B.I.O.N.I.C. Lab

Bionics is the study of biological systems as blueprints for engineering. The B.I.O.N.I.C. Lab applies that principle to the brain, asking a single overarching question: how do non-neuronal cells and tissue-level biophysics govern brain function, and how can we leverage that understanding to build better neural interfaces and therapeutic stimulation strategies?

Our research operates along two complementary axes:
Axis 1: Tissue-Device Biophysics: How does the brain respond to implanted devices and exogenous stimulation, electrical, ultrasonic, optical, and pharmacological, at the cellular and vascular level? We study the biological cascades that degrade device performance over time and engineer strategies to counteract them.
Axis 2: Glial and Vascular Neurocomputation: What computational roles do astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, microglia, and the cerebrovasculature play in healthy brain function, learning, and disease? We map these contributions using two-photon imaging, electrophysiology, and electrochemistry to build mechanistic models that extend beyond the neuron-centric view of neural circuits.

These axes are not parallel tracks. Observations from Axis 1, how implants and stimulation perturb glial and vascular systems, generate the mechanistic hypotheses that Axis 2 tests. Axis 2 findings, in turn, specify what Axis 1 must engineer. This bidirectional logic is the core of our reverse-translation philosophy.

We train scientists and engineers to work across both axes simultaneously, developing the experimental and critical reasoning skills that define the next generation of neural engineering leaders (see details).