About

Alan Jasanoff, PhD, is the Eugene McDermott Professor in the Brain Sciences and Human Behavior, as well as a Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT. He is an Associate Investigator at the McGovern Institute. His laboratory is focused on developing a new generation of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) methods to study neural mechanisms of behavior. The principal focus of his research is on designing and applying new contrast agents that can define spatiotemporal patterns of neural activity with greater precision and resolution than current techniques allow. These experiments aim to combine the cellular specificity of neuroimaging with the whole brain coverage and noninvasiveness of conventional fMRI, with the goal of building explanatory models of neural network function in animals, particularly in brain circuitry involved in instrumental learning behavior. Professor Jasanoff obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Biochemical Sciences at Harvard College, followed by a Master’s in Chemistry at the University of Cambridge, UK. He then completed his PhD in Biophysics at Harvard University. He joined the faculty of the Department of Biological Engineering at MIT in 2004. His research has contributed to the development of new imaging technologies that have significant implications for neuroscience, including a new sensor that uses MRI to detect light deep in the brain.

Research topics

• Psychology
• Materials science
• Nanotechnology
• Composite material
• Biology
• Neuroscience

Selected publications

• Customizing MRI‐Compatible Multifunctional Neural Interfaces through Fiber Drawing

  Advanced Functional Materials · 2021 · 44 citations

  • Materials science
  • Nanotechnology
  • Composite material

  metal tungsten. Both approaches deliver multifunctional flexible neural interfaces with low-impedance metallic electrodes and low-loss waveguides, capable of recording optically-evoked and spontaneous neural activity in mice over several weeks. We couple these fibers with a light-weight mechanical microdrive (1g) that enables depth-specific interrogation of neural circuits in mice following chronic implantation. Finally, we demonstrate the compatibility of these fibers with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and apply them to visualize the delivery of chemical payloads through the integrated channels in real time. Together, these advances expand the domains of application of the fiber-based neural probes in neuroscience and neuroengineering.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Local and global consequences of reward-evoked striatal dopamine release

  Nature · 2020 · 77 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Neuroscience
  • Psychology
  • Biology
  DOI

Recent grants

• Amino acid neurotransmitter sensors for MRI

  NIH · $415k · 2013–2015

• Calcium sensors for molecular fMRI

  NIH · $1.1M · 2014–2017

• Multimodal probes for multiscale calcium imaging

  NIH · $464k · 2021–2023

• Neurobiological Engineering Training Program

  NIH · $1.2M · 2021–2026

• NIH Grant R01DA028299

  NIH · $2.7M · 2014

Frequent coauthors

• Gil G. Westmeyer

  Technical University of Munich

  19 shared

• Mitul Desai

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  14 shared

• P.K. Harvey

  University of Nottingham

  14 shared

• Benjamin B. Bartelle

  14 shared

• Hung V.-T. Nguyen

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  13 shared

• Ali Barandov

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  13 shared

• Tatjana Atanasijević

  12 shared

• Agata Wiśniowska

  Harvard–MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology

  12 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Biochemistry

  Harvard University

  1986

• B.S., Chemistry

  University of California, Berkeley

  1981

Similar researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Rudolf Jaenischh-295
• Robert A. Weinbergh-291
• Susumu Tonegawah-237
• James J. Collinsh-232
• Phillip A. Sharph-227