The Linda and Jack Gill Center for Biomolecular Science is extremely proud to present the following five scientists with the Transformative Investigator Award for their impressive contributions to cutting-edge research in identifying neuronal circuits.
California Institute of Technology, CALTECH—Pasadena, CA
Research Summary: The Gradinaru Lab uses advanced technologies such as optogenetics, CLARITY, physiology, imaging, and behavior to understand and develop therapies for neurological diseases.
Additional information on Viviana Gradinaru’s research
HHMI—Janelia Research Campus
Research Summary: Loren Looger uses protein engineering to create tools, including neurotransmitter detectors, improved labels for in vivo imaging, designed receptors, and rewired neural circuits to study the brain. His lab will combine computational and evolutionary methods to create new reagents to characterize and manipulate the assembly and function of neural circuits.
Additional information on Loren Looger’s research
Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience
Research Summary: Dr. Ryohei Yasuda was named Scientific Director of the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience in 2012 and heads the Neuronal Signal Transduction Lab. The focus of Dr. Yasuda’s lab is to elucidate some of the molecular mechanisms underlying synaptic plasticity and, ultimately, learning and memory.
Additional information on Ryohei Yasuda’s research
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Research Summary: Dr. Zador’s lab studies how circuitry in the brain gives rise to complex behaviors, one of nature’s great mysteries. They study how the auditory cortex processes sound, and how this is interrupted in autism. They also seek to obtain a wiring diagram of the mouse brain at the resolution of individual neurons. Their unusual approach exploits cheap and rapid “next-gen” gene sequencing technology.
Additional information on Anthony M. Zador’s research
Allen Institute for Brain Science
Research Summary: Hongkui Zeng, Ph.D., is Executive Director of Structured Science at the Allen Institute for Brain Science. She is leading the Structured Science Division to develop and operate high-throughput pipelines to generate large-scale, open-access datasets and tools to accelerate neuroscience discovery. Zeng received her Ph.D. in molecular and cell biology from Brandeis University, where she studied the molecular mechanisms of the circadian clock in fruit flies. Then as a postdoctoral fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she studied the molecular and synaptic mechanisms underlying hippocampus-dependent plasticity and learning. Since joining the Allen Institute, she has led several research programs, including the Allen Mouse Brain Connectivity Atlas Project and the Mouse Cell Types program. Her current research interests are in understanding neuronal diversity and connectivity in the mouse visual cortical circuit and how different neuronal types work together to process and transform visual information.
Additional information on Hongkui Zeng’s researchPlease save the date and plan to join us Wednesday, September 25 at 8:00 AM for the 2019 Gill Symposium and Awards at Indiana University Bloomington.
If you have any questions about the 2019 Symposium, please contact us!
