Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute


Showing 11-20 of 20 Results

  • Avnesh Thakor

    Avnesh Thakor

    Professor of Radiology (Pediatric Radiology)

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsInterventional Radiologists can access almost any part of the human body without the need for conventional open surgical techniques. As such, they are poised to change the way patients can be treated, given they can locally deliver drug, gene, cell and cell-free therapies directly to affected organs using image-guided endovascular, percutaneous, endoluminal, and even using device implantation approaches

  • Suzanne Tharin

    Suzanne Tharin

    Associate Professor of Neurosurgery

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe long-term goal of my research is the repair of damaged corticospinal circuitry. Therapeutic regeneration strategies will be informed by an understanding both of corticospinal motor neuron (CSMN) development and of events occurring in CSMN in the setting of spinal cord injury. MicroRNAs are small, non-coding RNAs that regulate the expression of “suites” of genes. The work in my lab seeks to identify microRNA controls over CSMN development and over the CSMN response to spinal cord injury.

  • Stuart Thompson

    Stuart Thompson

    Professor of Biology (Hopkins Marine Station)

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsNeurobiology, signal transduction

  • Alice Ting

    Alice Ting

    Professor of Genetics, of Biology and, by courtesy, of Chemistry
    On Leave from 09/22/2025 To 06/10/2026

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWe develop chemogenetic and optogenetic technologies for probing and manipulating protein networks, cellular RNA, and the function of mitochondria and the mammalian brain. Our technologies draw from protein engineering, directed evolution, computational design, chemical biology, organic synthesis, microscopy, and genomics.

  • Andreas Tolias

    Andreas Tolias

    Professor of Ophthalmology

    BioAndreas Tolias is a faculty member at Stanford University, where he co-leads the Enigma Project. His research lies at the interface of neuroscience and AI, combining large-scale neuroscience experiments with machine learning to uncover the principles of natural intelligence. By focusing on perceptual inference and decision-making, his lab integrates systems and computational neuroscience with AI to decipher the network-level principles of intelligence. Dr. Tolias’s work aims to reverse-engineer these principles to create AI systems that are smarter, more robust, trustworthy, and efficient, while providing a powerful platform to test brain algorithms under complex natural tasks. He earned his B.A. and M.A. in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge, a Ph.D. in Systems and Computational Neuroscience from MIT, and completed postdoctoral training in Neuroscience and Machine Learning at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen.

  • Jeanne L. Tsai

    Jeanne L. Tsai

    Dunlevie Family Professor

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research examines how culture shapes affective processes (emotions, moods, feelings) and the implications cultural differences in these processes have for what decisions people make, how people think about health and illness, and how people perceive and respond to others in an increasingly multicultural world.

  • Philip S. Tsao, PhD

    Philip S. Tsao, PhD

    Professor (Research) of Medicine (Cardiovascular Medicine)

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur primary interests are in the molecular underpinnings of vascular disease as well as assessing disease risk. In addition to targeted investigation of specific signaling molecules, we utilize global genomic analysis to identify gene expression networks and regulatory units. We are particularly interested in the role of microRNAs in gene expression pathways associated with disease.

  • Richard Tsien

    Richard Tsien

    George D. Smith Professor, Emeritus

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWe study synaptic communication between brain cells with the goal of understanding neuronal computations and memory mechanisms. Main areas of focus include: presynaptic calcium channels, mechanisms of vesicular fusion and recycling. Modulation of synaptic strength through changes in postsynaptic receptors and dendritic morphology. Signaling that links synaptic activity to nuclear transcription and local protein translation. Techniques include imaging, electrophysiology, molecular biology.

  • Jason Tucciarone, MD, PhD

    Jason Tucciarone, MD, PhD

    Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (General Psychiatry and Psychology)

    BioJason Tucciarone, MD, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford School of Medicine. A neuroscientist and psychiatrist, he leads a laboratory focused on uncovering the biological mechanisms of mental illness and developing novel therapies for mood disorders and addiction. His research centers on defining new cell types and evolutionarily conserved neural circuits involved in emotional processing, with the goal of identifying new therapeutic entry points. Using optogenetic, chemogenetic, neuroimaging, and behavioral approaches in mouse models of addiction, his lab investigates vulnerable brain circuitry underlying opioid use disorder. He also works and collaborates with the Depression Research Clinic, participating in academic and industry sponsored clinical trials investigating novel antidepressant therapies.

    Clinically, Dr. Tucciarone works in Stanford’s Neuropsychiatry Clinic, where he treats patients with complex presentations at the interface of psychiatry and neurology, with particular interest in functional neurological disorders. He also sees a small cohort of psychotherapy patients in the Individual Psychotherapy Clinic and works shifts on Stanford’s inpatient psychiatry units.

    Dr. Tucciarone completed his psychiatry training through Stanford’s Research Residency Track, where he conducted postdoctoral research under the supervision of Drs. Robert Malenka and Alan Schatzberg. During residency, his research examined neural circuits recruited during opioid withdrawal and explored strategies to enhance the anti-suicidal effects of ketamine through μ-opioid receptor partial agonism.

    He received his bachelor’s degree in biology and philosophy from Union College, followed by three years as a Post-Baccalaureate IRTA fellow at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, where he developed MRI-reportable contrast agents to map neuronal connectivity. He then entered the Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD) at Stony Brook University, completing his PhD in neuroscience under the mentorship of Dr. Josh Huang at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. His doctoral work used mouse genetic approaches to dissect excitatory and inhibitory cortical circuits, with a focus on chandelier interneurons in the prefrontal cortex.

    In addition to his research and clinical work, Dr. Tucciarone is deeply committed to teaching and mentorship. During residency, he helped restructure neuroscience education for trainees and currently teaches introductory lectures on the neuroscience of addiction, PTSD, psychosis, and mood disorders. He leads resident group supervision in introductory psychodynamic psychotherapy and supervises undergraduates, medical students, residents, and clinical fellows in psychiatry clinics.