Song, Dong
Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery and of Biomedical Engineering
Dr. Dong Song is an Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery and Biomedical Engineering and Director of the Neural Modeling and Interface Laboratory at the University of Southern California (USC). Dr. Song received his B.S. degree in Biophysics from the University of Science and Technology of China in 1994 and his Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Engineering from USC in 2004. His research aims to develop biomimetic devices that can be used to treat neurological disorders. Specifically, his group uses a combined experimental and computational strategy to (1) understand how brain regions such as the hippocampus perform cognitive functions, (2) develop next-generation modeling and neural interface methodologies to investigate brain functions during naturalistic behaviors, and (3) build cortical prostheses that can restore and enhance cognitive functions lost in diseases or injuries. He received the James H. Zumberge Individual Award at USC in 2008, the Outstanding Paper Award of IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering in 2013, and the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics Young Investigator Award in 2018. Dr. Song has published over 190 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers. He is a member of the Biomedical Engineering Society, IEEE, Society for Neuroscience, and National Academy of Inventors. Dr. Song’s research has been supported by DARPA, NSF, and NIH.
Sowell, Elizabeth
Professor of Pediatrics, Neurology, and Psychology
My resaerch focuses on how the human brain develops and how it relates to functioning in the developmental environment. I am the principal invcestigator of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study at CHLA within the department of Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine at USC. I am particularly interested in the impact of socioeconomic status and environmental toxins on pre and post-natal brain development.
Tabbaa, Manal
Assistant Professor of Research Pediatrics
Research in the Tabbaa lab leverages genetically diverse mouse genetic reference panels to model individual differences in complex behaviors and susceptibility to a high-confidence autism risk gene. The goal of these projects is to better model genetically diverse populations in mice in order to address the challenging issue of developmental heterogeneity and genetic risk factor susceptibility in human neurodevelopmental disorders.
Tao, Huizhong W.
Professor of Physiology and Neuroscience
My lab studies how the mouse brain processes visual information and transforms it into behavior. Our research focuses on identifying the neural circuits involved in visual perception and how these circuits drive visually guided actions. We use a combination of techniques—including electrophysiology to record neural activity, microendoscopic calcium imaging to monitor populations of neurons in freely moving animals, and both optogenetics and chemogenetics to precisely manipulate specific circuit components. By integrating these approaches, we aim to understand how visual signals are encoded, transmitted, and used to guide behavior at the level of individual neurons and larger networks.
Valadez, Emilio
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Our lab focuses on understanding how early risk factors, such as temperament and early adversity, confer risk for future emotional problems among children and adolescents. More specifically, we are interested in how executive functions (assessed with a combination of behavioral, EEG, and MRI measures) moderate the psychiatric impact of early-life risk factors. Three interrelated questions spanning basic and translational work guide our research: 1) How are executive functions supported by the brain? 2) How do early risk factors alter the development of executive functions? 3) How do executive functions interact with early risk to modulate psychiatric outcomes? Ultimately, our work aims to better understand basic cognitive and developmental processes to identify novel target mechanisms for intervention.
Valero-Cuevas, Francisco
Our laboratory is dedicated to understanding the biomechanics, neuromuscular control, and clinical rehabilitation of human mobility, with an emphasis on translation to robotics and Artificial Intelligence. Towards this end, we employ a synergy of experimental and theoretical techniques. Our diverse experimental arsenal ranges from physiological recordings, computational models, machine learning, and neuromorphic computing. These procedures in turn inform theoretical work and devices to restore sensorimotor function for rehabilitation, and create neuro-inspired robots, circuits, and algorithms.
