Neville picture I am currently a postdoctoral scientist in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT in Sebastian Seung's laboratory, where I recently finished my doctorate. I completed my undergraduate education at Stanford University.

My scientific interests include the behaviors and biological mechanisms of axon outgrowth, the regulation of RNA editing in neurons, and building new tools for neuron growth control.

projects

long-term time-lapse imaging of
growing cortical axons

time-lapse cultured neurons What can the movements of axon growth cones tell us about how nervous systems are wired up? Applying stochastic modeling techniques to time-series of growth cone positions, we find that axons have distinct stereotyped behaviors during early outgrowth. Our goal is to use these models of "cellular behavior" to discover the underlying biophysical mechanisms in the axon growth cone. On the experimental side, we have developed an integrated software-hardware platform and primary neuron prep for long-term (weeks) unattended time-lapse microscopy of genetically labeled axons and dendrites in culture.

activity-dependent RNA editing in neurons

chromatogram example There is a growing number of newly identified A-to-I RNA editing sites in the genome. We are currently screening all known coding, non-synonymous editing sites in the rat genome to see how neural activity can influence RNA editing.

microfluidics for diffusable growth factor gradients

microfluidic mixer for diffusible gradient How can we create target-derived, diffusible (vs. substrate-bound, see inkjet project below) chemotropic signals to neurons in vitro? We developed a simple microfluidic system to use for time-lapse imaging of axon outgrowth from rat dorsal root ganglia neurons. The microfluidic chamber was designed to produce a linear gradient of a neurotrophic factor for guiding growing axons.

inkjet-based substrate micropatterning

ink-jet patterning of text MIT in neurons For precise micropatterning of substrate-bound neural adhesion and guidance molecules, we developed a custom inkjet printer and flexible surface chemistry. We have created viable, healthy cultures of primary hippocampal neurons and glia that adhere to specific patterns for weeks in vitro. An example of a patterned culture is shown in the image to the left: Each letter contains an isolated micronetwork of tens of neurons.