Edward Nieh, Ph.D.

About
Our systems neuroscience lab is broadly interested in motivated behaviors, i.e. behaviors that are rewarding to an animal like feeding, drinking, social interaction, and novelty-seeking. As a result, our focus is also on diseases/disorders that result from disruptions in brain areas associated with these behaviors, such as drug addiction and eating disorders. We use mice as the primary model animal in our lab. A particular focus of the lab is on studying how these different behaviors are encoded by the brain, specifically by studying large populations of neurons and the interactions between them. We also understand the importance of studying sex differences in mice performing these behaviors we're interested in.
Our lab stays at the cutting edge when it comes to neuroscience techniques. At MIT and Princeton, I learned the benefits of being an early adopter of several neuroscience techniques, including optogenetics, virtual reality for rodents, and simultaneous cellular-resolution imaging/stimulation. These are just a few of the techniques that we employ in the Nieh lab. We are always looking to expand our toolkit.
Research Interests

Research in Motion
Learn about Edward Horng-An Nieh’s, PhD, journey to understand neuropsychiatric disorders.