Research

Current Projects

Sensitive periods

Cerebellar disruption occurring in early-life permanently disrupts later cognitive behavior. The lab aims to identify the sensitive developmental period that cerebellar activity is required by manipulating neural circuits in early postnatal life. These experiments will combine neural structure analysis with body part tracking of behavior.

Natural behavior

Using machine learning the lab quantitatively analyses behavior and develops assays to understand how animals learn social dynamics, hierarchy, and dominance. These techniques are applied to a wide variety of questions in the lab studying neural circuits in adolescent animals.

Genes and development

Genes contribute to a vast majority of neural developmental disorders, yet it is unknown how abnormal cell activity influences distal cell molecular profiles. In the lab, we combine viral tracing, mapping of whole-brain neural activation, and molecular techniques to isolate cells specifically targeted by cerebellar output.

Sensory circuits

Individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders have comorbidities including high stress reactivity, abnormal sleep patterns, and metabolic disruptions. The lab analyzes neuromodulators to study the connection between the cerebellum and HPA-axis to determine influence on downstream signaling pathways.

Created with BioRender.com and Neuroglancer

This work is funded by:

%d bloggers like this: