LSI Seminar Series: Lin Tian, Ph.D., University of California, Davis
To study the neural circuitry, the action of cells under the context of others, one would precisely measure and perturb specific neuronal populations and molecules in behaving animals who are specifically engaged in performing the computation or function of interest. The data set of millions of neurons firing together underlying a behavior are required to develop and refine theories (hypotheses) explaining animal behavior in terms of brain physiology. The focus of my lab is to develop novel genetically encoded indicators based on fluorescence proteins, especially focusing on direct and specific measurement of myriad input signals with needed spatial and temporal resolutions. In this talk, I will discuss our recent progress in developing and applying a new suite of genetically encoded indicators of neural activity. I will discuss the design, characterization, and applications of these genetically encoded indicators for both in vivo imaging and drug discovery. In combination with calcium imaging and optogenetics, the sensors are well poised to permit direct functional analysis of how the spatiotemporal coding of neural input signaling mediates the plasticity and function of target circuits.
Speaker
Lin Tian, Ph.D., is a Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine at the University of California, Davis. The Tian Laboratory for Optical Neurophysiology engineers biosensors and optical probes for monitoring and controlling brain activity in living, behaving research subjects. When combined with behavioral and circuit manipulations, these tools can reveal the brain mechanisms underlying the control of various behaviors in health and disease and serve as drug discovery platforms for the identification of novel therapeutic targets. To learn more about Dr. Tian, please visit lintianlab.org.