Shaina Short, Postdoctoral Fellow
I have a long-standing interest in understanding how the brain samples and processes information from the world around it. Using the latest sensors to monitor neural activity in vivo in awake animals, my ultimate goal is to establish how neurotransmitters influence the gain, sensitivity, and tuning of principal neurons to allow the brain to hone in on relevant stimuli, which is vital for proper behavior and survival.
I have progressed from studying cortical layer 1 microcircuits in acute slices using whole cell patch clamp in combination with dendritic calcium and voltage intracellular dye imaging (Ph.D. Thesis, Dr. Srdjan Antic’s laboratory) to using in vivo electrophysiology, digital micro-mirror device controlled optogenetic stimulation, and Neuron modeling to investigate how respiration activates lateral inhibition to shape mitral cell bulbar output (previous joint postdoctoral fellowship in Gordon Shepherd and Justus Verhagen’s laboratories). I joined Dr. Matt Wachowiak’s laboratory to learn cutting edge in vivo imaging techniques. By advancing my experimental repertoire, I plan to set the stage for improving our understanding of how principal neurons across systems balance unique spatiotemporal patterns of excitatory and inhibitory events to sort and store sensory information both within and outside of the bulbar circuit.
