Takao K. Hensch

hensch@mcb.harvard.edu
Professor, Molecular & Cellular Biology Professor, Neurology (Children’s Hospital) Director, IRCN (UTIAS) Center for Brain Science Harvard University

Takao K. Hensch, PhD, is joint Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School at Boston Children’s Hospital, and Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard’s Center for Brain Science. After undergraduate studies with Dr. J. Allan Hobson at Harvard, he was a student of Dr. Masao Ito at the University of Tokyo (MPH) and a Fulbright fellow with Dr. Wolf Singer at the Max-Planck Institute for Brain Research, before receiving a PhD in neuroscience working with Dr. Michael Stryker at the University of California, San Francisco in 1996. He then helped to launch the RIKEN Brain Science Institute as lab head for neuronal circuit development and served as group director (and now special advisor) before returning to the United States in 2006. Professor Hensch has received several honors, including the Society for Neuroscience Young Investigator Award in both Japan (2001 Tsukahara Prize) and the United States (2005), as well as an NIH Director’s Pioneer award (2007).

Professor Takao K. Hensch MCB Profile
Professor Takao K. Hensch Conte Center Profile

Peter Casey-Caplan

Peter.Casey-Caplan@childrens.harvard.edu
Research Assistant, Department of Neurobiology at Boston Children’s Hospital

Peter is interested in studying the regeneration and remyelination of axons in the central nervous system (CNS) and drug research and development. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience from Boston University in 2022, and completed an honors thesis in neuroscience under the guidance of Dr. Silmara de Lima.

Gao Xiang Ham

GaoXiang.Ham@childrens.harvard.edu
Research Fellow, Department of Neurobiology at Boston Children’s Hospital

Gao Xiang Ham, is interested in understanding how early life experiences and genetic disposition alters whole brain neural development, particularly in circuits governing social interactions. Through deeper understanding of social circuit development and mechanisms that trigger it’s derailment in neurodevelopmental disorders, he aims to develop therapies that increase resilience to the manifestation of neurodevelopmental psychiatric conditions.

 

Gao Xiang received his BS in Biological Sciences from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and PhD in Medicine from Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, NTU, where he worked with Dr. George J. Augustine to characterize the anatomical and function circuit organization of the claustrum. After receiving his PhD, Gao Xiang investigated the role of interbrain neural synchrony on parent-offspring social behavior and social learning with Dr Victoria Leong at NTU School of Social Sciences.

Saad Hannan

SaadHannan@fas.harvard.edu
Research Associate, Harvard University

Saad aims to decipher how interneurons develop, function and shape behavior early in development with emphasis on understanding processes that go wrong in neurodevelopmental disorders. He completed his Bachelor’s, PhD and several postdoctoral fellowships from University College London specializing on GABAergic neurotransmission.

Nate Hodgson

Nathaniel.Hodgson@childrens.harvard.edu
Research Associate, F.M. Kirby Neurobiological Center at Boston Children’s Hospital

Nate’s research is focused on the role of oxidative stress and redoxbuffering in neurological disorders. Currently, he is studying the regulation of perineuronal net formation by OTX2 and how perineuronal nets impact the metabolism of thiol-containing amino acids and glutathione in parvalbumin-positive interneurons. Nate received his BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Gettysburg College and his PhD in Pharmacology from Northeastern University, where he worked with Professor Richard Deth.

Alessandra Miatton

Alessandra.Miatton@childrens.harvard.edu
Research Assistant, F.M. Kirby Neurobiological Center at Boston Children’s Hospital

Alessandra is interested in the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the critical periods of neuronal development and brain plasticity, with a particular focus on perineuronal nets and the effects of their manipulation on interneuron physiology. She investigates these processes using in vivo imaging and in vivo electrophysiology at the level of the visual cortex.

Alessandra earned a master’s degree in Neuroscience from the University of Trieste in Italy. During her studies, she gained research experience in Dr. Del Pino’s lab at the Institute of Neuroscience in Alicante, Spain, where she focused on the role of gain- and loss-of-function mutations in the sodium channel NALCN in rare neurodevelopmental disorders.

Janam Shankar

janam.shankar@childrens.harvard.edu
Research Assistant, Department of Neurobiology at Boston Children’s Hospital

Janam is interested in how early life conditions shape developing neural circuits and how behavioral interventions can remedy neurological problems. In 2022 Janam graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a bachelors in Bioengineering. During this time he studied neuromodulation of olfactory circuits under Dr. Ricardo Araneda. Upon graduating Janam served two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Senegal, where he worked on both agricultural and water security projects.

Kyra Yehle

KYehle@fas.harvard.edu
Research Assistant, Harvard University

Kyra’s research interests lie in the intersection between genetics and neurological disease for the development of useful therapeutics. She graduated with a B.S. in neuroscience from the University of Rochester, where she worked in Dr. Patricia White’s lab on a project characterizing the activation of ErbB family receptors in the cochlea after noise exposure. Prior to joining the Hensch Lab, Kyra also spent a summer as an Amgen Scholar in the Wayne Frankel lab at Columbia University, researching the development of genetic therapies for developmental and epileptic encephalopathies.