Christopher Miranda

Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Department of Bioengineering
Affiliation:
Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Scholars
Profile

Christopher Miranda is a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Professor Mark Schnitzer where he is developing optical imaging technologies to probe the behavior of neurons in the mouse brain. With these newly developed tools, he aims to unravel longstanding mysteries of the basal ganglia. Christopher received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Arizona State University. His graduate work focused on the development, characterization, and application of new imaging technologies for biomedicine, primarily based on the photoacoustic effect (ultrasound generation through optical absorption). However, after attending a specialized two-week training program run by the NIH BRAIN Initiative, Christopher shifted the direction of his dissertation work and began developing optics-based technologies for neuroscience applications. To continue this path, he joined the Schnitzer lab at Stanford, one of the premier research labs for training neuroengineers that make a tangible impact in neuroscience. 

Related Projects

Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Interdisciplinary Scholar Award
2022
Next-generation brain imaging in freely moving animals

Calcium imaging in freely behaving animals allows for the tracking of neuronal activity under approximately normal behavioral conditions. However, the slow response time of calcium imaging inhibits high resolution voltage and temporal measurements. To address this issue, modern molecular tools have been developed to optically report the high-speed dynamics of neurons more accurately.