The CNLM at UC Irvine has devoted the last thirty-three years to a singular scientific pursuit – the quest to understand how the brain can acquire, store, and retrieve memories. Now, more than three decades after the CNLM’s inception, we know more about the brain and the fundamental processes underlying learning and memory than we ever thought possible. But behind each problem tackled lay several more awaiting solutions to be discovered. Behind each mystery elucidated were even more compelling mysteries – mysteries unified by fundamentally asking what it is that makes us… human. While our fervor for discovery is unwavering and our dedication to shedding light on the most fundamental questions about learning and memory is as steadfast as ever, we recognize the need to update our mission and vision for the future. Our successes have paved the way to solving real-world problems and improving human life.How can we build better technology inspired by what we understand about the brain? How we can create intelligent machines and human-computer interfaces that improve the world? How can we optimize learning strategies in the classroom and other educational settings? How can we improve memory when it fails? How can we protect our aging brains from memory loss and stave off Alzheimer’s and other dementias? How can we develop effective therapeutics for brain diseases?Three decades of excellence in research on learning and memory has positioned UCI’s CNLM as one of the world’s most renowned institutes for the study of the brain across all levels. It is only fitting that our mission and vision evolve to tackle humanity’s most significant challenges and strive to improve lives locally, regionally, and worldwide.

I serve as Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Signa Therapeutics, an innovative clinical-stage biopharmaceutical venture.

I am interested in the neural mechanisms underlying memory function in the human medial temporal lobe (MTL). My approach examines these mechanisms in young and healthy older adults, as well as cognitively impaired patients, using neuroimaging and experimental psychology methods. My laboratory's research is multidisciplinary and is guided by animal and computational models of memory. Much of the work attempts to tie together work in the rodent with work in the human. In addition, I develop and refine tools that push the technological limitations in order to explore the neural correlates of memory at very fine levels of detail, for example using high-resolution functional MRI or high-resolution (submillimeter) diffusion tensor imaging in humans in vivo to query small pathways and dendritic integrity within small regions of the brain.