Funded Projects

Yi Lui's project aims to use deep brain microstimulation (DBMS), which causes even less brain damage and has higher spatial resolution than DBS, for memory recovery.

Dr. Darian Hadjiabadi aims to identify higher-order features of neuronal circuits responsible for seizure initiation and propagation by quantifying mesoscale-network reorganization in genetic models of zebra sh that faithfully recapitulate seizure dynamics in humans.

Dr. Brandon Jay Bhasin will use engineering principles from modern control theory, experimental neuroscience and computational neuroscience to significantly advance understanding of how feedback driven plasticity in a tractable neural circuit is orchestrated across multiple synaptic sites and over various timescales so that circuit dynamics are changed to improve performance.

The NeuroPlant Initiative aims to leverage a botanical armamentarium to manipulate the brain — by building a pipeline to explore chemicals synthesized in plants as potential new treatments for neurological disease and as a window into the chemistry of the brain.

Investigating how the brain develops from infancy to adulthood across species, focusing on how the interplay between structural development, functional development, experience and affect brain computations and ultimately behavior.

Developing brain organoids – three dimensional brain tissues grown in the lab – to study human brain development, evolution and neuropsychiatric disorders.

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.

The goal of the project is to create a transformative sensor technology to measure complex forms of chemical communication in the living brain, in real time.

Dr. Dante Muratore's goal is to design the next generation of neural interfaces that allow single-cell resolution when communicating with the nervous system. To achieve this, he has conceived a new way of reading information from the neural system.

Dr. Daniel Bear propose to augment state-of-the-art neural networks with two biologically-inspired properties: the ability to represent the physical world as it changes over time and the ability to learn from self-created signals rather than explicit human instruction.

By performing a molecular and neural network analysis across behaviorally divergent pair bonding species, Dr. Jessica Nowicki will use the power of comparative analysis to reveal core mechanisms that regulate pair bonding.

Dr. Miguel Garcia believes that identifying the mechanism of myelin wrapping is important in understanding neural development and is a critical first step towards creating much needed therapeutic approaches to stimulate remyelination in patients with demyelinating diseases.

Dr. Iram will use brain intrinsic and systemic regulators of aging, in an attempt to accelerate maturation of human-derived brain organoids. This has the potential to produce the first ever aged human brain 3D cultures and identify factors which accelerate brain aging.

Project's stimulation method may provide a powerful tool to reduce disability after a stroke, and the wearable form factor allows users to receive intensive therapy during their normal daily routine

Developing an automated seizure detection and localization system based on deep neural networks, EEG data, and real-time video with the goal to dramatically increase neurologist diagnostic capabilities while improving quality of care.

Developing a protein-engineered nerve implant that mimics the biochemical and mechanical cues of native tissue in order to enhance the potential for neural regeneration following injury.

Although you’re aware of the light that you see, light also affects us in ways that you might not appreciate. These so called “non-image forming” (NIF) pathways were recently discovered, they start in the human eye before projecting to over a dozen brain regions. They modulate aspects of human function including our daily rhythms, our sleep patterns, the way we feel and the way we think.

Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease second only to malaria in its human health and economic impact on tropical nations.

The project aims to alleviate this bottleneck by developing a weak supervision system that optimally deals with time-series data and takes advantage of multiple data modalities.

Developing a platform of biocompatible nanoparticles that uncage a drug payload upon ultrasound application.

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.