NEUROSCIENCE · DEVELOPMENT · INJURY

We are creating the next generation of therapies for brain diseases in need of treatment.

Our focus is on conditions of brain development and injury where a treatment does not yet exist. We are creating new models of complex neurological disorders, developing cellular and molecular tools that enable precise manipulation or repair of the brain and recording high-speed dynamics of specialized neurons derived from human stem cells. Our philosophy is to embrace a broad view of neuroscience as we integrate a constellation of molecular, cellular, developmental, electrophysiological and systems-level methods in our work. Ultimately, we hope to discover precisely how the nervous system is changed in neurodevelopmental disorders or by traumatic brain injury, and to use this information to create new therapies.

Our goal is to discover precisely how the nervous system is changed by disorders of brain development or injury and to translate these basic science discoveries into new therapies.

Our affiliations

We are part of the Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology at the University of California, Irvine.

Nov 2021
Communications Biology

Describes neural circuit dysfunction after central visual system injury

Nov 2019
Nature Communications

An interneuron transplant therapy for TBI and epilepsy

Read highlights in UCI SOM, US News & World Report

Latest news

Nov 2021 | Jan Frankowski successfully defends PhD!
Will join Bruker Corporation as Support Engineer

Sep 2021 | Jan Frankowski awarded UCI Dissertation Completion Fellowship
For his final quarter of thesis work in the lab

Jul 2021 | Jan Frankowski wins Alan Faden Award at Neurotrauma 2021
For his research on reconstructing inhibitory circuits after TBI

Jun 2021 | Young Kim leaves for job in industry
Will be a Senior Scientist at Thermo-Fisher Scientific

Jun 2021 | Shreya Pavani and Quincy Cao receive 2021 SURP Fellowships
Will perform undergraduate research projects in the lab this summer

Jun 2021 | Alexa Tierno and Jan Frankowski receive Trainee & Diversity Awards for Neurotrauma 2021
Both will present their research on inhibitory circuit dysfunction after TBI

May 2021 | Jan Frankowski selected to compete in the Neurotrauma 2021 poster competition
Will present his work on visualizing inhibitory circuits on a brain wide scale

May 2021 | Young Kim receives AES Postdoctoral Fellowship!
Funded 2021-22 for his research on Chd2 haploinsufficiency

Sep 2020 | Hunt lab launches NextGen Epilepsy Seminars
Featuring 12 outstanding postdocs and grad students from across the US to present their work in a virtual seminar

Jul 2020 | Ethan Hollingsworth receives NIH T32 Award in Stem Cell Translational Medicine
Funded 2020-22 for his thesis work on molecular mechanisms of neurodevelopmental disorders

Apr 2020 | Lilach Gorodetski receives 2020 Bar-Ilan Postdoctoral Fellowship for Advancing Women and Zuckerman-CHE Israeli Women Postdoctoral Program Award!
Funded for work on synaptic plasticity in neurodevelopmental disorders

Mar 2020 | Bonnie Zhu accepted into many graduate schools!
Decided to attend UCSF in the fall

Feb 2020 | Lab is selected for STAT Madness competition!
Please vote for us to win best idea in biomedical science

Jun 2019 | Jiana Machhor and Jisu Eom receive 2019 SURP Fellowships
Will perform undergraduate research projects in the lab this summer

Oct 2018 | Jan Frankowski receives NIH F31 NRSA Fellowship
Funded 2018-21 for his thesis work on traumatic brain injury

Sep 2018 | Young Kim receives 2018 AES Young Investigator Award
Will present his work on Chd2 haploinsufficiency in Dec 2018

Corona del Mar State Beach is 13 minutes away

UC Irvine is a world- class research university with highly ranked graduate programs in neuroscience and biological sciences. Our Southern California location is home to one of the largest academic research and biotechnology hubs in the United States. Lab members enjoy direct access to an outstanding community of neuroscientists and clinicians as well as a wide range of recreational activities available in our region. Learn more about working and living in Orange County, California.

1/3

Fortune 500 companies located in Irvine, CA

281

Number of sunny days a year

13

Minutes to the beach

#8

Public university ranking by US News & World Report