Located in the Department of Ophthalmology, the Wert laboratory studies the post-mitotic neuronal cells of the retina, particularly the photoreceptor cells. Our goal is to discover and understand the mechanisms underlying retinal degenerative disease, and to provide novel therapeutics for these complex degenerative disorders using gene therapy and genome engineering technologies, human stem cell transplantations, and metabolic rescue.

We aim to characterize the ways in which reward systems vary from individual to individual and understand how this variation determines propensity for depression and addiction-like behavior.

The Hattori lab studies how neural circuits integrate sensorimotor information, memory, and internal state to guide behavior.

The Sun Lab studies the most numerous cells in the brain, called “glial cells”.

Our lab works with murine disease models and employs Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology to investigate brain glycogen metabolism and related neurodegenerative diseases.

The lab investigates the nature and treatment of cognitive deficits commonly seen in schizophrenia and related disorders.

The research in the Johnson lab is focused on vertebrate nervous system development during the transition from proliferating neural stem cells to differentiating neurons and glia. 

Kitamura Lab's research aims to provide a biophysically-based mechanistic understanding of the neural process for learning and memory in the mouse brain.

Tsai Lab studies the cellular and molecular mechanisms of synapse and neural circuit development.

Pouratian Lab's primary mission is to explore basic human neuroscientific principles as well as identify brain mapping biomarkers of disease that can drive innovative approaches to restore function to patients with neurological and psychiatric diseases.