Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute


Showing 1-41 of 41 Results

  • Sanjiv Sam Gambhir, MD, PhD

    Sanjiv Sam Gambhir, MD, PhD

    Member, Bio-X

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy laboratory focuses on merging advances in molecular biology with those in biomedical imaging to advance the field of molecular imaging. Imaging for the purpose of better understanding cancer biology and applications in gene and cell therapy, as well as immunotherapy are all being studied. A key long-term focus is the earlier detection of cancer by combining in vitro diagnostics and molecular imaging.

  • Xiaojing Gao

    Xiaojing Gao

    Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsHow do we design biological systems as “smart medicine” that sense patients’ states, process the information, and respond accordingly? To realize this vision, we will tackle fundamental challenges across different levels of complexity, such as (1) protein components that minimize their crosstalk with human cells and immunogenicity, (2) biomolecular circuits that function robustly in different cells and are easy to deliver, (3) multicellular consortia that communicate through scalable channels, and (4) therapeutic modules that interface with physiological inputs/outputs. Our engineering targets include biomolecules, molecular circuits, viruses, and cells, and our approach combines quantitative experimental analysis with computational simulation. The molecular tools we build will be applied to diverse fields such as neurobiology and cancer therapy.

  • Chris Garcia

    Chris Garcia

    Younger Family Professor and Professor of Structural Biology

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsStructural and functional studies of transmembrane receptor interactions with their ligands in systems relevant to human health and disease - primarily in immunity, infection, and neurobiology. We study these problems using protein engineering, structural, biochemical, and combinatorial biology approaches.

  • Justin Gardner

    Justin Gardner

    Associate Professor of Psychology

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsHow does neural activity in the human cortex create our sense of visual perception? We use a combination of functional magnetic resonance imaging, computational modeling and analysis, and psychophysical measurements to link human perception to cortical brain activity.

  • Joseph Garner

    Joseph Garner

    Professor of Comparative Medicine and, by courtesy, of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe medical research community has long recognized that "good well-being is good science". The lab uses an integrated interdisciplinary approach to explore this interface, while providing tangible deliverables for the well-being of human patients and research animals.

  • Brice Gaudilliere

    Brice Gaudilliere

    Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine (MSD) and, by courtesy, of Pediatrics (Neonatology)

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe advent of high dimensional flow cytometry has revolutionized our ability to study and visualize the human immune system. Our group combines high parameter mass cytometry (a.k.a Cytometry by Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry, CyTOF), with advanced bio-computational methods to study how the human immune system responds and adapts to acute physiological perturbations. The laboratory currently focuses on two clinical scenarios: surgical trauma and pregnancy.

  • Paul George, MD, PhD

    Paul George, MD, PhD

    Associate Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences (Adult Neurology) and, by courtesy, of Neurosurgery

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsCONDUCTIVE POLYMER SCAFFOLDS FOR STEM CELL-ENHANCED STROKE RECOVERY:
    We focus on developing conductive polymers for stem cell applications. We have created a microfabricated, polymeric system that can continuously interact with its biological environment. This interactive polymer platform allows modifications of the recovery environment to determine essential repair mechanisms. Recent work studies the effect of electrical stimulation on neural stem cells seeded on the conductive scaffold and the pathways by which it enhances stroke recovery Further understanding the combined effect of electrical stimulation and stem cells in augmenting neural repair for clinical translational is a major focus of this research going forward.

    BIOPOLYMER SYSTEMS FOR NEURAL RECOVERY AND STEM CELL MODULATION:
    The George lab develops biomaterials to improve neural recovery in the peripheral and central nervous systems. By controlled release of drugs and molecules through biomaterials we can study the temporal effect of these neurotrophic factors on neural recovery and engineer drug delivery systems to enhance regenerative effects. By identifying the critical mechanisms for stroke and neural recovery, we are able to develop polymeric technologies for clinical translation in nerve regeneration and stroke recovery. Recent work utilizing these novel conductive polymers to differentiate stem cells for therapeutic and drug discovery applications.

    APPLYING ENGINEERING TECHNIQUES TO DETERMINE BIOMARKERS FOR STROKE DIAGNOSTICS:
    The ability to create diagnostic assays and techniques enables us to understand biological systems more completely and improve clinical management. Previous work utilized mass spectroscopy proteomics to find a simple serum biomarker for TIAs (a warning sign of stroke). Our study discovered a novel candidate marker, platelet basic protein. Current studies are underway to identify further candidate biomarkers using transcriptome analysis. More accurate diagnosis will allow for aggressive therapies to prevent subsequent strokes.

  • Olivier Gevaert

    Olivier Gevaert

    Associate Professor of Medicine (Biomedical Informatics) and of Biomedical Data Science

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy lab focuses on biomedical data fusion: the development of machine learning methods for biomedical decision support using multi-scale biomedical data. We primarily use methods based on regularized linear regression to accomplish this. We primarily focus on applications in oncology and neuroscience.

  • William Giardino

    William Giardino

    Assistant Professor (Research) of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Sleep Medicine)

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWe aim to decipher the neural mechanisms underlying psychiatric conditions of stress, addiction, and sleep/circadian dysregulation. Our work uses combinatorial technologies for precisely mapping, monitoring, and manipulating neural circuits that regulate emotional states. We are especially focused on the behavioral functions of neuropeptide molecules acting throughout the circuitry of the extended amygdala- particularly in a brain region called the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST).

  • Erin Gibson

    Erin Gibson

    Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Sleep Medicine)

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsGlia make up more than half of the cells in the human brain, but we are just beginning to understand the complex and multifactorial role glia play in health and disease. Glia are decidedly dynamic in form and function. Understanding the mechanisms underlying this dynamic nature of glia is imperative to developing novel therapeutic strategies for diseases of the nervous system that involve aberrant gliogenesis, especially related to changes in myelination.

  • Rona Giffard

    Rona Giffard

    Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Emerita

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsAstrocytes, microglia and neurons interact, and have unique vulnerabilities to injury based on their patterns of gene expression and their functional roles. We focus on the cellular and molecular basis of brain cell injury in stroke. We study the effects of altering miRNA expression, altering levels of heat shock and cell death regulatory proteins. Our goal is to improve outcome by improving mitochondrial function and brain cell survival, and reducing oxidative stress and inflammation.

  • William Gilly

    William Gilly

    Professor of Oceans

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy work has contributed to understanding electrical excitability in nerve & muscle in organisms ranging from brittle-stars to mammals. Current research addresses behavior, physiology and ecology of squid through field and lab approaches. Electronic tagging plus in situ video, acoustic and oceanographic methods are used to study behaviors and life history in the field. Lab work focuses on control of chromogenic behavior by the chromatophore network and of locomotion by the giant axon system.

  • Lisa Giocomo

    Lisa Giocomo

    Professor of Neurobiology

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy laboratory studies the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the organization of cortical circuits important for spatial navigation and memory. We are particularly focused on medial entorhinal cortex, where many neurons fire in spatially specific patterns and thus offer a measurable output for molecular manipulations. We combine electrophysiology, genetic approaches and behavioral paradigms to unravel the mechanisms and behavioral relevance of non-sensory cortical organization. Our first line of research is focused on determining the cellular and molecular components crucial to the neural representation of external space by functionally defined cell types in entorhinal cortex (grid, border and head direction cells). We plan to use specific targeting of ion channels, combined with in vivo tetrode recordings, to determine how channel dynamics influence the neural representation of space in the behaving animal. A second, parallel line of research, utilizes a combination of in vivo and in vitro methods to further parse out ionic expression patterns in entorhinal cortices and determine how gradients in ion channels develop. Ultimately, our work aims to understand the ontogenesis and relevance of medial entorhinal cortical topography in spatial memory and navigation.

  • Aaron D. Gitler

    Aaron D. Gitler

    Stanford Medicine Basic Science Professor

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWe investigate the mechanisms of human neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, and ALS. We don't limit ourselves to one model system or experimental approach. We start with yeast, perform genetic and chemical screens, and then move to other model systems (e.g. mammalian tissue culture, mouse, fly) and even work with human patient samples (tissue sections, patient-derived cells, including iPS cells) and next generation sequencing approaches.

  • Jeffrey S.  Glenn, M.D., Ph.D.

    Jeffrey S. Glenn, M.D., Ph.D.

    Joseph D. Grant Professor and Professor of Microbiology and Immunology

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Glenn's primary interest is in molecular virology, with a strong emphasis on translating this knowledge into novel antiviral therapies. Other interests include exploitation of hepatic stem cells, engineered human liver tissues, liver cancer, and new biodefense antiviral strategies.

  • Gary Glover

    Gary Glover

    Professor of Radiology (Radiological Sciences Lab) and, by courtesy, of Psychology and of Electrical Engineering

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy present research is devoted to the advancement of functional magnetic resonance imaging sciences for applications in basic understanding of the brain in health and disease. We collaborate closely with departmental clinicians and with others in the school of medicine, humanities, and the engineering sciences.

  • Garry Gold

    Garry Gold

    Stanford Medicine Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy primary focus is application of new MR imaging technology to musculoskeletal problems. Current projects include: Rapid MRI for Osteoarthritis, Weight-bearing cartilage imaging with MRI, and MRI-based models of muscle. We are studying the application of new MR imaging techniques such as rapid imaging, real-time imaging, and short echo time imaging to learn more about biomechanics and pathology of bones and joints. I am also interested in functional imaging approaches using PET-MRI.

  • Jeffrey Goldberg, MD, PhD

    Jeffrey Goldberg, MD, PhD

    Blumenkranz Smead Professor

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsLab research on molecular mechanisms of survival and regeneration in the visual system; retinal development and stem cell biology; nanoparticles and tissue engineering. Clinical trials in imaging, biomarker development, and neuroprotection and vision restoration in glaucoma and other neurodegenerative diseases.

  • Andrea Goldsmith

    Andrea Goldsmith

    Stephen Harris Professor in the School of Engineering, Emerita

    BioAndrea Goldsmith is the Dean of Engineering and Applied Science and the Arthur LeGrand Doty Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Princeton University. She was previously the Stephen Harris Professor of Engineering and Professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, where she is now Harris Professor Emerita. Her research interests are in information theory, communication theory, and signal processing, and their application to wireless communications, interconnected systems, and biomedical devices. She founded and served as Chief Technical Officer of Plume WiFi (formerly Accelera, Inc.) and of Quantenna (QTNA), Inc, and she serves on the Board of Directors for Intel (INTC), Medtronic (MDT), Crown Castle Inc (CCI), and the Marconi Society. She also serves on the Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). Dr. Goldsmith is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the Royal Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is a Fellow of the IEEE and has received several awards for her work, including the Marconi Prize, the ACM Sigmobile Outstanding Contribution Award, the IEEE Sumner Technical Field Award, the ACM Athena Lecturer Award, the ComSoc Armstrong Technical Achievement Award, the Kirchmayer Graduate Teaching Award, the WICE Mentoring Award, and the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal’s Women of Influence Award. She is author of the book ``Wireless Communications'' and co-author of the books ``MIMO Wireless Communications,” “Principles of Cognitive Radio,” and “Machine Learning and Wireless Communications,” all published by Cambridge University Press, as well as an inventor on 29 patents. She received the B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from U.C. Berkeley.

    Dr. Goldsmith is the founding Chair of the IEEE Board of Directors Committee on Diversity and Inclusion. She served as President of the IEEE Information Theory Society in 2009, as founding Chair of its Student Committee, and as founding Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Information Theory. She has also served on the Board of Governors for both the IEEE Information Theory and Communications Societies. At Stanford she served as Chair of Stanford’s Faculty Senate and for multiple terms as a Senator, and on its Academic Council Advisory Board, Budget Group, Committee on Research, Planning and Policy Board, Commissions on Graduate and on Undergraduate Education, Faculty Women’s Forum Steering Committee, and Task Force on Women and Leadership.

  • Andrea Goldstein-Piekarski

    Andrea Goldstein-Piekarski

    Assistant Professor (Research) of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Sleep Medicine)

    BioDr. Goldstein-Piekarski directs the Computational Psychiatry, Neuroscience, and Sleep Laboratory (CoPsyN Sleep Lab) as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine and PI within the Sierra-Pacific Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC) at the Palo Alto VA. She received her PhD in 2014 at the University of California, Berkeley where she studied the consequences of sleep on emotional brain function. She then completed a Postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford focusing on understanding the brain basis of anxiety and depression.

    As the director of the CoPsyN Sleep Lab she is developing a translational, interdisciplinary research program that combines human neuroimaging, high-density EEG sleep recording, and computational modeling to understand the neural mechanisms through which sleep disruption contributes to affective disorders, particularly depression, across the lifespan. The ultimate goals of this research are to (1) develop mechanistically-informed interventions that directly target aspects of sleep and brain function to prevent and treat affective disorders and (2) identify novel biomarkers which can identify which individuals are most likely to experience improved mood following targeted sleep interventions.

    This work is currently supported by The KLS Foundation, a R01 from National Institute of Mental Health, and a R61 from the National Institute of Mental Health.

  • Natalia Gomez-Ospina

    Natalia Gomez-Ospina

    Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Genetics)

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Gomez-Ospina is a physician scientist and medical geneticist with a strong interest in the diagnosis and management of genetic diseases.

    1) Lysosomal storage diseases:
    Her research program is on developing better therapies for a large class of neurodegenerative diseases in children known as lysosomal storage disorders. Her current focus is on developing genome editing of hematopoietic stem cells as a therapeutic approach for these diseases beginning with Mucopolysaccharidosis type 1 and Gaucher disease. She established a genetic approach where therapeutic proteins can be targeted to a single well-characterized place in the genome known as a safe harbor. This approach constitutes a flexible, “one size fits all” approach that is independent of specific genes and mutations. This strategy, in which the hematopoietic system is commandeered to express and deliver therapeutic proteins to the brain can potentially change the current approaches to treating childhood neurodegenerative diseases and pave the way for alternative therapies for adult neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease


    2) Point of care ammonia testing
    She also works in collaboration with other researchers at Stanford to develop point-of-care testing for serum ammonia levels. Such device will greatly improve the quality of life of children and families with metabolic disorders with hyperammonemia.

    3) Gene discovery
    Dr Gomez-Ospina lead a multi-institutional collaboration resulting in the discovery of a novel genetic cause of neonatal and infantile cholestatic liver disease. She collaborated in the description of two novel neurologic syndromes caused by mutations in DYRK1 and CHD4.


    For more information go to our website:

    https://www.gomezospina.com/

  • Miriam B. Goodman

    Miriam B. Goodman

    Mrs. George A. Winzer Professor of Cell Biology

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWe study the molecular events that give rise to the sensation of touch and chemical stressors that compromise touch sensation in C. elegans. To do this, we use a combination of quantitative behavioral analysis, genetics, in vivo electrophysiology, and heterologous expression of ion channels. We collaborate with physicists and other physiologist to expand our experimental research.

  • Deborah M Gordon

    Deborah M Gordon

    Paul S. and Billie Achilles Professor of Environmental Biology

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsProfessor Deborah M Gordon studies the evolutionary ecology of collective behavior. Ant colonies operate without central control, using local interactions to regulate colony behavior.

  • Ian Gotlib

    Ian Gotlib

    David Starr Jordan Professor

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsCurrent interests include social, cognitive, and biological factors in affective disorders; neural and cognitive processing of emotional stimuli and reward by depressed persons; behavioral activation and anhedonia in depression; social, emotional, and biological risk factors for depression in children.

  • Henry T. (Hank) Greely

    Henry T. (Hank) Greely

    Deane F. and Kate Edelman Johnson Professor of Law and, Professor, by courtesy, of Genetics

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsSince 1992 my work has concentrated on ethical, legal, and social issues in the biosciences. I am particularly active on issues arising from neuroscience, human genetics, and stem cell research, with cross-cutting interests in human research protections, human biological enhancement, and the future of human reproduction.

  • Tamar Green

    Tamar Green

    Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences)

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe Brain Imaging, Development, and Genetic (BRIDGE) Lab focuses on disorders associated with child development, such as attention deficits, hyperactivity, and autism spectrum disorders. we aim to uncover biological principles of how genetic variation and its associated downstream pathways affect children's neurodevelopmental disorders.

  • William Greenleaf

    William Greenleaf

    Professor of Genetics

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur lab focuses on developing methods to probe both the structure and function of molecules encoded by the genome, as well as the physical compaction and folding of the genome itself. Our efforts are split between building new tools to leverage the power of high-throughput sequencing technologies and cutting-edge optical microscopies, and bringing these technologies to bear against basic biological questions by linking DNA sequence, structure, and function.

  • Michael Greicius, MD, MPH

    Michael Greicius, MD, MPH

    Iqbal Farrukh and Asad Jamal Professor and Professor, by courtesy, of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Administrative and Academic Special Programs)

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsAs the Founding Director of the Stanford Center for Memory Disorders and Principal Investigator of a lab focused on the genetics of Alzheimer's disease (AD), Dr. Greicius' research focuses on elucidating the neurobiologic underpinnings of AD. His lab combines cutting edge brain imaging, "deep" phenotyping, and whole-genome sequencing of human subjects to identify novel pathways involved in AD pathogenesis. The goal of his work is to develop effective treatment for AD patients.

  • Kalanit Grill-Spector

    Kalanit Grill-Spector

    Susan S. and William H. Hindle Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsFor humans, recognition is a natural, effortless skill that occurs within a few hundreds of milliseconds, yet it is one of the least understood aspects of visual perception. Our research utilizes functional imaging (fMRI),diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), computational techniques, and behavioral methods to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying visual recognition in humans. We also examine the development of these mechanisms from childhood to adulthood as well as between populations.

  • James Gross

    James Gross

    Ernest R. Hilgard Professor, Professor of Psychology and, by courtesy, of Philosophy

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsI am interested in emotion and emotion regulation. My research employs behavioral, physiological, and brain measures to examine emotion-related personality processes and individual differences. My current interests include emotion coherence, specific emotion regulation strategies (reappraisal, suppression), automatic emotion regulation, and social anxiety.

  • Geoffrey Gurtner

    Geoffrey Gurtner

    Johnson & Johnson Distinguished Professor of Surgery, Emeritus

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsGeoffrey Gurtner's Lab is interested in understanding the mecahnism of new blood vessel growth following injury and how pathways of tissue regeneration and fibrosis interact in wound healing.

  • Hyowon Gweon

    Hyowon Gweon

    Associate Professor of Psychology

    BioHyowon (Hyo) Gweon (she/her) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology. As a leader of the Social Learning Lab, Hyo is broadly interested in how humans learn from others and help others learn: What makes human social learning so powerful, smart, and distinctive? Taking an interdisciplinary approach that combines developmental, computational, and neuroimaging methods, her research aims to explain the cognitive underpinnings of distinctively human learning, communication, and prosocial behaviors.

    Hyo received her PhD in Cognitive Science (2012) from MIT, where she continued as a post-doc before joining Stanford in 2014. She has been named as a Richard E. Guggenhime Faculty Scholar (2020) and a David Huntington Dean's Faculty Scholar (2019); she is a recipient of the APS Janet Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions (2020), Jacobs Early Career Fellowship (2020), James S. McDonnell Scholar Award for Human Cognition (2018), APA Dissertation Award (2014), and Marr Prize (best student paper, Cognitive Science Society 2010).

  • Laura Gwilliams

    Laura Gwilliams

    Assistant Professor of Psychology and, by courtesy, of Linguistics

    BioLaura Gwilliams is jointly appointed between Stanford Psychology, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute and Stanford Data Science. Her work is focused on understanding the neural representations and operations that give rise to speech comprehension in the human brain. To do so, she brings together insight from neuroscience, linguistics and machine learning, and takes advantage of recording techniques that operate at distinct spatial scales (MEG, ECoG and Neuropixels).