. He has been a principal investigator for a large number of NIH RO1 grants, served as grant reviewer for many funding organizations and editorial boards for imaging journals.

Web Information

Webpage:  cmrr.umn.edu/facultystaff/wei.shtml Institute for Translational Neuroscience Brain Initiative Grant

Contact Information

Email: wei@cmrr.umn.edu Phone: 612-625-8814 Address: 1-211E CMRR University of Minnesota 2021 Sixth Street SE Minneapolis, MN 55455

 

Biography

Dr. Chen received his B.S. degree in physical chemistry at Fudan University in Shanghai, China. In 1985, he joined Professor Ackerman’s lab as a graduate student at Washington University in St. Louis and received his Ph.D. in 1990. He spent three years as a postdoctoral fellow and research associate in Professor Shulman’s lab at Yale University Medical School. In 1994, he joined the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (CMRR) at the University of Minnesota and became a full professor in 2002.S

Research

Dr Chen’s research focuses on development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)/spectroscopy (MRS) methodologies and technologies for noninvasively studying cellular metabolism, bioenergetics, function and dysfunction of the brain and other organs. ...

OnAir Post: Wei Chen, PhD – Minnesota

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