NEUROSCIENCE · DEVELOPMENT · INJURY
We are finding new ways to understand, prevent and ultimately cure epilepsy.
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.
We are part of the Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology at the University of California, Irvine.
Mapping inhibitory circuits across the brain after TBI
Read highlights in UCI SOM
An interneuron transplant therapy for TBI and epilepsy
Read highlights in UCI SOM, US News & World Report
Describes brain defects resulting from Chd2 haploinsufficiency
Read highlights in Neuron, UCI SOM and Spectrum News
A visit from LGS Foundation & Epilepsy Support Network of OC in 2018
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
Research update to the LGS Foundation about our work on epilepsy.
Presidential Symposium talk at the 2023 American Epilepsy Society meeting
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.
Fortune 500 companies located in Irvine, CA
Number of sunny days a year
Minutes to the beach
Public university ranking by US News & World Report
Our Dept ranking for NIH funding by Blue Ridge Institute
We are grateful for support from public and private partners.