Join us every Friday at 12:00 p.m. EDT for BME Breaks, Columbia University's weekly webinar series hosted by the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Don't miss the opportunity each week to hear from global leaders in Biomedical Engineering research!
ABOUT THE JUNE 11 WEBINAR
Neural Circuits for Vision in the Natural World
Natural visual processing entails a complex interplay between sensory input, behavioral context, and on-going brain dynamics. Our lab seeks to understand how these processes give rise to goal-directed visual behaviors, using the mouse as a model system. As a complement to studying visual processing in trained tasks, we are now exploring the neural circuits mediating ethologically relevant behaviors that laboratory mice perform. In particular, our studies of prey capture have provided insight into behavioral strategies and neural circuits for detection and localization of salient stimuli within a complex and dynamic sensory environment. We are also implementing novel experimental approaches to investigate neural coding of the visual scene as animals freely move through their environment and engage in natural behaviors. Finally, I will present a new research direction studying the completely different, yet largely unexplored, visual system of the octopus.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Cristopher Niell, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Biology and Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon
Cristopher Niell received his B.S. in physics at Stanford University, doing research in single-molecule biophysics with Dr. Steven Chu. He then remained at Stanford to obtain his PhD with Dr. Stephen Smith, studying the development and function of the zebrafish visual system. He then moved to UCSF to perform post-doctoral study with Dr. Michael Stryker, where he pioneered studies of visual processing and behavioral state in the mouse cortex. He established his lab at University of Oregon in 2011, where he is now an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology and Institute of Neuroscience.