Browse wide-ranging research at the frontiers of neuroscience supported by Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute grants, awards, and training fellowships.
Projects
Combining electrical and optical measurements on voltage-gated sodium channel toxins
Ion channels in the membranes of neuronal cells are the key regulators of neuronal signaling. An ion channel works as a gate that can open and close to allow specific molecules to enter or leave the cell. One important type of ion channels are voltage-gated sodium channels (NaVs), which are essential for many processes in our brain.
Cognitive remediation of distraction to reduce striatal dysregulation and improve clinical outcomes for individuals with psychosis
The ability to ignore distracters is impaired for individuals with psychosis. This impairment negatively impacts treatment effectiveness and the ability of individuals with psychosis to function fully.
Understanding a complete neural computation in the primate visual system
Understanding the brain requires understanding how the neurons that constitute it perform computations, and how those computations relate to human behavior.
Investigation of synapse formation by novel nanoscale imaging techniques
Synaptic junctions linking individual neurons constitute the fundamental building blocks of our brain. Understanding their inner working is crucial to unravel the mechanisms by which our brain processes information. However, imaging structures at a relevant sub-synaptic level is challenging and has often hampered advances in neuroscience.
The molecular and cellular basis of magnetosensation: quantum effects in biological systems
For decades we have known that a wide variety of animals use the earth’s magnetic field for navigation, although the means by which they sense it has remained a mystery. There is a long-standing idea that animals like migratory birds use small magnetic deposits in their beaks to act as a compass, however, this idea remains unverified and is currently questioned by many in the field.
Enabling cell-based therapy of spinal cord injury through injectable hydrogels
Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes permanent damage to about 12,000 new patients in the US each year, primarily young adults. A common result of SCI is paralysis, and unfortunately, less than 1% of SCI patients have full neurological recovery by the time of hospital discharge.
Simultaneous 15O-PET and MRI of cerebral blood flow and cerebrovascular reserve
Continuous blood flow to the brain is needed for neural tissues to survive. Noninvasive imaging of cerebral blood flow (CBF) in humans is challenging, but is critically useful to understand normal brain physiology and to help patients with cerebrovascular disorders such as stroke.
Genomic analysis of the gene regulatory landscape of the developing neocortex
This research seeks to understand how our genes encode the instructions for neurons in the neocortex to properly arise during normal brain development. This knowledge will allow scientists to understand how genetic mutations perturb development leading to human disease.
The role of non-canonical GABA synthesis in midbrain dopamine neurons on striatal inhibition
Due to the critical role that dopamine producing neurons play in pathophysiology, it is important to examine the function of its co-released GABA. This research aims to study GABA biosynthesis in midbrain dopamine producing neurons and it’s effect on striatal inhibition.
Determining the microstructural basis of diffusion MRI
The aim of this project is to improve the accuracy and reliability of dMRI fiber tracking through comparison with a gold standard that unambiguously relates the measured water diffusion patterns to the underlying tissue structure.
Using nanoelectrodes to measure brown adipose tissue sympathetic nerve activity in vivo
Everyone is well aware of their white adipose tissue and its ability to store excess energy as fat. In fact the efficiency with which it does this has led to obesity and related metabolic diseases becoming the largest single health burden in the United States.
NeuroChoice: Optimizing Choice - from neuroscience to public policy
Brain mechanisms of spatial reasoning in mathematics
Creating an advanced transgenic animal model of autism
Autism is a highly genetic developmental brain disorder which is characterized by social impairments. Autism affects 1 in 68 US children, with an annual cost in the US of $250 billion dollars. Unfortunately, the basic biology of autism remains poorly understood.
A novel PET radioligand to identify microglial inflammation in Alzheimer's disease
Geometric analysis and variability mapping in human white matter brain structures
Understanding the relationship between structure and function in the human brain is a key interest in neuroscience. In recent years the focus is turning to understanding the role of the white matter in human cognition, brain function and neurological disorders.
Understanding cellular responses induced by chronic implantation of electrodes using a novel human neural differentiation platform
Electrodes implanted in the brain have great potential, with applications in neurodegenerative disease, brain-computer interfaces, and more. However, the presence of electrodes in brain tissue causes a response known as gliosis, in which a scar forms around the electrode, reducing its effectiveness and access to neurons.
Modeling proprioceptive deficits for the design of novel sensory augmentation for post-stroke movement rehabilitation
Stroke is the main cause of adult disability; 80% of survivors sustain motor (movement) deficits that interfere with activities of daily living. There exists no proven therapeutic strategy for motor recovery of the upper extremity following stroke.
High-speed nanomechanical probing of auditory mechano-sensitive cells
Our ability to detect and interpret sounds relies on specialized sensory cells within the snail-shaped hearing organ of the inner ear—the cochlea. These hair cells sense physical movement and then convert that mechanical stimulus into a biological signal that we perceive as sound. These mechano-sensory cells perform this task within microseconds and can do so for sub-nanomechanical stimuli.
Quantitative imaging for multi-scale modeling of neurological diseases
My proposed visit to the Van De Ville lab is centered on the idea to expand our methods beyond brain tumors to other neurological diseases using the Van De Ville lab’s expertise in neuro-imaging. Imaging genomics has been focused mainly on oncology; however, other neurological diseases can be studied in the same way.
Improve reproducibility and transparency in the field of neuroimaging by applying nonparametricstatistical methods and writing R packages.
Brain data analyses involves many steps and every step is prone to errors and uncertainties. Ignoring uncertainties can potentially leading to overconfident conclusions. To improve reproducibility it is important to propagate errors throughout the analysis.
Biologically plausible neural algorithms for learning structured sequences
Humans naturally learn to generate and process complicated sequential patterns. For example, a concert pianist can learn an enormous repertoire of memorized music. In neuroscience, it is widely thought that synaptic plasticity – the process by which the connections between neurons change response to experience – underlies such remarkable behavior.
Neural mechanisms of learning multiple motor skills and implications for motor rehabilitation
A hallmark of the motor system is its ability to execute different skilled movements as the situation warrants, thanks to the flexibility of motor learning. Despite many behavioral studies on motor learning, the neural mechanisms of motor memory formation and modification remain unclear.
Engineering versatile deep neural networks that model cortical flexibility
In the course of everyday functioning, animals (including humans) are constantly faced with real-world environments in which they are required to shift unpredictably between multiple, sometimes unfamiliar, tasks. But how brains support this rapid adaptation of decision making schema, and how they allocate resources towards learning novel tasks is largely unknown both neuroscientifically and algorithmically.