Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
Showing 141-160 of 645 Results
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Shaul Druckmann
Associate Professor of Neurobiology, of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and, by courtesy, of Electrical Engineering
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur research goal is to understand how dynamics in neuronal circuits relate and constrain the representation of information and computations upon it. We adopt three synergistic strategies: First, we analyze neural circuit population recordings to better understand the relation between neural dynamics and behavior, Second, we theoretically explore the types of dynamics that could be associated with particular network computations. Third, we analyze the structural properties of neural circuits.
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Justin Du Bois
Henry Dreyfus Professor of Chemistry and Professor, by courtesy, of Chemical and Systems Biology
BioResearch and Scholarship
Research in the Du Bois laboratory spans reaction methods development, natural product synthesis, and chemical biology, and draws on expertise in molecular design, molecular recognition, and physical organic chemistry. An outstanding goal of our program has been to develop C–H bond functionalization processes as general methods for organic chemistry, and to demonstrate how such tools can impact the logic of chemical synthesis. A second area of interest focuses on the role of ion channels in electrical conduction and the specific involvement of channel subtypes in the sensation of pain. This work is enabled in part through the advent of small molecule modulators of channel function.
The Du Bois group has described new tactics for the selective conversion of saturated C–H to C–N and C–O bonds. These methods have general utility in synthesis, making possible the single-step incorporation of nitrogen and oxygen functional groups and thus simplifying the process of assembling complex molecules. To date, lab members have employed these versatile oxidation technologies to prepare natural products that include manzacidin A and C, agelastatin, tetrodotoxin, and saxitoxin. Detailed mechanistic studies of metal-catalyzed C–H functionalization reactions are performed in parallel with process development and chemical synthesis. These efforts ultimately give way to advances in catalyst design. A long-standing goal of this program is to identify robust catalyst systems that afford absolute control of reaction selectivity.
In a second program area, the Du Bois group is exploring voltage-gated ion channel structure and function using the tools of chemistry in combination with those of molecular biology, electrophysiology, microscopy and mass spectrometry. Much of this work has focused on studies of eukaryotic Na and Cl ion channels. The Du Bois lab is interested in understanding the biochemical mechanisms that underlie channel subtype regulation and how such processes may be altered following nerve injury. Small molecule toxins serve as lead compounds for the design of isoform-selective channel modulators, affinity reagents, and fluorescence imaging probes. Access to toxins and modified forms thereof (including saxitoxin, gonyautoxin, batrachotoxin, and veratridine) through de novo synthesis drives studies to elucidate toxin-receptor interactions and to develop new pharmacologic tools to study ion channel function in primary cells and murine pain models. -
Alfredo Dubra, PhD
Professor of Ophthalmology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur lab seeks to help the early diagnosing and monitoring progression of ocular, vascular, neurodegenerative and systemic diseases through novel non-invasive optical ophthalmic imaging. We pursue this goal through a multidisciplinary approach that integrates optics, computer science, vision science, electrical engineering and other engineering disciplines.
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Laramie Duncan
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Major Laboratories and Clinical Translational Neurosciences Incubator)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur work is at the intersection of statistical genetics, psychiatry, and neuroscience. We use massive datasets and primarily computational approaches to identify mechanisms contributing to mental health problems like schizophrenia and depression. The overall goal of the lab is to discover fundamental information about psychiatric disorders, and ultimately to build more effective approaches to classification, prevention, and treatment.
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Alexander Dunn
Professor of Chemical Engineering
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy lab is deeply interested in uncovering the physical principles that underlie the construction of complex, multicellular animal life.
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James Dunn
Professor of Surgery (Pediatric Surgery)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsIntestinal lengthening for short bowel syndrome
Intestinal stem cell therapy for intestinal failure
Skin derived precursor cell therapy for enteric neuromuscular dysfunction
Intestinal tissue engineering -
Jeffrey Dunn, MD
Clinical Professor, Adult Neurology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsTranslational research in the human application of emerging immunotherapies for neurological disease, focusing on Multiple Sclerosis, CIS, transverse myelitis and Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO). Collaborative research with Stanford and extramural scientific faculty to identify biomarkers of disease activity and treatment response in humans. Clinical trials to assess efficacy of emerging treatments for MS, CIS and NMO.
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Gozde Durmus
Assistant Professor (Research) of Radiology (Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Durmus' research focuses on applying micro/nano-technologies to investigate cellular heterogeneity for single-cell analysis and personalized medicine. At Stanford, she is developing platform technologies for sorting and monitoring cells at the single-cell resolution. This magnetic levitation-based technology is used for wide range of applications in medicine, such as, label-free detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood; high-throughput drug screening; and rapid detection and monitoring of antibiotic resistance in real-time. During her PhD, she has engineered nanoparticles and nanostructured surfaces to decrease antibiotic-resistant infections.
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Shirit Einav
Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and of Microbiology and Immunology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur basic research program focuses on understanding the roles of virus-host interactions in viral infection and disease pathogenesis. This program is combined with translational efforts to apply this knowledge for the development of broad-spectrum host-centered antiviral approaches to combat emerging viral infections, including dengue, encephalitic alphaviruses, coronaviruses, and filoviruses, and means to predict disease progression.
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Abbas El Gamal
Hitachi America Professor in the School of Engineering and Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy
BioAbbas El Gamal is the Hitachi America Professor in the School of Engineering and Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. He received his B.Sc. Honors degree from Cairo University in 1972, and his M.S. in Statistics and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering both from Stanford University in 1977 and 1978, respectively. From 1978 to 1980, he was an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering at USC. From 2003 to 2012, he was the Director of the Information Systems Laboratory at Stanford University. From 2012 to 2017 he was Chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. His research contributions have been in network information theory, FPGAs, and digital imaging devices and systems. He has authored or coauthored over 230 papers and holds 35 patents in these areas. He is coauthor of the book Network Information Theory (Cambridge Press 2011). He has received several honors and awards for his research contributions, including the 2016 Richard W. Hamming Medal, the 2012 Claude E. Shannon Award, and the 2004 INFOCOM Paper Award. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the IEEE. He has co-founded and served on the board of directors and advisory boards of several semiconductor and biotechnology startup companies.
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Cameron Ellis
Assistant Professor of Psychology
BioDr. Cameron Ellis is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology. He leads the Scaffolding of Cognition Team, which focuses on the question: What is it like to be an infant? His team uses methods from neuroscience and cognitive science to assess the basic building blocks of the developing mind and answer this question. They are particularly interested in questions about how infants perceive, attend, learn, and remember. One prominent approach they use is fMRI with awake behaving infants. This provides unprecedented ways to access the cognitive mechanisms underlying the infant mind.
Dr. Ellis received his Ph.D. from Yale University in 2021. Before that, he received a Masters from Princeton University (2017) and a Bachelor of Science from Auckland University, New Zealand (2013). He was awarded the FLUX Dissertation Prize (2021) and the James Grossman Dissertation Prize (2021), as well as the William Kessen Teaching Award (2019). -
Edgar Engleman
Professor of Pathology and of Medicine (Immunology and Rheumatology)
On Leave from 07/01/2025 To 06/30/2026Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDendritic cells, macrophages, NK cells and T cells; functional proteins and genes; immunotherapeutic approaches to cancer, autoimmune disease, neurodegenerative disease and metabolic disease.
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Neir Eshel, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Major Laboratories & Clinical Translational Neurosciences Incubator)
BioDr. Eshel (he/him/his) is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine.
His clinical focus is the full-spectrum mental health care of sexual and gender minorities, with particular interest in depression, anxiety, and the complex effects of trauma in this population. He works in collaboration with other primary care and mental health providers at the Stanford LGBTQ+ program.
His research interests (www.staarlab.com) include the use of optogenetic, electrophysiological, neuroimaging, and behavioral approaches to probe the neural circuits of reward processing, decision making, and social behavior. He has won multi-year grants from the National Institutes of Health, Burroughs-Wellcome Fund, One Mind Foundation, Sergey Brin Family Foundation, Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, and Simons Foundation to further his research.
Dr. Eshel has published articles on the behavioral roles for dopamine, serotonin, and acetylcholine; the neuroscience of irritability, depression, and addiction; LGBTQ health; and the mechanism of transcranial magnetic stimulation. His work has appeared in Nature, Science, Neuron, Nature Neuroscience, Annual Review of Neuroscience, JAMA, JAMA Psychiatry, Neuropsychopharmacology, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and the Journal of Neuroscience, among other leading journals. He is a co-inventor on a patent for a new class of drugs for addiction, and also the author of the book Learning: The Science Inside, a publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
He has delivered presentations on the neural circuits of motivated behavior, anger expression in patients with PTSD, how dopamine facilitates learning, and LGBTQ-related topics at keynotes and invited seminars in >10 countries. He is also an associate editor of the Journal of Gay and Lesbian Mental Health, and an ad-hoc reviewer for numerous publications including Nature, Science, Neuron, Nature Communications, JAMA Psychiatry, Biological Psychiatry, and Current Biology.
Dr. Eshel has won honors for his scholarship and advocacy, including the Marshall Scholarship, the One Mind Rising Star Award, the Outstanding Resident Award from the National Institute of Mental Health, the Science and SciLifeLab Grand Prize for Young Scientists, the Freedman Award (honorable mention) from the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, the Polymath Award from Stanford's psychiatry department, and the National LGBT Health Achievement Award.
He is a member of the American Psychiatric Association, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, Society of Biological Psychiatry, Association of Gay & Lesbian Psychiatrists, Society for Neuroscience, and other professional associations. He is also an advocate for LGBTQ rights, recently serving as the chair of Stanford's LGBTQ+ Benefits Advocacy Committee.
Prior to Stanford, Dr. Eshel trained and conducted research at the National Institutes of Health, Princeton University, the World Health Organization, University College London, and Harvard University. -
Robert Michael Fairchild
Assistant Professor of Medicine (Immunology and Rheumatology)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Fairchild’s research focuses on musculoskeletal and organ-based ultrasound in rheumatic disease, including arthritis, calcinosis, vascular pathology, and interstitial lung disease. He develops ultrasound-based outcome measures and leads projects applying deep learning and explainable AI to imaging. He also performs ultrasound-guided synovial biopsies to support translational and clinical research.
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Ryann Fame, PhD
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsEarly neural progenitors respond to extrinsic cues that maintain and support their potency. These stem/ progenitor cells are in direct contact with the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which acts as part of their niche. Our research program encompasses the early neural stem cell niche, neural tube closure, CSF, metabolism, and cortical neuronal development. We are dedicated to broad collaboration focused on translating an understanding of neurodevelopment and CSF biology into regenerative strategies.
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Jonathan Fan
Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOptical engineering plays a major role in imaging, communications, energy harvesting, and quantum technologies. We are exploring the next frontier of optical engineering on three fronts. The first is new materials development in the growth of crystalline plasmonic materials and assembly of nanomaterials. The second is novel methods for nanofabrication. The third is new inverse design concepts based on optimization and machine learning.
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Judith Ellen Fan
Assistant Professor of Psychology, by courtesy, of Education and of Computer Science
BioI direct the Cognitive Tools Lab (https://cogtoolslab.github.io/) at Stanford University. Our lab aims to reverse engineer the human cognitive toolkit — in particular, how people use physical representations of thought to learn, communicate, and solve problems. Towards this end, we use a combination of approaches from cognitive science, computational neuroscience, and artificial intelligence.
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Rongxin Fang
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and, by courtesy, of Genetics
BioRongxin Fang received his Ph.D. in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology from the University of California, San Diego, under the mentorship of Bing Ren (2015–2019). During his doctoral training, he developed high-throughput genomic technologies and computational tools to map the structure and activity of the mammalian genome at large scale and single-cell resolution. He then applied these approaches to investigate how cis-regulatory elements - such as enhancers - control gene expression and drive the diverse transcriptional programs underlying cellular diversity in the mammalian brain. As an HHMI–Damon Runyon Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University (2019–2024), he worked with Xiaowei Zhuang. Rongxin developed and applied genome-scale, volumetric 3D transcriptome imaging methods to map the molecular and cellular architecture of the mammalian brain across evolution and aging. He also contributed to the collaboration with Adam Cohen and Catherine Dulac to integrate transcriptome imaging with functional neuronal imaging, identifying neuronal populations in the animal brain that underlie specific brain functions.
