Labs

PI: Tom Franken, MD, PhD

How do you make sense of what you see? The patterns of light that the eyes receive are ambiguous. Consider the wavelength of reflected light: this could either indicate the color of the reflecting surface, or that of the incident light. The brain thus needs to actively reconstruct a representation of the external world. The Franken laboratory studies the brain circuits that perform these computations, using behavioral, electrophysiological, optical and viral targeting approaches.

PI: Harrison Gabel, PhD

The Gabel Lab studies molecular mechanisms of gene regulation that contribute to development and plasticity in the mammalian brain, and how disruption of these mechanisms can lead to neurological disease.

PI: Geoffrey Goodhill, PhD

The Goodhill Lab is interested in how brains process information, particularly during development. Our current focus is on the development of neural coding in the zebrafish brain. We are addressing this using a combination of behavioral analysis, calcium imaging of neural activity, and mathematical/computational modeling.

PI: Edward Han, PhD

The Han lab studies learning and memory processes in the hippocampus. The lab investigates the cellular and neuronal circuit activity supporting spatial navigation learning in mice. Major approaches in the lab include in vivo two- photon calcium imaging during virtual reality behavioral tasks, in vivo electrophysiology, optogenetics, and computational modeling.

PI: Timothy Holy, PhD

The Holy Lab combines a focus on understanding circuits and behavior with a willingness to pioneer new technologies to address the major challenges in the field. The lab's major scientific focus is on the olfactory system of mice. We choose this system because it presents a tractable “playground” for so many of the questions of modern neuroscience.

PI: Adam Kepecs, PhD

The long-term goal of the Kepecs Lab is to reverse engineer the computational and neurobiological processes underlying cognition and decision-making and apply these insights to biological psychiatry.

PI: Tristan Qingyun Li, PhD

The Li Lab is broadly interested in neuroimmunology with a focus on microglial biology. Particularly, the lab is interested in combining cutting-edge single-cell genomic technologies with in vitro and in vivo genetic, molecular and cellular tools to investigate microglial development, heterogeneity and mechanisms of neuro-immune interactions underlying brain structure and disease.

PI: Ilya Monosov, PhD

The Monosov Lab is interested in the neuronal basis of voluntary behavior. What are the neuronal mechanisms that control exploration and learning? How do different attributes of behavioral-options impact our decision-making?

PI: Ashley Morhardt, PhD

IoDino (i·o·dy·no) Lab is a multidisciplinary space that uses classic and cutting-edge techniques to study the form, function, and evolution of modern and extinct animals. The lab strives for excellence in scholarship, teaching, and outreach. The IoDino Lab focuses on inferring and digitally reconstructing soft tissues in extinct vertebrates, specifically dinosaurs. We are particularly interested in the paleoneurology (evolved form and inferred function) of dinosaur brains.

PI: Michael Nonet, PhD

Research in the Nonet Lab focuses on understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms mediating neuronal synapse development. The lab addresses this complex problem using a combination of genetic, molecular and image techniques using both the nematode C. elegans and the teleost Danio rerio.