David W. Tank
David W. Tank
David W. Tank obtained a B.S., Physics and Mathematics from Case Western Reserve University and a Ph.D. in Physics from Cornell University. Today he is the Henry L. Hillman professor of neuroscience and molecular biology at Princeton University and Co-Director of the Princeton Neuroscience Institute. He also directs the Bezos Center for Neural Circuit Dynamics. At the Simons Foundation, he is the Director of the Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain.
His research interests include the measurement, analysis, and modeling of neural circuit dynamics. At Bell Laboratories he contributed to the development of attractor network models of neural decision-making, the development of functional MRI imaging, and the development of cellular resolution optical imaging of neural dynamics. More recently, his work has focused on the mechanisms of persistent neural activity and the development and application of rodent virtual reality systems combined with large-scale optical recording and electrophysiology to study neural circuit dynamics during navigation. My laboratory is also involved in the general development of methodologies and instrumentation that can provide measurements of chemical and electrical dynamics of neurons in vivo. Considerable progress has been made in the adaptation of two-photon laser scanning microscopy for the study of calcium concentration dynamics in dendrites and nerve terminals in intact neural circuits, including the mammalian neocortex. In the future his lab hopes to further develop and use these methods to study chemical and electrical changes in neurons during persistent neural activity.
The Brain Prize 2015 is also awarded to:
