People

List of some of the rotating cast of characters involved in our research. All the email addresses given can be reached via [username] at neurosim dot downstate dot edu.


Bill Lytton  |  Professor

M.D. (Columbia University, 1983)
Email: billl  |  Website

I use computational neuroscience to try to forge links between disparate findings from normal and abnormal brain function. Primary research areas are modeling electrophysiological processes pertinent to epilepsy and modeling abstract neural networks to understand recovery from stroke and the basis of cognitive processes.


Salvador Dura-Bernal  |  Postdoctoral fellow

Ph.D. (University of Plymouth, 2010)
Email: salvadordura@gmail.com  |  CV

I am currently working on interfacing a large-scale biomimetic model of the brain with in vivo neurophysiological recordings of monkeys and a prosthetic device (e.g. robotic arm) for the In Silico Brain project.


Cliff Kerr  |  Postdoctoral fellow

Ph.D. (University of Sydney, 2010)
Email: cliffk  |  CV

I work on a large-scale network model for the In Silico Brain project. The eventual aim is to build a "neuroprosthesis": a detailed computer model of the thalamocortical system that engages in two-way communication with the real brain, via electronics or optogenetics, and thus restores lost function. My work so far has focused on the stimulus-response and information-processing aspects of the model -- and of the brains we hope it resembles.


Robert A. McDougal  |  Postdoctoral fellow

Ph.D. (The Ohio State University, 2011)
Email: ramcd  |  CV

My research focuses on developing methods for using mathematics and computers to study the brain. Mathematically, I use reaction-diffusion models to study the interaction between a neuron's cell biology and its electrophysiology. Computationally, I work on extending the NEURON simulator and on developing techniques for model representation and curation in the ModelDB repository. Biologically, my research is inspired by calcium, an ion that acts as a second messenger in all living cells and plays key roles throughout life from fertilization to apoptotic cell death.


Sam Neymotin  |  Research Assistant Professor

Ph.D. (SUNY Downstate / NYU-Poly, 2012)
Email: samn  |  CV

I develop computer models of the brain that span multiple spatial and temporal scales, constrain the models with experimental data, and then use the models to better understand neuronal computation, dynamics, and learning. I also analyze and develop methods of analysis for electrophysiological data.


Mohamed Sherif  |  Graduate student

M.D., M.Sc. (Ain Shams University, Cairo, 2003, 2008)
Email: mohdsherif@yahoo.com  |  CV

I am a graduate student at SUNY Downstate / NYU-Poly, and psychiatry research fellow at Yale university. I am using in-silico computer models to understand the neurobiology of psychiatric diseases, particularly schizophrenia. Currently, I am using computer models of CA3 region to investigate the use of CB1 receptor agonism and NMDA receptor antagonism as pharmacological models for psychosis. I am also involved in analysis of experiemental recordings from hippocampus obtained from labs we collaborate with.


Alumni

List of some of the rotating cast of characters who have rotated out and are no longer involved in our research.


George Chadderdon  |  Postdoctoral fellow

Ph.D. (University of Indiana, 2009)
Email: georgec  |  CV

George was working on a model of M1 learning to control a virtual arm in a reaching task using a type of reinforcement learning based on the functionality of the dopaminergic system.


Ashutosh Mohan  |  Postdoctoral fellow

Ph.D. (Australian National University, 2013)
Email: ashutoshmohan@gmail.com  | 

Ashutosh was working on a large-scale model of the primary motor cortex in an attempt to tease apart the contribution of each layer to overall network-level information processing. He was also working on replacing point neurons with morphologically detailed multicompartmental neurons. This work intends to throw light on the role of channel distribution along the dendrite on overall processing of the network.


Yosef Skolnick  |  Research technician/graduate student

Email: yosefs

Yosef was a Computer Science graduate student at Brooklyn College working on second messenger effects on H-currents. This is a part of the ongoing extension of NEURON to include chemical reactions-diffusions. In the past, he was building a psycho-physics suite to test inter-hemispheric transfer for clinical trials.