Molecular Therapeutics Researchers
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Center Co-Directors
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Fan Wang is developing novel molecular strategies to activate pain-suppression neurons in the brain’s central amygdala with the goal of creating a powerful therapeutic approach for alleviating pain.
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Feng Zhang is leading a broad effort to expand and improve the CRISPR gene editing platform to target genes associated with complex brain disorders.
Center Faculty
![Polina Anikeeva](https://yangtan.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/researcherlandingpage-polina_570x570-310x310-c-default.jpg)
Polina Anikeeva works at the intersection of materials science, electronics, and neurobiology to design and fabricate new tools to treat disorders of the nervous system.
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Ed Boyden is designing proteins that can cross the blood-brain barrier with the goal of moving these new molecular strategies into clinical trials in humans.
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Guoping Feng is developing advanced primate models for psychiatric and developmental disorders and creating innovative ways to deliver gene therapy cargo into the brain.
Y. Eva Tan Fellows
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Shahar Bracha
Postdoctoral Fellow, Boyden Lab
Shahar Bracha is engineering molecular tools for recording brain activity and analyzing neural coding in different states of behavior and ASD models.
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Valerio Francioni
Postdoctoral Fellow, Harnett Lab
Valerio Francioni combines in vivo subcellular imaging with brain-computer interfaces to study how dendrites shape the activity of cortical circuits during learning.
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Yuting Ke
Postdoctoral Fellow, Jasanoff Lab
Yuting Ke works on the optimization of genetically encoded fMRI probes and their applications to cellular and circuit-level neuroimaging in multiple animal models.
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Nagina Mandal
Postdoctoral Fellow, Graybiel Lab
Nagina Mangal uses genetic engineering in animal models to study striatal circuits of the basal ganglia.
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Chunyan Wu
Postdoctoral Fellow, Harnett Lab
Chunyan Wu is advancing and employing multiphoton microscopy techniques for in vivo imaging with a particular emphasis on investigating dendritic computation within the mouse cortex.