University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
McGovern Medical School
Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy

Despite extraordinary advances in the field of neuroscience, we have yet to bridge our understanding of ion channels, neurons, networks, and higher-order processes such as the generation of movement and learning and memory. My research employs traditional electrophysiology and high-throughput voltage-sensitive dye imaging to bridge the gap between microscopic and macroscopic neuroscience. My research uses Aplysia californica as a model system. This model has the advantage of having simple, easily characterizable behavior that is operated by a complex yet understandable nervous system. My research has four main approaches: voltage-sensitive dye imaging, electrophysiology, computation, and 3D-printing. Recording from nearly all the neurons of a complex network during behavior has the potential to answer many outstanding questions in the field of neuroscience. My research uses voltage-sensitive dye imaging to simultaneously record the activity of 100s of neurons of the Aplysia feeding system with single-neuron resolution. Another area of my research uses traditional electrophysiology to examine a beautiful feature of neurons called plateau potentials. Plateau potentials are important for many aspects of nervous system function, including behavior and learning. My research combines electrophysiology with computational modeling to understand the mechanism and role of plateau potentials in the nervous system. These computational models are then added to larger networks to gain a holistic understanding of learning and behavior. My research combines many recording techniques and requires custom-built devices. Therefore, we design and 3D-print voltage-sensitive dye imaging systems to record from Aplysia nervous system. By combining all of these techniques, my research goals are to understand how neurons cooperate to produce learning and behavior.

PubMed

McGovern Medical School Faculty

Education & Training

PhD, UT MD Anderson UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 2017