We at Wu Tsai Neuro are dedicated to cultivating the next generation of creative, collaborative, cross-disciplinary neuroscientists. To celebrate the accomplishments of our innovative trainees, we invite you go get to know some of our past and present scholars.
Using software engineering to bring back speech in ALS
Erin Kunz, third year PhD student in Electrical Engineering, started her career developing autonomous vehicles at General Motors (GM) — but now she uses her software engineering and machine learning skills in the Neural Prosthetics Translational Laboratory at Stanford, led by faculty members Jamie Henderson and the late Krisha Shenoy.
Unraveling how seizures change brain insulation
Interdisciplinary graduate fellow and MBCT student member Gustavo Chau Loo Kung is using experimental forms of MRI to investigate how myelin, the protective layer that covers every nerve cell in the brain, changes with repeated seizures.
Evolution of octopus and squid brains could shed light on origins of intelligence
By studying the independent evolution of the cephalopod nervous system, interdisciplinary postdoctoral scholar Matt McCoy seeks common features that could teach us fundamental truths about the evolution of intelligence itself.
A year in the life of the mouse lemur
Interdisciplinary postdoctoral scholar Shixuan Liu is advancing our understanding of the brain’s molecular “calendar” by studying seasonal rhythms in a diminutive primate called the mouse lemur.
Balancing top-tier science with activism
Postdoc Brielle Ferguson has excelled not only in top-tier science — investigating brain mechanisms of attention in absense epilepsy as a postdoc in the Huguenard lab at Wu Tsai Neuro and preparing to launch her own lab — but also in the kind of activism and advocacy she hopes can improve the diversity and culture of the scientific community around her.
Secrets of brain health may be hidden in nerve cells’ insulation
Interdisciplinary postdoctoral scholars Tal Iram and Miguel Garcia have been working to fill in gaps in neuroscience’s understanding of the development, function, and disease-impact of the brain's long-overlooked oligodendrocytes, which produce nerve-wrapping myelin.
High-throughput brain mapping – a barcode for every synapse
Interdisciplinary postdoctoral scholar Boxuan Zhao tells us about designing new tools to create a 'blueprint' for the brain and and the surprising common ground between his passions for chemical biology, triathlon and scuba diving.
The tip of the iceberg - Building the next generation of neural prosthetics
Former Wu Tsai Neuro interdisciplinary postdoctoral scholar Sergey Stavisky discusses his passion for developing brain computer interfaces to restore speech and movement to people with paralysis, and his plans for his new laboratory at UC Davis.
How wearable tech can teach and heal with the power of touch
In our first profile, get to know Caitlyn Seim, PhD, a Wu Tsai Neuro interdisciplinary postdoctoral scholar who designs wearable devices that stimulate the sense of touch. She has designed technology to teach piano and the braille alphabet and is now conducting clinical trials for devices to promote healing in stroke survivors.
