Students

My background is in molecular biology and genetics, but I have always looked at the neurobiology field with great interest. Duke gave me the opportunity to join my background and my interest, expanding my knowledge in neurobiology. I am interested in understanding the molecular pathways of neurons during the brain development and discovering how these mechanisms have changed through evolution.

The ability to combine a series of actions into an ordered sequence is essential for executing complex behaviors and this process is impaired by Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases. The mechanisms underlying sequence production are unknown however, striatal projecting intratelencephalic (IT) and pyramidal tract (PT) pathways from the motor cortex may regulate sequence learning and performance. My research employs in-vivo calcium imaging, closed-loop optogenetics, and machine-learning based behavioral analysis to examine these cell populations during sequence production.

I am interested in understanding functional mechanisms underlying the development and maintenance of neural circuitry. I aim to quantify how representations across both individual neurons and neural ensembles change to enable behavioral development.

I am currently interested in understanding neuronal activity-dependent gene regulation by cis-regulatory elements. I am specifically working on determining and understanding the role of enhancers in the regulation of Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF).

I am interested in how vision and hearing work together to guide behaviors such as locating sounds. In particular, I am studying how the primate inferior colliculus responds to sounds in the presence and absence of an accompanying light, to understand how the inferior colliculus might integrate the visual and auditory spatial codes.

I am focusing on computational understanding of retinal information processing using deep neural networks and information theory. In the future, I hope to apply the understanding of neural information processing to the general brain-machine interface and develop visual prosthetics.

As a graduate student in the Bohórquez Laboratory, I am using electrophysiology, single cell sequencing, and quantitative behavioral phenotyping to dissect a neural circuit that transduces sensory cues from gut luminal microbes to brain areas that control behavior.  I aim to become an independent physician-scientist focused on the interactions between our mind and other organ systems.

I study the role of glial cells, namely astrocytes and microglia, in the formation and elimination of synapses in the developing cortex. I am interested in understanding the molecular signals that astrocytes and microglia use to coordinate their respective functions in response to sensory experience. Specifically, I have been focusing on the role of a known astrocyte-secreted synaptogenic molecule, Hevin, in regulating sensory experience dependent synapse refinement by microglia.

I am broadly interested in the underpinnings of human episodic memory. We record intracranial signals from the human brain as patients perform various cognitive tasks. I additionally construct theoretical models of this human brain activity to gain a finer mechanistic understanding of these circuits.

I study how neural activity-dependent gene regulation translates to changes in circuit function and behavior, mostly in the context of addiction. My main project focuses on the role of fast-spiking interneurons of the Nucleus Accumbens in the development of addictive behaviors. I also use CRISPR-based epigenome editing tools to study how enhancers affect activity-dependent gene expression.

I study human psychiatric conditions in mouse models, specifically schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety disorders. My research focuses on dopamine dynamics in the prefrontal cortex and the broader cortico-striatal circuit. Using electrophysiology, neuroscience, and cellular biology techniques I measure how pharmaceutical agents affect the brain to better understand how to improve therapeutics for patients. 

Research interest - regulation of synapse development, function, and plasticity

My research focuses on developing new machine learning tools for analyzing neural activity recordings. Recently, I have been investigating biomarkers for depression based on neural activity. I am also working on machine learning methods for closed-loop control of emotional state via optogenetic stimulation.

Research interest - synaptic transmission, ion channel properties

I'm currently interested in understanding how sensorimotor circuits integrate past experience with current sensory information to guide behavior. My project is investigating this in the context of target-direction estimation for smooth pursuit eye movements in nonhuman primates.

I am interested in studying network level neural dynamics, dissecting sensory information pathways, and modeling simple neural circuits with cortical computing algorithms. Ultimately, I hope to combine quantitative neural modeling approaches, various dimensional experiment techniques, and applications based on neural theories to develop a systematic understanding of how the brain works, why it works, and whether it can be improved.