Home Department: Chemistry
Supported by: Anonymous Donor
Mentor: Karl Deisseroth, Bioengineering and Psychiatry & Behavioral Science

Michael is investigating the neural basis of stress to gain a better understanding of the neural mechanisms controlling the stress response, which is critical to developing effective treatments for diseases caused by stress such as depression and PTSD. To begin answering this question, he is identifying patterns of neural activity that are linked to stressful behaviors using fiber photometry, a technique that enables optical recording of the activity of genetically targeted populations of neurons.

Poster presented at the Stanford Bio-X Interdisciplinary Initiatives Symposium on August 24, 2016:

Mapping Connectivity and Function of the Neural Circuits Underlying Thirst

Michael Z. Chen¹, William E. Allen², Liqun Luo³, Karl Deisseroth^1,4
[Departments of Bioengineering¹, Biology³, and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences⁴ and Neurosciences Interdepartmental Program², Stanford University]