Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute


Showing 1-10 of 572 Results

  • Daniel A. Abrams

    Daniel A. Abrams

    Clinical Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsAutism spectrum disorders (ASD) are among the most pervasive neurodevelopmental disorders and are characterized by significant deficits in social communication. A common observation in children with ASD is that affected individuals often “tune out” from social interactions, which likely impacts the development of social, communication, and language skills. My primary research goals are to understand why children with ASD often tune out from the social world and how this impacts social skill and brain development, and to identify remediation strategies that motivate children with ASD to engage in social interactions. The theoretical framework that guides my work is that social impairments in ASD stem from a primary deficit in identifying social stimuli, such as human voices and faces, as rewarding and salient stimuli, thereby precluding children with ASD from engaging with these stimuli.

    My program of research has provided important information regarding the brain circuits underlying social deficits in ASD. Importantly, these findings have consistently implicated key structures of the brain’s reward and salience processing systems, and support the hypothesis that impaired reward attribution to social stimuli is a critical aspect of social difficulties in ASD.

    My lab is currently conducting three research studies:

    Speaker-Listener Coupling and Brain Dynamics During Naturalistic Verbal Communication in Children with Autism
    We have a new study investigating how the brain processes and understands speech in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder as well as typically developing children. We are interested in understanding speech comprehension in children through anticipating incoming speech and accumulating speech information over a period of time.

    Speaker-Listener Coupling and Brain Dynamics During Naturalistic Verbal Communication in Alzheimer’s Disease
    In collaboration with the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, our new study is exploring how the brain enables us to understand speech, with a focus on both healthy older adults and adults with Alzheimer’s Disease. We also aim to understand how the brain measures seen while we listen and understand a story are linked to language skills in these individuals.

    Pivotal Response Treatment for Adolescents with High Functioning Autism Intervention Study
    This is a 9-week intervention focusing on key social skills for autistic adolescents, while exploring brain plasticity using fMRI imaging. Your child will receive 1:1 sessions with our clinician, with parent training in clinic. Topics include: Greetings, Departures, Question Asking, Talking the Right Amount, Empathy, Sarcasm, and Eating and Drinking. We also coordinate with the school for additional support and opportunities to practice the targeted social skills in a club of interest.

  • Monther Abu-Remaileh

    Monther Abu-Remaileh

    Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering and of Genetics

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWe study the role of the lysosome in metabolic adaptation using subcellular omics approaches, functional genomics and innovative biochemical tools. We apply this knowledge to understand how lysosomal dysfunction leads to human diseases including neurodegeneration, cancer and metabolic syndrome.

  • Ehsan Adeli

    Ehsan Adeli

    Assistant Professor (Research) of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Public Mental Health and Populations Sciences)

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research lies in the intersection of Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Healthcare, Ambient Intelligence, and Computational Neuroscience.

  • Raag Airan

    Raag Airan

    Assistant Professor of Radiology (Neuroimaging and Neurointervention) and, by courtesy, of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and of Materials Science and Engineering

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur goal is to develop and clinically implement new technologies for high-precision and noninvasive intervention upon the nervous system. Every few millimeters of the brain is functionally distinct, and different parts of the brain may have counteracting responses to therapy. To better match our therapies to neuroscience, we develop techniques that allow intervention upon only the right part of the nervous system at the right time, using technologies like focused ultrasound and nanotechnology.

  • Gregory W. Albers, MD

    Gregory W. Albers, MD

    Coyote Foundation Professor and Professor, by courtesy, of Neurosurgery

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur group’'s research focus is the acute treatment and prevention of cerebrovascular disorders. Our primary interest is the use of advanced imaging techniques to expand the treatment window for ischemic stroke. We are also conducting clinical studies of both neuroprotective and thrombolytic strategies for the treatment of acute stroke and investigating new antithrombotic strategies for stroke prevention.

  • Russ B. Altman

    Russ B. Altman

    Kenneth Fong Professor and Professor of Bioengineering, of Genetics, of Medicine, of Biomedical Data Science, Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for HAI and Professor, by courtesy, of Computer Science

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsI refer you to my web page for detailed list of interests, projects and publications. In addition to pressing the link here, you can search "Russ Altman" on http://www.google.com/

  • Kanwaljeet S. Anand

    Kanwaljeet S. Anand

    Professor of Pediatrics (Pediatric Critical Care) and of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Anand is a translational clinical researcher who pioneered research on the endocrine-metabolic stress responses of infants undergoing surgery and developed the first-ever scientific rationale for pain perception in early life. This provided a framework for newer methods of pain assessment, numerous clinical trials of analgesia/anesthesia in newborns, infants and older children. His research focus over the past 30+ years has contributed fundamental knowledge about pediatric pain/stress, long-term effects of pain in early life, management of pain, mechanisms for opioid tolerance and withdrawal. Current projects in his laboratory are focused on developing biomarkers for repetitive pain/stress in critically ill children and the mechanisms underlying sedative/anesthetic neurotoxicity in the immature brain. He designed and directed many randomized clinical trials (RCT), including the largest-ever pediatric analgesia trial studying morphine therapy in ventilated preterm neonates. He has extensive experience in clinical and translational research from participating in collaborative networks funded by NIMH, NINDS, or NICHD, a track-record of excellent collaboration across multiple disciplines, while achieving success with large research teams like the Collaborative Pediatric Critical Care Research Network (CPCCRN). He played a leadership roles in CANDLE (Condition Affecting Neuro-Development & Learning in Early infancy) and other activities of the Urban Child Institute and UT Neuroscience Institute. More recently, he led the NeoOpioid Consortium funded by the European Commission, which collected data from 243 NICUs in 18 European countries.

  • Katrin Andreasson

    Katrin Andreasson

    Edward F. and Irene Thiele Pimley Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur research focuses on understanding how immune responses initiate and accelerate synaptic and neuronal injury in age-related neurodegeneration, including models of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. We also focus on the role of immune responses in aggravating brain injury in models of stroke. Our goal is the identification of critical immune pathways that function in neurologic disorders and that can be targeted to elicit disease modifying effects.