Dr. Elizabeth Hanson is a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Benjamin Arenkiel at Baylor College of Medicine. She obtained her BS in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from MIT where she worked with Drs. Sue Corkin and Emilio Bizzi. Dr. Hanson earned her PhD in Neuroscience from Tufts University, working in the lab of Dr. Chris Dulla, where she studied how tonic glutamate environments impact interneuron maturation. As a postdoctoral fellow, she began researching circuit mechanisms by which experience impacts adult-born interneuron maturation in the olfactory system. This led to an interest in how behavioral states like attention and arousal acutely impact sensory processing though similar circuit motifs. Her BRAIN Initiative project is focused on understanding how attention and arousal impact early stages of olfactory processing and alter olfactory perception and decision-making. To investigate this, she is using meso-scale two-photon imaging coupled with comprehensive behavioral state monitoring and targeted manipulations of basal forebrain neurons. Dr. Hanson’s independent research program will use a combination of two-photon imaging, fiber photometry, viral genetic manipulations, circuit mapping, electrophysiology, and behavior to delve deeply into basal forebrain circuits, their role in behavioral state regulation, and the mechanisms by which they modulate sensory perception.
Read the RFAs:
- BRAIN Initiative Advanced Postdoctoral Career Transition Award to Promote Diversity (K99/R00 Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
- BRAIN Initiative Advanced Postdoctoral Career Transition Award to Promote Diversity (K99/R00 Independent Clinical Trial Required)
For more information about the program: