NEUROSCIENCE · DEVELOPMENT · INJURY

We are finding new ways to understand, prevent and ultimately cure epilepsy.

Our laboratory studies the principles of nervous system development, epilepsy and traumatic brain injury. Much of this work focuses on the molecular, cellular and circuit organization of cortical inhibitory interneurons, and on creating, and applying, new technologies that enable precise manipulation or repair of the brain. 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.

Jun 2022
Nature Communications

Mapping inhibitory circuits across the brain after TBI

Read highlights in UCI SOM

Nov 2019
Nature Communications

An interneuron transplant therapy for TBI and epilepsy

Read highlights in UCI SOM, US News & World Report

Latest news

Apr 2023 | Kevin Lozano awarded NIH T35 Fellowship
Funded for work using stem cells to study autism and metabolic disorders

Mar 2024 | Alexa Tierno recieves Latino Excellence and Achievement Award.

Dec 2023 | Jessica Cheng and Susan Khanpour receive 2024 UROP Fellowships
Will perform undergraduate research projects in the lab this year

May 2023 | Alexa Tierno awarded Dr. Lorna Carlin Excellence in Research Award - Honorable mention prize

Apr 2023 | Bowen Hou awarded CIRM Research Fellowship
For work on visual circuit function in brain injury

Apr 2023 | Alexa Tierno awarded NIH F31 NRSA Fellowship
Funded for work on inhibitory circuit reorganization in TBI

Feb 2023 | Lab is selected for STAT Madness competition!
Please vote for us to win best idea in biomedical science

Sept 2022 | Alexa Tierno invited to speak at AES in December 2022
Will talk about interneuron transplantation for TBI

Jul 2022 | Alexa Tierno invited to speak at Epilepsy GRC in August 2022
Will talk about inhibitory circuit reorganization in TBI

Jun 2022 | Alexa Tierno receives NIH T32 Fellowship Award in Epilepsy Research
Funded for work on inhibitory circuit function in brain injury and epilepsy

Apr 2022 | Alexa Tierno awarded Carl Storm Underrepresented Minority (CSURM) Fellowship
Will present research at GRC on Epilepsy in Spain this summer

Mar 2022 | Robert Hunt interviewed by The Verge
Talks about opening lab to Ukranian neuroscientists

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

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