Virtual Seminar – Aviad Hai, PhD – “New Strategies for Accessing the Mammalian Nervous System with Minimal Invasiveness”

Aviad Hai, PhD
University of Wisconsin–Madison

About the Talk: There is currently a concerted effort to develop the necessary technologies to record and stimulate neural activity from the entire volume of the mammalian brain. Recent engineering advancements have propelled electrode-based devices, achieving nanometer scale spatial resolution and impressive signal-to-noise ratio and temporal response. However, these probes usually require a tethered connection and provide access to relatively small areas in the nervous system. Developing modalities for whole-brain direct recording and stimulation of neural signals, will allow neuroscientists and neurologists to study and treat the brain network directly and as a whole, and will surely elevate brain science and medicine to new heights. I will describe the development of wireless, implantable electronic probes that are able to transduce electromagnetic fields in the brain, as well as the application of molecular agents for large volume in vivo measurements of neurotransmitter dynamics in live mammals. These strategies pave the way towards functional studies of neural activity across wide brain regions with molecular and electrophysiological specificity.

About the Speaker:Dr. Aviad Hai is a neuroengineer and a neuroscientist whose work focuses on developing implantable and injectable sensors for accessing the entire nervous system—towards achieving a broader understanding of brain function. Hai has been developing cutting edge electrical, magnetic, and electromagnetic sensors for large-scale recording of brain recording and neuroimaging.

Hai developed implantable sensors that detect electromagnetic fields in the brain wirelessly (Hai et al., 2018, Nat Biomed Eng). This work built upon his previous research where he pioneered nano-scale devices for multiplexed recording of neuronal intracellular signals (e.g. Hai et al., 2010, Nat Methods; for review purposes, see: Spira & Hai, 2013, Nat Nanotechnology). Dr. Hai has also worked on technologies for direct imaging of neurotransmitter dynamics across large volumes of the brain (Hai et al., 2016, Neuron). All of these efforts cohere with the goal of providing neuroscientists and neurologists with a complete toolbox for understanding and modulating electrical and neurochemical activity across the entire nervous system.

Hai’s newly established laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is continuing to develop and apply novel nanotechnology and bioengineering approaches, combining them with neurobiological studies to elucidate the principles underlying neural network activity across the entire brain. For more information about Hai’s group please see: http://hailab.wisc.edu.

For Further Information: Contact Teresa Palumbo at 608.263.5837 or palumbo@waisman.wisc.edu

The seminar series is funded by the John D. Wiley Conference Center Fund, the Friends of the Waisman Center and NIH grant U54 HD090256.

For Further Information, Contact: Clark Kellogg at kellogg@waisman.wisc.edu
The seminar series is funded by the John D. Wiley Conference Center Fund, the Friends of the Waisman Center and Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) grant P50HD105353.