Graduate Field Faculty

Name (click for contact info)DepartmentResearch Interests
Carrie AdlerMolecular Medicinestem cells and regeneration in planarians; neural control of feeding behavior and chemotaxis; regeneration of neurons.
Andrew H. BassNBBanimal communication, especially production and encoding of vocal signals; evolution and sexual differentiation of brain and behavior
Chemistry & Chemical Biologyunderstanding the signaling cues that direct cell proliferation, differentiation and development
Cornell Lab of Ornithologyabundances and acoustic behaviors of birds, fish, elephants, and whales; evolution and function of acoustic signaling behavior in animals
Psychologyolfactory perception as a complex system; coordinating behavioral; physiological, pharmacological, and computational studies of sensory sampling; learning and memory; biological neural networks
Itai CohenPhysicsneuromuscular underpinnings of short and long term flight control in Drosophila; utilizes state of art visualization of flapping flight, mechanical and optogenetic perturbations, and machine learning analysis to elucidate how these insects achieve such marvelous areal maneuvers
Biochemistry, Molecular & Cell Biologyexamination of how the chemical reactions of biology are organized in time and space, and how this organization is harnessed by cells to generate distinct outcomes
Food Scienceutilizes techniques from physiology, molecular biology and behavioral science to study the neuroscience of the mammalian taste system
NBBmechanisms of neurotransmitter and neuropeptide release; synaptic development
Psychologyneurobiology of avian song learning; neurobiology of avian caching; hormonal influences on brain structure; evolution of learning
NBBneuromodulation in the cortex, with a focus on the role of dopamine release in cognitive flexibility and the explore/exploit balance; optical and genetic methods for recording and stimulating neural populations in freely behaving mice and in virtual environments
NBBlearning and memory, neural circuit dynamics, large-scale cellular recordings, ontogenetic manipulations, naturalistic rodent behaviors, brain computation and theory, spatial navigation
NBBmotor control with a focus on hindbrain and spinal cord; optical and genetic approaches for studying neuronal structure and function; regeneration
Entomologyinvertebrate neuroethology; sensory guidance; neural evolution in arthropods
NBBneural circuits for trial and error learning in songbirds and mice
Molecular Biology & Geneticsdendrite development and degeneration regulated by intrinsic mechanisms and by the neuronal environment
NBBneuromodulation of neural networks in lobster and mouse spinal cord; molecular manipulation of ion channels in neurons
Andrew HeinComputational Biologyhow organisms generate behavior during ecological interactions -- for example, when pursuing and capturing prey, escaping from predators, or interacting socially with group-mates; computational and neural mechanisms by which these behaviors are generated; implications these behaviors have for ecosystem function and longer-term behavioral evolution
NBBanimal communication; behavior genetics of invertebrates; regeneration and development in invertebrate nervous systems
Vet Schoolcellular signaling; ion channels; genetic cell sensors; conditional gene targeting
Alex KwanBiomedical Engineeringneurobiology of drugs for treating depression, such as ketamine and psychedelics; in vivo optical imaging of dendrites and large-scale electrophysiology of cortical circuit dynamics
Vet Schoolaxon guidance and target formation during the development of the mouse olfactory system, using genetic, in vitro, and genomic approaches
Christiane LinsterNBBneural coding and memory in the olfactory system; emphasis on neuromodulatory influences; combined approach using behavior, electrophysiology, and computational modeling
Irby LovetteEcology & Evolutionary Biologygenomics of adaptation in behavioral, ecological, and physiological traits, particularly in birds
Meinig School of Biomedical Engineeringneural activity and inflammation in neurodegenerative disease, novel optical tools for in vivo measurements
Vet Schoolmolecular and electrophysiological analysis of glutamate receptors, ion channels, and response mechanisms in synaptic transmission
Azahara OlivaNBBneural network dynamics; brain representations of animal behavior; brain wide modulation of local neural activity during different brain states (behavioral states, physiological states, network states
Vet Schoolmolecular neurobiology and biophysics; neurotransmitter receptors and signal transduction
Vet Schoolmammalian reproductive biology with a focus on the life history trade-offs associated with hormones, behavior and aging
NBBchemically-mediated plant/animal interactions; biosynthesis, physiology and evolution of fragrance; insect olfaction, behavior and pollination ecology
NBBtheoretical sociobiology; evolution of cooperation and conflict in animals and plants; behavioral ecology; plasticity in insect social behavior
NBB

mate choice; genome evolution; vision; behavioral genetics; sexual selection; visual ecology; fish

 

Madineh Sedigh-SarvestaniNBBneural circuits for visual processing, with a focus on the role of species-specific movements. methods include neural activity measurement in immobilized and freely moving animals and computational modeling. 
Biomedical Engineeringadvanced optical techniques used to observe and manipulate in vivo biological systems with the goal of developing a microscopic-scale understanding of normal and disease-state physiological processes; neurodegeneration caused by occlusion of microvessels in the brain
NBBsociobiology: physiology, ecology, and evolution of animal societies, especially the societies of insects
NBBspecies and speciation; behavioral genetics; sexual selection and evolution; genetic architecture of behavior (QTLs); linkage analysis and genome evolution; genetics of diverging lineages; the conceptual nature of species; molecular systematics; comparative methods; orthopteroid insects
Michael SheehanNBBrecognition systems; animal communication; evolution of social behavior; cooperation; comparative methods; genetic basis of signals and behaviors; population and comparative genomics; sensory systems; rodents; paper wasps
Psychologyneural systems involved in learning and memory functions; multi-site neuronal recordings and neurochemical inactivation in behaving rodents used to identify brain circuitry involved in these functions
Weinan SunNBBbiological and artificial intelligence, learning and memory, large-scale 2-photon calcium imaging in rodents
Psychologyneural circuits for vocal communication; communicative functions of vocalizations in mice; viral genetic methods to map neurons and to monitor and manipulate neural activity during behavior
Ecology & Evolutionary Biologybehavioral ecology, evolutionary endocrinology, mechanisms of behavior, stress responses, phenotypic flexibility, sexual selection and sexual signaling
NBBanimal orientation and navigation; animal acoustic communication
Yuhan WangHuman Ecologyneural circuits and cell types involved in metabolic regulation, and their implications for obesity and diabetes
NBB/Cornell Lab of Ornithologyreproductive strategies and the evolutionary causes and consequences of variation in sexual signals, primarily using birds as a model system
Gregory Arthur WeilandVet Schoolmolecular neurobiology and neuropharmacology; receptor and ion channel mechanisms
NBBneural circuits that regulate state dependent decision making, motivation and food intake using approaches ranging from high resolution quantitative measurements of behavior, functional imaging, neural tracing and genetics
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