Humans of HBI

Neuromodulators, like dopamine and serotonin, are chemicals that are released throughout the brain in a coordinated fashion and are thought to serve specific roles, like dopamine in reward processing. Neuroscientists have historically studied these neuromodulators in isolation, but that is like listening to just a trombone to understand the symphony. Our brains are an ever-evolving mixture of these chemicals shaping and being shaped by the actual firing of our neurons. My thesis work aims to develop methods to measure multiple neuromodulators in concert with neural activity and use these tools to understand how neuromodulators interact to shape neural activity in both health and disease.

I study how the brain makes sense of what we see, using artificial neural networks and animal models. In both the brain and in visual neural networks, different areas can process different parts of visual scenes (one area processes edges, another colors, motion, etc.). In artificial neural networks, I study how these areas develop, learn and are robust to lesions, while in mouse and macaque models, I study how these areas interact and communicate with each other across different contexts.

I study perception. Specifically, I study input from the auditory and visual systems and how the brain uses its memories to influence what we see and hear. My research seeks to understand how our past experiences can change how our senses work and then alter our behavior. I want to understand how we interpret the world and what happens when our perception of the world fails.

Despite taking up 2% of body weight, the brain consumes 20% of the body’s energy stores at rest, and neurons have a very limited ability to store energy. When a part of the brain is active, blood vessels dilate in real time to deliver resources.  Within the Gu lab, I am part of a team that studies how the brain regulates blood flow, on functional, cellular, and molecular levels. We use different imaging tools to watch this process unfold, which can ultimately give us insight into what happens when that balance is lost in diseases like stroke or dementia.

I study how the immune system and blood-clotting factors interact in gum disease. I work with genetically modified mice to understand the role of specific genes and analyze their tissues to see how immune cells behave in health versus disease. I try to figure out what’s going wrong so we can find better treatments!