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Alice Hsu

TNT Scholar: 2024 – 2025

I am interested in using neuromodulating technologies, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), to treat traumatic brain injuries. We are testing whether TMS can reset frontoamygdala circuitry to extinguish fear avoidance behavior, autonomic reactivity, and sleep disturbances that prolong symptoms after concussion. Using machine learning, in the largest study of its kind with the most continuous data, I will develop an algorithm that uses at-home measures of autonomic function (heart rate variability (HRV), heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygenation, and sleep/rest temperature) from the Oura Ring to predict in-lab autonomics (HRV and pupillary dynamics before, during, and after TMS and an exposure task as well as central autonomic activity in fMRI). I will develop a software that transforms consumer-based wearable data into biomarkers to predict concussion recovery and guide treatment for patients with prolonged symptoms.

Mentor: Kevin Bickart, M.D., Ph.D.

Karina Keus

Karina Keus

TNT Scholar: 2022 – 2024

As a National Science Foundation funded student, I work on developing novel microscopy techniques to probe multisensory integration in the Drosophila Melanogaster brain. Similar to the mammalian hippocampus, the central complex may serve as a critical indexing and integration site to coordinate spatial navigation. Building off my previous work on the UCLA Miniscope Project, I will refine a new two-photon microscope capable of patterned optogenetic stimulation in fruit flies. I hope to manipulate the neural circuits that coordinate synaptic plasticity in the central complex to reveal how vision, odor, and atmospheric polarized light integrate so that flies may produce complex navigation paths while traversing the earth.

Mentor: Mark Frye, Ph.D.

Samuel Vander Dussen

TNT Scholar: 2024 – 2025

Sam is a Ph.D. student in the Bioengineering Department at the University of California, Los Angeles. He received his M.S. degree from UCLA in bioengineering with a specialization in NeuroEngineering in 2023. He previously attended Azusa Pacific University where he played collegiate football and received a B.S. in Systems Engineering in 2019. His current research with the Brain Injury Research Center at UCLA focuses on the system design of a synchronous behavioral and functional ultrasound imaging platform to acquire information about functional network connectivity changes after traumatic brain injury. His research interests include computational neuroscience, machine learning, and graph theory to understand plasticity and working memory in the whole brain. He previously worked as an electrical engineer at Raytheon Technologies from 2019 to 2021 where he automated the testing of various satellite modules. Outside of research, he enjoys going to the gym, reading, and spending time with friends and family.

Mentor: Paul Mathews, Ph.D.

Timothy Jordan

TNT Scholar: 2022 – 2024

My research interests are in applying brain imaging to TMS treatment to find biomarkers for the aid of treatment. Specifically I want to find a way of utilizing resting state functional MRI data to determine both the best area for treatments in specific populations and improve individual based treatments by finding biomarkers that correlate with participant improvement. My current research involves applying these methods to Smoking populations and using fMRI & TMS to reduce smoking withdrawal symptoms.

Mentor: Nicole Petersen, Ph.D.

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