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| 11/30/2009 - 10:00am |
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| 12/3/2009 - 12:00pm |
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| 12/4/2009 - 11:00am |
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Post Doctoral Fellows and Research Track Faculty
 | Phil Baldwin, Ph.D.
Ph.D., University of Illinois , 1987
Instructor
Mentor
P. Read Montague, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Signal processing at low signal to noise ratio and questions in data mining. Currently working on a wide variety of problems including i) classification of the subject populations we encounter with regard to the imaging and behavioral studies that HNL performs as well as ii) imaging small mid brain structures and iii) designing electrical stimulation trains to evoke desired levels of dopamine and iv) modeling nitric oxide transport in neural structures.
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 | Martín L. Basch, Ph.D.
Ph.D., California Institute of Technology, 2004
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
Andy Groves, Ph.D.
Research Interests
The formation and differentiation of mechanosensory hair cells in the mammalian cochlea.
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 | Meghana Bhatt, Ph.D.
Ph.D., California Institute of Technology, 2007
Postdoctoral Fellow
Mentor
P. Read Montague, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Primarily interested in neuroeconomics, particularly pertaining to the neural basis of belief formation in social and strategic contexts.
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 | John Broussard, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Ohio State University, 2007
Postdoctoral Fellow
Mentor
John A. Dani, Ph.D.
Research Interests
The mechanism by which nicotine enhances the encoding of memories using in vivo tetrode recordings from mice.
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 | Alison Prince Carter, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine, 2009
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
Stephen M. LaConte, Ph.D.
Research Interests
The application of supervised learning techniques to fMRI with an interest in understanding the brain states of at-risk populations. How the brain adapts in response to group social interactions. In addition, training with the REACH IRACDA program to develop new educational approaches to engage undergraduate students in biomedical research. |
 | Raymond Chan, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences, Leipzig, Germany, 2008
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
Fabrizio Gabbiani, Ph.D.
Research Interests
To study both experimentally as well as theoretically the interaction between neuroscience and aerodynamics in insect flight.
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 | George Christopoulos, Ph.D.
Ph.D., University of Cambridge, 2008
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
Brooks R. King-Casas, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Game-theoretic approaches to neural mechanisms underlying social decision making and learning; risk and value BOLD signals in social exchange situations; classification of brain states according to social responses; neuroeconomics.
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 | Kimberlee D’Ardenne, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Princeton University, 2008
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
P. Read Montague, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Reward processing in humans by using functional MRI to image the brainstem dopamine system.
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 | Richard B. Dewell, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Louisiana State University, 2009
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
Fabrizio Gabbiani, Ph.D.
Research Interests
How nervous systems produce behavior, ideally pursued through integrating work across the levels of behavior, biomechanics, neural circuitry and physiology. Currently investigating neurophysiological properties of a looming sensitive neuron in the locust to better understand the role neural computation at the cellular level plays in the organism's escape behavior.
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 | Jonathan Downar, M.D., Ph.D.
M.D., University of Calgary, 2005
Ph.D., University of Toronto, 2002
Postdoctoral Fellow
Mentor
P. Read Montague, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Adapting behavioral tasks from neuroeconomics and social cognitive neuroscience for clinical use. Investigating the effects of existing psychiatric medications on social and affective cognition. Public education on implications of contemporary neuroscience.
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 | Yu Dong, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R.China, 2004
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
John A. Dani, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Neuropharmacology, Neuropathology and Neurotransmitter detection (microdialysis-HPLC). Molecular mechanisms of drug addiction, learning and memory, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson’s disease
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 | William Doyon, Ph.D.
Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin, 2005
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
John A. Dani, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Interactions between nicotine and ethanol and how they affect midbrain dopamine transmission using a combination of in vivo microdialysis and tetrode recording techniques.
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 | Joseph G. Duman, Ph.D.
Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 2002
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
Kimberley R. Tolias, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Monomeric GTPases and interacting proteins in the development, maintenance, and plasticity of synapses and dendritic spines.
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 | Alexey R. Faustov, Ph.D.
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), 2005
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
Peter Saggau, Ph.D.
Research Interests
3D Random Access Scanning Microscopy based on Acousto-Optical Deflectors (AOD's) , Multiphoton and Fluorescence Scanning Microscopy, Femtosecond Pulse Shaping.
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 | Quentin S. Fischer, Ph.D.
Ph.D., University of California at Riverside, 1995
Instructor
Mentor
Michael J. Friedlander, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Investigating the contribution of the regularity and pattern of synaptic stimulation to the induction of long-term plasticity of neocortical neurons in a model of adult traumatic brain injury.
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 | Mauricio R. Galiano, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, 2006
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
Matthew N. Rasband, Ph.D.
Research Interests
The role of cytoskeletal proteins in the establishment and maintenance of the CNS myelin sheath.
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 | Santosh A. Helekar, M.D., Ph.D.
Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine, 1991
Associate Professor
Mentor
P. Read Montague, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Studying how brain activation in space and time encodes and implements conscious mental activity.
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 | Iskander Ismailov, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Institute of Physiology of the Uzbek Academy of Sciences, 1990
Assistant Professor
Mentor
Michael J. Friedlander, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Intracellular Ca2+ Signaling, Ion Channel Physiology, Mechanoelectrical Transduction.
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 | Henry Jerng, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Thomas Jefferson University, 1998
Assistant Professor
Mentor
Paul J. Pfaffinger, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Molecular basis of functional variability among somatodendritic subthreshold transient K currents from different neuronal populations in the CNS and its influence on neuronal physiology.
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 | Smita Jha, Ph.D.
Ph.D., University of Houston, Houston, Texas, 2008
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
Matthew N. Rasband, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Establishment and maintenance of polarity in neurons. Molecular constituents of the axon initial segments and the nodes of Ranvier.
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 | Minghui Jiang, M.D., Ph.D.
M.D.,Ph.D., Bethune Medical University, China, 1983, 1987
Research Associate
Mentor
Stelios M. Smirnakis, M.D., Ph.D
Research Interests
Project uses 2-photon microscopy in rodents to study cortical plasticity and reorganization after injury in the cortical microcircuitry. Part of my focus is to establish an experimental model of reorganization after directed neuronal or microvascular injury and to understand the role that GABAergic inhibition plays in the reorganization of neural circuits after injury. |
 | Djanenkhodja Kalikulov, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Institute of Biochemistry, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 1985
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
Michael J. Friedlander, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Intracellular Ca2+ signaling associated with synaptic plasticity in neocortex.
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 | Safia Khatri, Ph.D.
Ph.D., University of Pompeu Fabra, Spain, 2009
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
Andy Groves, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Understanding of the development of inner ear. Several questions related to induction, patterning, differentiation and morphogenesis would be answered using chick and mouse models.
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 | Jiyoen Kim, Ph.D.
Ph.D., GIST Korea, 2008
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
Joanna L. Jankowsky, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Studying the cell-autonomous vs. cell-extrinsic effects of APP overexpression and amyloid peptide production on neuronal physiology.
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 | Ulrich Kirk, Ph.D.
Ph.D., University College London, 2007
Postdoctoral Fellow
Mentor
P. Read Montague, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Studying the neural effects of cognitive variables on valuation and decision-making particular in relation to aesthetic experience. Furthermore, the pathologies surrounding valuation and choice, such as anhedonia.
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 | Ken Kishida, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine, 2006
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
P. Read Montague, Ph.D.
Research Interests
The neural mechanisms that give rise to our sense of autonomous agency and phenomenal experience. Furthermore, understanding the neurobehavioral consequences of 1st person, conscious experience during complex social interactions. |
 | Wei Li, Ph.D.
Ph.D., University of Toledo, 2004
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
John A. Dani, Ph.D.
Research Interests
The study of biological mechanism underlying animal learning by the approach of computational and experimental studies. Especially in how Cholinergic interneuons in Striatum and Dopamine neurons in midbrain cooperate in learning.
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 | Tang-Cheng Lee, Ph.D.
Ph.D., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 2008
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
Joanna L. Jankowsky, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Designing new mouse models to study neuronal circuits underlying cognitive behavior.
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 | Yong Liang, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Peking Union Medical College, 1999
Research Associate
Mentor
Peter Saggau, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Study dendritic integration and plasticity under normal and epileptic conditions by recording calcium imaging.
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 | Terry Lohrenz, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Rutgers University
Research Instructor
Mentor
P. Read Montague, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Neuroeconomics: empirical study of economic decision making; models of market and agent behavior; models of social interaction. Computational Neuroscience: models of computational structures in the brain.
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 | Brad Losavio, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine, 2009
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
Peter Saggau, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Developing and using advanced optical, electrophysiological, and genetic techniques to study non-linear synaptic summation and single neuron computation in acute brain slices and in vivo preparations.
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 | Justin A. Nichols, Ph.D.
Ph.D., The University of Texas at Dallas, 2009
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
Stelios M. Smirnakis, M.D., Ph.D.
Research Interests
Primate fMRI paired with multi-single unit recording to study cortical plasticity and the neural circuitry mediating the extraction of relevant stimuli from distracters. Additional interests include the effects of vagal nerve stimulation, nucleus basalis stimulation, and cortical micro-stimulation on attention and cortical plasticity.
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 | Sanyong Niu, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Osaka University, Osaka Japan, 2000
Research Associate
Mentor
Kimberley R. Tolias, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Rho family GTPase signaling pathways that regulate the migration of neurons in prenatal brain, and the development, morphogenesis, and maintenance of dendritic spines in postnatal brain. These studies use a combination of molecular, cellular, biochemical, genetic, and electrophysiological approaches.
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 | T. Dorina Papageorgiou, Ph.D.
Ph.D., M.H.Sc., University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, 2006
Postdoctoral Fellow
Mentor
Stephen M. LaConte, Ph.D. | Stelios M. Smirnakis, M.D., Ph.D.
Research Interests
To investigate cortical and subcortical plasticity (re-organization and/or compensation) in CNS-induced speech dysarthrias using brain-state classification in the real-time fMRI environment. To examine the mechanisms of recovery of visual perception in patients with area V1 and/or extrastriate cortical lesions using SVM classification in the real-time-fMRI, in an effort to enhance visual system plasticity and promote recovery of visual performance.
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 | Xinmiao Peng, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Washington University, 2004
Research Associate
Mentor
Stelios M. Smirnakis, M.D., Ph.D.
Research Interests
Two-photon imaging of primate cortex in vivo.
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 | Andon N. Placzek, Ph.D.
Ph.D., University of Florida, 2005
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
John A. Dani, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Electrophysiological methods to investigate nicotine and ethanol-induced neuroadaptations in midbrain dopamine neurons. Using these same techniques, studying the potential role that development plays in the shaping of nicotinic receptor-mediated plasticity.
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 | Jacob Reimer, Ph.D.
Ph.D., University of Chicago, 2009
Postdoctoral Fellow
Mentor
Andreas S. Tolias, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Assessing the functional relevance of endogenous cortical rhythms at the local circuit level, particularly with respect to their effects on the temporal structure of ensemble responses to visual stimuli.
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 | Khosrow Rezvani, Ph.D.
Ph.D., University of Nottingham, United Kingdom, 2002
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
Mariella De Biasi, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors trafficking, from a regulatory point of view. Understanding of nicotine’s function at synapses in particular its role on Ubiquitin-Proteasome System.
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 | Shaefali Rodgers, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Tulane University, 2009
Postdoctoral Fellow
Mentor
Joanna L. Jankowsky, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Neurobiology of cognition, particularly age-associated changes in mnemonic abilities and underlying neurobiological mechanisms. Current project involves testing cognitive recovery in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease following therapeutic interventions.
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 | Ignacio Saez-Martinez, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine, 2009
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
Michael J. Friedlander, Ph.D. | P. Read Montague, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Plasticity of excitatory connections onto pyramidal neurons in layer 4 of visual cortex | Dopamine signals in the striatum during behavioral tasks in Parkinson's disease patients and rodents.
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 | Ramiro Salas, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine, 1999
Instructor
Mentor
P. Read Montague, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Roles of different nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits on nicotine addiction, using knock-out mice.
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 | Keiichiro Susuki, M.D., Ph.D.
Ph.D., Yokohama City University School of Medicine, Japan, 2001
M.D., Yokohama City University School of Medicine, Japan, 1994
Assistant Professor
Mentor
Matthew N. Rasband, Ph.D.
Research Interests
The role of cytoskeletal proteins at the nodes of Ranvier or Schwann cells and pathogenesis of autoimmune neuropathy (Guillain-Barré syndrome)
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 | Jianrong Tang, Ph.D.
Ph.D., East China Normal University, 1997
Instructor
Mentor
John A. Dani, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Cellular and molecular mechanisms of addictive drug-associated memory.
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 | Dharol Tankersley, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Duke University, 2008
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
Pearl H. Chiu, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Development of behavioral and neuroimaging tasks to advance diagnosis and treatment of mood disorders. In particular, using autonomic and neurobiological profiles of patients to predict patient response to treatments and improve diagnostic categories.
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 | Sergey P. Torsky, Ph.D.
Ph.D.,Institute of Molecular Genetics, Russian Academy of Science, Moscow, Russia, 1980
Research Associate
Mentor
Stelios M. Smirnakis, M.D., Ph.D.
Research Interests
In vivo recording of fast neuronal activity in a 3D volume using two-photon microscopy. Design of microscope and data collection. Analysis of images of neuronal activity.
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 | Ronald van den Berg, Ph.D.
Ph.D., University of Groningen, 2009
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
Wei Ji Ma, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Statistical modeling of perceptual and behavioral decision making, testing these models psychophysically, and study their neural basis. Currently involved in projects related to visual crowding, visual search, change detection and visual short term memory.
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 | Gonzalo Viana Di Prisco, Ph.D.
Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 1983
Assistant Professor
Mentor
Michael J. Friedlander, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Mechanisms of generation of patterns of activity in neural circuits and their behavioral significance for sensory-motor integration and memory-based decision making.
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 | Wangchen Wang, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Rice University, 2008
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
Stelios M. Smirnakis, M.D., Ph.D.
Research Interests
Visual encoding of neural circuitry in multi-neuronal activities.
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 | Matthew Weston, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine, 2009
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
Christian Rosenmund, Ph.D.
Research Interests
How glutamtergic synapses work at a molecular level. Two proteins that are essential for glutamate signaling; the vesicular glutamate transporters, which fill synaptic vesicles with glutamate, and ionotropic glutamate receptors, which are ion channels gated by glutamate binding, play important roles in maintaining and fine-tuning glutamatergic neurotransmission.
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 | Chuansheng Zhang, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Max-Planck Institute, Frankfurt, 2007
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
Matthew N. Rasband, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Axon-glial interactions that regulate the molecular assembly and maintenance of axon initial segments and nodes of Ranvier; Molecular mechanism of pathogenetic changes of demyelinating diseases.
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 | Li Fen Zhang, Ph.D.
Ph.D., Osaka University, 2001
Research Associate
Mentor
John A. Dani, Ph.D.
Research Interests
How nicotinic activity affects dopaminergic system in the striatum and its role in neuropsychiatric disorders including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia and major depression.
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 | Tao Zhang, Ph.D.
Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin, 2005
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
John A. Dani, Ph.D.
Research Interests
How brain nicotinic AChRs are involved in learning, memory and drug addiction.
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 | Rong Zhao, Ph.D.
Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, 2008
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor
Joanna L. Jankowsky, Ph.D.
Research Interests
The molecular and cellular mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases. Especially in how APP expression develops in Alzheimer's disease and Epilepsy.
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 | Ping Jun Zhu, Ph.D.
McGill University, 1997
Research Associate
Mentor
Mauro Costa-Mattioli, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Roles of signaling pathways of translational control in synaptic plasticity and memory formation using biochemical, genetic, neurophysiological, and behavioral approaches; the effects of the signaling pathway on early gene expression, GABAergic transmission and other neuronal activities.
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