Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute


Showing 461-480 of 660 Results

  • Kilian M Pohl

    Kilian M Pohl

    Professor (Research) of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Major Labs and Incubator) and, by courtesy, of Electrical Engineering

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe foundation of the laboratory is computational science aimed at identifying biomedical phenotypes improving the mechanistic understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders. The biomedical phenotypes are discovered by unbiased, machine learning-based searches across biological, neuroimaging, and neuropsychological data. This data-driven discovery currently supports the adolescent brain research of the NIH-funded National Consortium on Alcohol and NeuroDevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA). The laboratory also investigates brain patterns specific to alcohol use disorder, depression, and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) across the adult age range, and have advanced the understanding of a variety of brain diseases including schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, glioma, and aging.

  • Russell Poldrack

    Russell Poldrack

    Albert Ray Lang Professor of Psychology and, by courtesy, of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur lab uses the tools of cognitive neuroscience to understand how decision making, executive control, and learning and memory are implemented in the human brain. We also develop neuroinformatics tools and resources to help researchers make better sense of data.

  • Ada Poon

    Ada Poon

    Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur research focuses on providing theoretical foundations and engineering platforms for realizing electronics that seamlessly integrate with the body. Such systems will allow precise recording or modulation of physiological activity, for advancing basic scientific discovery and for restoring or augmenting biological functions for clinical applications.

  • Matthew Porteus

    Matthew Porteus

    Sutardja Chuk Professor of Definitive and Curative Medicine

    BioDr. Porteus was raised in California and was a local graduate of Gunn High School before completing A.B. degree in “History and Science” at Harvard University where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and wrote an thesis entitled “Safe or Dangerous Chimeras: The recombinant DNA controversy as a conflict between differing socially constructed interpretations of recombinant DNA technology.” He then returned to the area and completed his combined MD, PhD at Stanford Medical School with his PhD focused on understanding the molecular basis of mammalian forebrain development with his PhD thesis entitled “Isolation and Characterization of TES-1/DLX-2: A Novel Homeobox Gene Expressed During Mammalian Forebrain Development.” After completion of his dual degree program, he was an intern and resident in Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital and then completed his Pediatric Hematology/Oncology fellowship in the combined Boston Chidlren’s Hospital/Dana Farber Cancer Institute program. For his fellowship and post-doctoral research he worked with Dr. David Baltimore at MIT and CalTech where he began his studies in developing homologous recombination as a strategy to correct disease causing mutations in stem cells as definitive and curative therapy for children with genetic diseases of the blood, particularly sickle cell disease. Following his training with Dr. Baltimore, he took an independent faculty position at UT Southwestern in the Departments of Pediatrics and Biochemistry before again returning to Stanford in 2010 as an Associate Professor. During this time his work has been the first to demonstrate that gene correction could be achieved in human cells at frequencies that were high enough to potentially cure patients and is considered one of the pioneers and founders of the field of genome editing—a field that now encompasses thousands of labs and several new companies throughout the world. His research program continues to focus on developing genome editing by homologous recombination as curative therapy for children with genetic diseases but also has interests in the clonal dynamics of heterogeneous populations and the use of genome editing to better understand diseases that affect children including infant leukemias and genetic diseases that affect the muscle. Clinically, Dr. Porteus attends at the Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital where he takes care of pediatric patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

  • Kathleen Poston, MD, MS

    Kathleen Poston, MD, MS

    Edward F. and Irene Thiele Pimley Professor of Neurology and the Neurological Sciences and Professor, by courtesy, of Neurosurgery
    On Partial Leave from 03/01/2026 To 05/31/2026

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research addresses one of the most devastating and poorly treated symptoms that can develop in people with Parkinson's disease - Dementia. We use biological markers, multi-modal neuroimaging and genetics to understand the different underlying causes of dementia and to understand why dementia develops more quickly in some patients, but not others.

  • Manu Prakash

    Manu Prakash

    Associate Professor of Bioengineering, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and Associate Professor, by courtesy, of Oceans

    BioWe use interdisciplinary approaches including theory and experiments to understand how computation is embodied in biological matter. Examples include cognition in single cell protists and morphological computing in animals with no neurons and origins of complex behavior in multi-cellular systems. Broadly, we invent new tools for studying non-model organisms with significant focus on life in the ocean - addressing fundamental questions such as how do cells sense pressure or gravity? Finally, we are dedicated towards inventing and distributing “frugal science” tools to democratize access to science (previous inventions used worldwide: Foldscope, Abuzz), diagnostics of deadly diseases like malaria and convening global citizen science communities to tackle planetary scale environmental challenges such as mosquito surveillance or plankton surveillance by citizen sailors mapping the ocean in the age of Anthropocene.

  • James Priest

    James Priest

    Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor, Pediatrics - Cardiology

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe Priest lab seeks a better understanding of the genetics and pathogenesis of congenital heart disease using translational genomics, big-data, and vertebrate models of cardiac development.

  • David Prince

    David Prince

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

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsExperiments examine
    1)intrinsic properties of neuronal membranes; actions of neurotransmitters that regulate neocortical and thalamic excitability
    2) chronic epileptogenesis following cortical injury; changes in intracortical connectivity and receptors;
    3) effects of early injury and activity on cortical development/maldevelopment Electrophysiological, anatomical and pharmacological techniques employed.
    4. prophylaxis of postraumatic epilepsy
    5. Neocortical interneuronal function/modulation

  • Patrick Lee Purdon

    Patrick Lee Purdon

    Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine (Department Research) and, by courtesy, of Bioengineering

    BioMy research integrates neuroimaging, biomedical signal processing, and the systems neuroscience of general anesthesia and sedation.

    My group conducts human studies of anesthesia-induced unconsciousness, using a variety of techniques including multimodal neuroimaging, high-density EEG, and invasive neurophysiological recordings used to diagnose medically refractory epilepsy. We also develop novel methods in neuroimaging and biomedical signal processing to support these studies, as well as methods for monitoring level of consciousness under general anesthesia using EEG.

  • Lei (Stanley) Qi

    Lei (Stanley) Qi

    Associate Professor of Bioengineering

    BioDr. Lei (Stanley) Qi (publishes as Lei S. Qi) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at Stanford University, an Institute Scholar at Sarafan ChEM-H, and a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator. Trained in physics and mathematics (Tsinghua University) and bioengineering (UC Berkeley), he was a Systems Biology Fellow at UCSF before joining the Stanford faculty in 2014.

    Qi is a pioneer in CRISPR technology and genome engineering. His lab created the first nuclease-deactivated Cas9 (dCas9) for targeted gene regulation, establishing CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) and CRISPR activation (CRISPRa). Since then, his group has expanded CRISPR from an editing tool into a platform for programmable control of dynamic and spatial cell state, integrating scalable perturbation, live-cell and super-resolution imaging, and computation-guided design. This work has produced technologies for multiplexed transcriptome regulation, programmable 3D genome organization, spatial RNA logistics control, and real-time visualization of chromatin and transcriptional events in living cells.

    A distinctive focus of the Qi lab is closed-loop biology, combining perturbation with high-content measurements to infer mechanisms and iteratively refine control strategies. The lab develops platforms spanning multiplexed transcriptional and epigenetic control, spatial genome–transcriptome organization, and quantitative live-cell imaging of chromatin and transcriptional dynamics. A compact nuclease-dead CRISPR epigenetic editor from this technology lineage has advanced to first-in-human clinical testing for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD; NCT06907875), underscoring the translational potential of principle-driven control systems.

    Beyond single-cell control, Qi’s lab is building a framework for synthetic cell–cell communication, with particular emphasis on the bidirectional interplay between immune cells and neurons. The lab’s goal is to move beyond describing molecular parts to discovering fundamental control principles in living systems: how regulatory landscapes create stable states and memory, how spatial genome–RNA organization shapes dynamic responses, and how engineered cell–cell interactions can generate emergent multicellular behaviors. By integrating experimental bioengineering with computation and machine learning, the lab aims to identify generalizable rules linking molecular programs to systems-level physiology and disease trajectories and to translate those rules into next-generation therapeutic cells.

  • Xiang Qian

    Xiang Qian

    Stanford Medicine Endowed Director
    Clinical Professor, Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine
    Clinical Professor (By courtesy), Neurosurgery

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsClinical Interests
    -Pain Medicine:
    Facial pain
    Migraine and headache
    Trigeminal Neuralgia and Glossopharyngeal neuralgia
    Cancer Pain
    Spine Disease
    Neuropathic pain
    Interventional Surgery
    CT guided Procedure
    Opioid Management

    -Facial Nerve neuralgia and neuropathy
    Hemifacial Spasm
    CT guided awake RFA of facial nerve

    Research Interests:
    -Medical device development
    -AI based headache diagnosis and management
    -CT guided intervention
    -Intra-nasal endoscopy guided procedure
    -Optogenetics
    -Mechanisms of neuropathic pain
    -Ion channel and diseases
    -Neurotoxicity of anesthetics

  • Jian Qin

    Jian Qin

    Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering

    BioJian Qin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Stanford University. His research focuses on development of microscopic understanding of structural and physical properties of soft matters by using a combination of analytical theory, scaling argument, numerical computation, and molecular simulation. He worked as a postdoctoral scholar with Juan de Pablo in the Institute for Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago and with Scott Milner in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University. He received his Ph.D. in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Minnesota under the supervision of David Morse and Frank Bates. His research covers self-assembly of multi-component polymeric systems, molecular origin of entanglement and polymer melt rheology, coacervation of polyelectrolytes, Coulomb interactions in dielectrically heterogeneous electrolytes, and surface charge polarizations in particulate aggregates in the absence or presence of flow.

  • Xiaojie Qiu

    Xiaojie Qiu

    Assistant Professor of Genetics and, by courtesy, of Computer Science

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsAt the Qiu Lab, our mission is to unravel and predict the intricacies of gene regulatory networks and cell-cell interactions pivotal in mammalian cell fate transitions over time and space, with a special emphasis on heart evolution, development, and disease. We are a dynamic and interdisciplinary team, harnessing the latest advancements in machine learning as well as single-cell and spatial genomics by integrating the predictive power of systems biology with the scalability of machine learning,

  • Stephen Quake

    Stephen Quake

    Lee Otterson Professor in the School of Engineering and Professor of Bioengineering, of Applied Physics and, by courtesy, of Physics

    Current Research and Scholarly InterestsSingle molecule biophysics, precision force measurement, micro and nano fabrication with soft materials, integrated microfluidics and large scale biological automation.

  • Sean Quirin

    Sean Quirin

    Assistant Professor (Research) of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Major Laboratories and Clinical & Translational Neurosciences Incubator)

    BioDr. Quirin's laboratory develops minimally invasive methods to explore the causal role individual neurons play in the emergence of behavior. To this end, the lab's strength is the development of techniques which manipulate light to both detect and restoratively modulate brain activity down to the single-neuron scale. His lab continues to innovate with new tools which map these functional relationships onto the molecular and anatomical architecture of the brain. Utilizing these techniques, the lab aims to characterize how ensembles of neurons coordinate to encode and communicate information throughout the brain for sensing and behavior.

  • Jennifer Anne Rabbitts

    Jennifer Anne Rabbitts

    Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative & Pain Medicine (Pediatric) and, by courtesy, of Pediatrics

    BioJennifer Rabbitts, MD is Professor and Chief of Pediatric Pain Management at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Rabbitts directs an NIH-funded research laboratory focused on improving long-term pain and health outcomes in children and adolescents undergoing surgery. Her research is devoted to understanding and preventing chronic postsurgical pain, a disabling condition affecting 20% youth undergoing major surgery. Her current research studies investigate the role of biopsychosocial mechanisms including child psychosocial factors, parental/family factors, and psychophysical processes underlying acute to chronic pain transition. Current clinical trials focus on testing feasibility and efficacy of psychosocial and complementary and integrative interventions to improve acute postsurgical pain and prevent transition to chronic pain.

    Dr Rabbitts is passionate about mentoring, and is a PI for the NIH HEAL PAIN Training grant in Maternal and Child Pain and Health at Stanford. She serves as section editor for Psychology, Psychiatry and Brain Neuroscience Section for Pain Medicine, and serves on the editorial boards for Pediatric Anesthesia and Journal of Pain.

    Read more about the Rabbitts Lab and opportunities here: https://rabbittslab.stanford.edu/

  • Nilam Ram

    Nilam Ram

    Professor of Communication and of Psychology

    BioNilam Ram studies the dynamic interplay of psychological and media processes and how they change from moment-to-moment and across the life span.

    Nilam’s research grows out of a history of studying change. After completing his undergraduate study of economics, he worked as a currency trader, frantically tracking and trying to predict the movement of world markets as they jerked up, down and sideways. Later, he moved on to the study of human movement, kinesiology, and eventually psychological processes - with a specialization in longitudinal research methodology. Generally, Nilam studies how short-term changes (e.g., processes such as learning, information processing, emotion regulation, etc.) develop across the life span, and how longitudinal study designs contribute to generation of new knowledge. Current projects include examinations of age-related change in children’s self- and emotion-regulation; patterns in minute-to-minute and day-to-day progression of adolescents’ and adults’ emotions; and change in contextual influences on well-being during old age. He is developing a variety of study paradigms that use recent developments in data science and the intensive data streams arriving from social media, mobile sensors, and smartphones to study change at multiple time scales.