Information Processing in The Brain
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In my laboratory, we use engineering techniques
to understand how information is transmitted by the brain,
with the goal of improving the human condition.
For example, right now we're working on four projects.
The first involves understanding
the mysteries of memory and how it breaks.
We're working on new methods of deep brain stimulation
for patients with Parkinson's Disease
and other neurological disorders.
We're currently doing work that we hope will lead
to new treatments for intractable forms of epilepsy.
And most recently we're looking at the mechanisms of anesthesia,
with the goal of trying to improve the safety and efficacy
of anesthesia in the clinic.
Our techniques include the development of new optical
imaging and electronic methods to collect
and analyze physiological data.
We're also guided a great deal by the use
of computational models, which we see as a way
to state our biological hypotheses
with quantitative rigor.
This use of quantitative models to drive experimental work
is a goal that has largely been achieved
by the physics community, but it's really only coming
to the fore in the biological sciences now.
I came here four years ago as part of the USTAR program,
this is a state funded program
to promote translational research.
Now, without question, the number one attractive feature
for me here, was the quality of my colleagues.
The people in neural engineering here
and in neuroscience are just superb.
But I also was really intrigued by the challenge
of taking the findings from our laboratory and trying
to find ways to get them out into the world more quickly.
Since I came here, I took over as
Executive Director of the Brain Institute.
This is a superb opportunity for me,
I think, to foster both more interdisciplinary research
and more translational research.
My goal is that in a few years, the problems
we're working on at the bench right now
will be benefitting patients.
