Statement of Research Interests in support of an application for the position of Assistant Professor

My main research interests involve the study of neural information processing, neural coding and information representation in biological systems. In particular I am interested in understanding information processing functions of neural ensemble activity and the biological mechanisms through which these functions are implemented. My current research concentrates on three basic aspects related to these issues: developing analytical tools and quantitative approaches to characterizing the neural representation of sensory stimuli; studying the statistical properties of natural sensory signals and their relations to biological sensory systems; and studying structure/function relations in biophysical models of neural systems. The animal model which I am currently using is the cricket’s cercal sensory system, investigated in the laboratory of Dr. John P. Miller and Dr. Gwen Jacobs. I also collaborate with Dr. Charles M. Gray and Dr. Rony Azouz on projects of visual sensory processing in the early cortical areas of cats and primates. My original training is in quantitative disciplines (Physics, Applied Mathematics, Mathematical Neurobiology). One of the most important goals which I achieved during my postdoctoral work at Dr. Miller’s lab was to obtain sound training in neurophysiological and behavioral experimental methods and procedures. Since then I have continued to work in close collaboration with experimentalists.