Browse wide-ranging research at the frontiers of neuroscience supported by Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute grants, awards, and training fellowships.
Projects
A spatiotemporally-resolved circuit model of the physiologic and behavioral effects of subanesthetic ketamine activity in the limbic system
Developing a platform of biocompatible nanoparticles that uncage a drug payload upon ultrasound application.
A multi-rank statistical model to determine the impact of behavioral state on navigational coding by medial entorhinal cortex
Behavioral state—such as alertness or exhaustion—dramatically impacts how our brains function. Yet, in spite of the key role that it plays in cognition, how behavioral state influences brain function remains a central mystery in neuroscience.
How do Schwann cells sort and myelinate axons in the developing peripheral nervous system?
Schwann cells (SCs) sort and myelinate peripheral axons, and impairments in either process can cause long-term disability. There are no therapeutic strategies for targeting SC dysfunction, underscoring the need to investigate mechanisms of sorting and myelination. Both processes require highly motile SC cytoplasmic protrusions, but the basis of this motility is unclear.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Epileptogenesis
Absence epilepsy is a form of pediatric epilepsy which causes seizures with brief lapses in awareness. Electron microscopy results in a murine model of absence epilepsy support the hypothesis that maladaptive myelination plays a role in disease progression.
Stanford Brain Organogenesis Program (Phase 2)
Developing brain organoids and assembloids – three dimensional brain tissues grown in the lab – to study human brain development, evolution and neuropsychiatric disorders.
Neuro-Omics Initiative (Phase 2)
Creating new tools to help neuroscientists bridge the study of genes and proteins operating in the brain to the study of brain circuits and systems, which could lead to a deeper understanding of brain function and disease.
Nanoscale to circuit-level computational and experimental studies of the biophysical mechanism of ultrasound-mediated mechanical neurostimulation
Although ultrasonic neurostimulation has the potential to outperform traditional treatments for many debilitating neurological disorders, it remains unclear how ultrasound affects nervous system activity on the molecular level.
Elucidating mechanisms of microglial tiling
In a process called tiling, homeostatic microglia homogenously organize in a grid-like fashion to achieve efficient surveillance of the brain. The molecular mechanisms underlying tiling are unknown. I hypothesize that microglia use cell-surface proteins to sense density of neighboring microglia, thereby contributing to constant cell-to-cell distances.
Inference via Abstraction: A framework for efficient Bayesian cognition
We propose a novel framework for efficient Bayesian cognition called Inference via Abstraction (IvA), which learns to approximate complex world models with simpler abstractions that capture main dependencies, but leverage structure in the prior distribution for efficient inference. We instantiate IvA with a combination of probabilistic graphical models and deep neural networks.
Design and development of a high-performance intra-cortical speech BCI
Many neurological injuries and diseases such as brainstem stroke and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) result in severe speech impairment, drastically reducing quality of life. Recent progress in brain-computer interfaces (BCI) has allowed these individuals to communicate, but performance is still far lower than typical spoken conversation speeds.
Leveraging screenomics to identify mental illness: Detecting bipolar disorder through computational analysis of smartphone screen data
Mental illnesses like bipolar disorder affect millions of people around the world, but early symptoms are often difficult to detect. Working across the disciplines of clinical psychology, communication, and computer science, my research will develop a novel computational tool to identify signals of mania and depression in real-time.
Optimizing computational modeling of traumatic brain injury with machine learning: biomechanics and beyond
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has become a global health hazard. If undetected, the brain damage of TBI can accumulate, calling for better TBI modeling and warning systems. TBI modeling involves three stages: head impact kinematics, brain deformation, and injuries.
Mechanistic insights into glycerophospholipid metabolism in the lysosome
Phospholipid dysregulation is implicated in the pathogenesis of lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs). We found that glycerophosphodiesters (GPDs) accumulate in lysosomes derived from Batten disease models, a life-limiting LSD whose pathological mechanism remains elusive. GPDs are the degradation products of glycerophospholipid catabolism by phospholipases.