Unraveling mysteries of human behavior
Andreas Tolias, PhD, was named a primary investigator in 10-year project to shed new light on human behavior and cognition
This summer, scientists around the country will embark on an effort to unravel mysteries around how the brain functions and responds to opportunities to act. Among those researchers is Andreas Tolias, PhD, professor of ophthalmology at the Byers Eye Institute at Stanford, a leading expert in brain mapping and visual perception and Stanford Bio-X and Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute affiliated faculty member.
The 10-year project, called Simons Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience (SCENE), is endowed with an $8 million per year grant from the Simons Foundation, a nonprofit that aims to advance research in mathematics and the basic sciences. SCENE will convene 20 scientific leaders in experimental and theoretical neuroscience, data science, and brain modeling to shed new light on how our brains process information and turn it into action, ultimately improving our understanding of human behavior.
That goal is keenly aligned with the work Tolias and his laboratory team have been doing for years as they endeavor to understand how our brains process visual information. The Tolias Lab uses futuristic technology to predict with incredible accuracy the cascade of interactions between neurons in the brain following exposure to various visual stimuli.
“I am honored to be part of this collaboration,” Tolias said. “The chance to work with such talented scientists to explore the connections between what we see and what we do is incredibly exciting.”
SCENE will kick off on July 1 and include funding to conduct long-term studies in neuroscience — a rare opportunity not often afforded with grants or other types of research funding.
All SCENE researchers were carefully chosen for their potential to advance the initiative, said Alyssa Picchini Schaffer, vice president and senior scientist of the Simons Collaborations in Neuroscience.
"We received hundreds of intriguing proposals and are truly excited by the many outstanding scientific directions put forward by our community,” she said. “It was a rigorous evaluation process, and we are confident that SCENE will push the entire field forward by reshaping our understanding of cognition and behavior.”
Learn more
- Read more about the SCENE project via the Simons foundation website.
- Dr. Tolias' work was featured in the Byers Eye Institute's 2024 Annual Report.
About Andreas Tolias, PhD
Andreas Tolias, PhD, is a professor of ophthalmology at the Byers Eye Institute at Stanford, a part of the Department of Ophthalmology at Stanford University. View his Stanford profile.
Tolias lead the Tolias lab, which focuses on the interface of neuroscience and AI research. View his laboratory website.
Media inquiries
Janice Turi
Web and Communications
Department of Ophthalmology | Stanford University
Byers Eye Institute at Stanford
E: jturi@stanford.edu