We are interested in how both local and long-range projecting interneurons contribute to circuit functions within the hippocampus during health and disease. The vulnerability of hippocampal interneurons to brain insults like traumatic brain injury and seizures may underlie both dysfunction of hippocampal circuits and later disease development. My lab uses electrophysiology, immunohistochemistry, viral vectors, transgenic mouse lines, live cell imaging, and translational models of neurological disorders to investigate these research questions.

One of our recent interests is in the role of hippocampal interneurons in the process of adult neurogenesis. The integration of newly generated neurons is a complex process that supports the maintenance of information flow and circuit function for the hippocampus and early synaptic inputs arise primarily from hippocampal interneurons. Adult neurogenesis often becomes aberrant following brain injuries and may underlie circuit dysfunction and disease development. Improving our understanding of the role of hippocampal interneurons in adult neurogenesis could provide critical insights to improve future therapeutics for neurological diseases like post-traumatic epilepsy.