Suhasa Kodandaramaiah
University of Minnesota, MN·Biomedical Engineering
The cerebellum, at the back of the brain, has a simple, repeating wiring pattern that has changed little through evolution. That makes it a good place to learn how brain circuits turn inputs into outputs, both for movement and for non-motor functions.
- Fields
Biomedical Engineering
Neuroscience
Engineering
- Topics
cerebellum
cerebellar cortex
Purkinje cells
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Mar 2027
What they work on
- Design and build a miniaturized micro-camera array microscope (MCAM) that fits a clear polymer skull implant and images 24 mm² of cerebellar cortex at cellular resolution, refined in head-fixed mice.
- Adapt the MCAM for freely behaving mice in open field arenas, refining its structure and optics to remove motion and light artifacts.
- Test whether the MCAM can record Purkinje cell activity across the cerebellum and capture error signals during ladder rung walking, using genetic sparse labeling of Purkinje cells.
More about the research
A unified view of what the cerebellar cortex computes is still missing. Part of the problem is that few tools can record many of its folds (folia) at once with fine detail, especially in mice that move freely.
Why it matters
A head-mounted microscope that records many neurons across millimeters of brain surface in freely moving animals could let neuroscientists study how the cerebellum supports movement and other functions during natural behavior. This could eventually inform research on how cerebellar circuits fail in disease.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Stephanie Rudolph
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, NY·Neuroscience
Determine the types and distribution of oxytocin-binding receptors across the mouse cerebellar cortex, and test how oxytocin affects neuron activity and the transmission of signals between neurons.
Indira M Raman
Northwestern University, IL·Neuroscience
Determine how the synchrony of inhibitory input from many Purkinje neurons shapes the firing of cerebellar nuclei neurons, using in vitro synaptic studies in mice and larval zebrafish.
Mesut Sahin
New Jersey Institute of Technology, NJ·Biomedical Engineering
Develop focused ultrasound protocols that directly stimulate the deep cerebellar nuclei, the cerebellum's output centers, without surgery, and identify settings that selectively activate specific neuron types.
The school
University of Minnesota: 88 labs on PI Pages, $1.4B a year on research, 722 research doctorates a year.
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