Research

The primary aims of our work are to understand 1) how basal microcircuits regulate movement 2) which aspects of basal ganglia circuit dysregulation underlie the symptomatic expression of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Huntington’s disease (HD) 3) why specific types of basal ganglia cells are susceptible to degeneration in PD and HD.

We then use this data to inform the development of therapies that more effectively treat the symptoms and underlying causes of Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease

We use mouse models of PD and HD in combination with several experimental approaches including in vivo and ex vivo electrophysiology, 2-photon imaging, molecular profiling, circuit mapping, optogenetics, chemogenetics, and mouse behavior. This work is supported by the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Cure Huntington’s Disease Initiative Foundation, and Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s Disease.