Key Documents
Mark J. Schnitzer
Academic Appointments
- Assistant Professor, Biology (School of Humanities and Sciences)
- Member, Bio-X
- Member, Cancer Center
Contact Information
- Academic
Offices
Administrative Contact Annette Lewis Email
Professional Snapshot
Honors and Awards
- Michael & Kate Bárány Young Investigator Award, Biophysical Society (2010)
- HHMI Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2008)
- Best Techniques Paper, Co-Author, American Society of Biomechanics (2007)
- W.M. Keck Foundation, Medical Research Program grant, W.M. Keck Foundation (2007)
- The Brilliant 10, Top ten brilliant scientists under age 40, Popular Science Magazine (2007)
Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations
Web Site Links
Scientific Focus
Current Research Interests
The Schnitzer laboratory has three major research efforts:
1) In vivo two-photon fluorescence imaging studies of cerebellar-dependent learning and memory. Classical eyeblink conditioning, in which a subject is trained to blink in response to a conditioning stimulus such as an audible tone, is a form of classical conditioning that depends critically on cerebellar function. Many theories of how this cerebellar-dependent form of learning occurs focus on cerebellar Purkinje neurons, which exhibit highly regular anatomical patterns of neural connections. The Schnitzer lab has shown that they can image up to ~50 Purkinje cells simultaneously in live mice using in vivo two-photon fluorescence imaging. By combining in vivo imaging and electrophysiological techniques with behavioral, computational, and trans-synaptic circuit tracing approaches, the lab seeks to understand the neural circuit dynamics in the cerebellar cortex that underlie learning, memory, and forgetting.
2) Fiber optic fluorescence microendoscopy. The Schnitzer group has invented two forms of fiber optic fluorescence imaging, respectively termed one- and two-photon fluorescence microendoscopy, which enable minimally invasive in vivo imaging of cells in deep (brain) areas that have been inaccessible to conventional microscopy. The group has studied the hippocampus, thalamus, and inner ear, and has developed the capability for repeated microendoscopy imaging of hippocampal neurons and dendrites over the long-term using a chronic mouse preparation. This preparation has proved highly applicable for extended imaging studies over the progression of brain disease in animal model systems. Such ability to image cells deep within the live mammalian brain also promises to permit studies of how cellular properties are impacted by environment, training, or life experience. Moreover, the Schnitzer group has created portable, miniaturized microendoscopy devices based on flexible fiber optics for use in freely moving...
Publications
- In vivo brain imaging using a portable 2.9 g two-photon microscope based on a microelectromechanical systems scanning mirror. Opt Lett. 2009; (15): 2309-11
- Automated analysis of cellular signals from large-scale calcium imaging data. Neuron. 2009; (6): 747-60
- Advances in light microscopy for neuroscience. Annu Rev Neurosci. 2009: 435-506
- In vivo fluorescence imaging with high-resolution microlenses. Nat Methods. 2009; (7): 511-2
- Motor behavior activates Bergmann glial networks. Neuron. 2009; (3): 400-12
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