ASSISTANT PROFESSOR | Neuroscience, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR | Psychiatry

Biography I completed my Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford, UK, working in prefrontal cortex function and decision making, where I first began to use functional and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). I carried out my postdoctoral work in the laboratory of Dr. Mark Baxter investigating the role of the cholinergic system in memory and prefrontal cortex function, and the causal effects of lesions on brain-wide networks. I have now established an independent research program using MRI to investigate the effects of discrete changes to the brain on memory networks. My laboratory investigates the networks of brain regions that govern different kinds of memory. We know that memory is not localized to single brain regions, but instead is the result of groups of brain regions working together. To do this we examine the effect of changes to specific regions of the brain on the whole network, and correlate these network changes with behavior. We also work on the role of neurochemicals, such as acetylcholine, in memory. We accomplish this research by using magnetic resonance imaging in animal models, to look at changes in structure, function and connections – and by combining it with behavioral assessments.