How are neural circuits assembled to perform specific computations? An excellent model system to address this question is the retina, where a diverse set of neural circuits are wired with remarkable precision and intricacy to extract salient features such as color, contrast and motion from the visual scene. Each retinal circuit utilizes distinct neuronal types and conveys the processed visual information to higher brain by a specific type of retinal ganglion cells.
My lab is interested in the synaptic basis of neural computation in the retina. Our current research is focused on understanding the developmental and adult patterns of synaptic connections underlying the retinal circuits, and determining how the specific wiring patterns impact visual processing. We leverage the increasing repertoire of genetic tools that label specific retinal neuron types to target the synapses of interest, and characterize the maturation and function of these synapses using a combination of techniques including multiphoton microscopy, visual stimulation, electrophysiology and molecular biology. These studies will provide insight into the neural mechanisms of visual processing in the retina, and also have broader implications in the fundamental questions of synapse development and organization in the central nervous system.
University of California, Berkeley
California
Postdoctoral training - Neurobiology
2011
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
New York
PhD - Neurobiology
2008
Multiplex imaging of amyloid-ß plaques dynamics in living brains with quinoline-malononitrile-based probes.
Multiplex imaging of amyloid-ß plaques dynamics in living brains with quinoline-malononitrile-based probes. Nat Biomed Eng. 2025 May 13.
PMID: 40360763
Cell Therapy for T1D Beyond BLA: Gearing Up Toward Clinical Practice.
Cell Therapy for T1D Beyond BLA: Gearing Up Toward Clinical Practice. Diabetes Ther. 2025 Jun; 16(6):1125-1138.
PMID: 40214896
Short-term plasticity and context-dependent circuit function: Insights from retinal circuitry.
Short-term plasticity and context-dependent circuit function: Insights from retinal circuitry. Sci Adv. 2024 Sep 20; 10(38):eadp5229.
PMID: 39303044
Transformation of Motion Pattern Selectivity from Retina to Superior Colliculus.
Transformation of Motion Pattern Selectivity from Retina to Superior Colliculus. J Neurosci. 2024 May 15; 44(20).
PMID: 38569924
Dendritic mGluR2 and perisomatic Kv3 signaling regulate dendritic computation of mouse starburst amacrine cells.
Dendritic mGluR2 and perisomatic Kv3 signaling regulate dendritic computation of mouse starburst amacrine cells. Nat Commun. 2024 Feb 28; 15(1):1819.
PMID: 38418467
Functional convergence of on-off direction-selective ganglion cells in the visual thalamus.
Functional convergence of on-off direction-selective ganglion cells in the visual thalamus. Curr Biol. 2022 07 25; 32(14):3110-3120.e6.
PMID: 35793680
Visual stimulation induces distinct forms of sensitization of On-Off direction-selective ganglion cell responses in the dorsal and ventral retina.
Visual stimulation induces distinct forms of sensitization of On-Off direction-selective ganglion cell responses in the dorsal and ventral retina. J Neurosci. 2022 Apr 26.
PMID: 35474276
Spatially displaced excitation contributes to the encoding of interrupted motion by a retinal direction-selective circuit.
Spatially displaced excitation contributes to the encoding of interrupted motion by a retinal direction-selective circuit. Elife. 2021 06 07; 10.
PMID: 34096504
Preserving inhibition with a disinhibitory microcircuit in the retina.
Preserving inhibition with a disinhibitory microcircuit in the retina. Elife. 2020 12 03; 9.
PMID: 33269700
Dampening light sensitivity.
Dampening light sensitivity. Science. 2020 05 01; 368(6490):471-472.
PMID: 32355019
McKnight Scholar Award
2016
Karl Kirchgessner Foundation Grant
2014
Sloan Research Fellowship
2013
E. Matilda Ziegler Foundation Grant
2013
Whitehall Foundation Grant
2012