Dr. Michael Z. Lin is a professor of Stanford University. He received an A.B. summa cum laude in Biochemistry (Harvard). After PhD training in biochemistry and neurobiology with Michael Greenberg at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Lin received his MD from UCLA, then performed postdoctoral research in protein engineering with Chemistry Nobel Laureate Roger Y. Tsien at UCSD. Dr. Lin is a recipient of a Burroughs Wellcome Career Award for Medical Scientists, a Rita Allen Scholar Award, a Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award, and a NIH Pioneer Award.

Title: Imaging neuronal computations in space and time with new voltage indicators Michael Lin

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Understanding how electrical impulses in neurons give rise to the rich functional repertoire of the brain is a fundamental goal of neuroscience. Genetically encoded voltage indicators (GEVIs) will be essential for deciphering neuronal and circuit computation, but voltage imaging presents unprecedented challenges for biosensor engineering due to fundamental limits on light delivery and membrane protein expression. I will describe my lab’s efforts to create GEVIs that combine the best features of earlier indicators, such as large responses to voltage changes, fast kinetics, and compatibility across imaging modalities. The latest GEVIs improve detection of single excitatory post-synaptic potentials in neurons, including tracking of voltage propagation along dendrites down to amplitudes of 1 millivolt.