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  3. Alan Pradip Jasanoff
Jasanoff, A 150622 color resized.jpg
Jasanoff
Alan Pradip
Ph.D.
Professor
Biological Engineering; Brain & Cognitive Sciences
Associate Member
McGovern Institute for Brain Research
Director
Center for Neurobiological Engineering
Faculty Appointment
Joint
Building
16-561
Email
jasanoff@mit.edu
Phone
6174522538
Lab website
Administrative Asst
dballest@mit.edu
    About

    Alan Jasanoff is a bioengineer and neuroscientist who is pioneering next generation brain imaging techniques for studying mechanisms of behavior and cognition. Jasanoff's laboratory applies techniques from chemistry, molecular biology, and nanoscience to create probes for noninvasive detection of neural activity, and uses them to map and interpret previously inaccessible aspects of brain function. Jasanoff earned an AB in biochemical sciences and a PhD in biophysics from Harvard University, as well as an MPhil in Chemistry from Cambridge University. He has been a Herchel Smith Fellow, a Whitehead Fellow, a Raymond & Beverly Sackler Scholar, and recipient of multiple innovation grants from the NIH and other organizations. Jasanoff currently directs the MIT Center for Neurobiological Engineering.

    Research

    Next-generation brain imaging

    My laboratory is developing a new generation of brain imaging methods that combine the specificity of electrophysiological and optical neural recording techniques with the noninvasiveness and whole-brain coverage of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). These innovative techniques will have potentially transformative significance in neuroscience, and some will have broader impact in biology and medicine. Our own long term goal is to apply “molecular fMRI” to study neural mechanisms of behavior in alert animals. Our research has included development of novel genetic and nongenetic MRI sensors for molecular targets in the nervous system, among them probes for calcium and other ions, protein phosphorylation, and neurotransmitters. We have validated several probes in vitro, and are now using some of the agents for molecular neuroimaging studies in live animals. We continue to improve our technologies and expand the range of neural targets we can detect, using a mixture of protein and genetic engineering methods and more traditional chemical approaches.

    Whole-brain analysis of neural function and plasticity

    In parallel with our development of molecular tools, we are interested in studying the dynamics of neural systems as they form and function at the whole-brain level. We use brain imaging methods in combination with other neural recording and perturbation techniques in rodents. We have a strong interest in combining new behavioral paradigms with functional imaging methods to study animal learning and analogs of cognition. Ongoing work focuses on reinforcement learning and the process of reward integration in rats. In addition, we recently used conventional fMRI in developing rats to follow neural plasticity and characterize changes in neurovascular coupling occurring after birth. This work lays a foundation for interpreting further fMRI studies in juvenile animals. We are also applying both conventional and molecular MRI techniques to study perturbation of neural systems in mouse models of neurodegenerative disease.

    Teaching

    9.123J Neurotechnology in Action
    9.173J Noninvasive imaging in biology and medicine
    9.472J Neuroimaging cells and circuits
    20.309 Instrumentation & measurement for biological systems

    Publications

    Barch M, Okada S, Bartelle BB, Jasanoff A. (2014) "Screen-based analysis of magnetic nanoparticle libraries formed using peptidic iron oxide ligands." J Am Chem Soc. 2014 Aug 26. (Epub ahead of print). [PubMed]

    Lee T, Cai LX, Lelyveld VS, Hai A, Jasanoff A. (2014) "Molecular-level functional magnetic resonance imaging of dopaminergic signaling." Science. 2014 May 2;344(6183):533-5. [PubMed]

    Westmeyer GG, Emer Y, Lintelmann J, Jasanoff A. (2014) "MRI-based detection of alkaline phosphatase gene reporter activity using a porphyrin solubility switch." Chem Biol. 2014 Mar 20;21(3):422-9. [PubMed]

    Rodriguez E, Lelyveld VS, Atanasijevic T, Okada S, Jasanoff A. (2014) "Magnetic nanosensors optimized for rapid and reversible self-assembly." Chem Commun (Camb). 2014 Apr 7;50(27):3595-8. [PubMed]

    Jackson WS, Borkowski AW, Watson NE, King OD, Faas H, Jasanoff A, Lindquist S. (2013) "Profoundly different prion diseases in knock-in mice carrying single PrP codon substitutions associated with human diseases." Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Sep 3;110(36):14759-64. [PubMed] Romero PA, Shapiro MG, Arnold FH, Jasanoff A. (2013) "Directed evolution of protein-based neurotransmitter sensors for MRI." Methods Mol Biol. 2013;995:193-205. [PubMed]

    Devor A, Bandettini PA, Boas DA, Bower JM, Buxton RB, Cohen LB, Dale AM, Einevoll GT, Fox PT, Franceschini MA, Friston KJ, Fujimoto JG, Geyer MA, Greenberg JH, Halgren E, Hämäläinen MS, Helmchen F, Hyman BT, Jasanoff A, Jernigan TL, Judd LL, Kim SG, Kleinfeld D, Kopell NJ, Kutas M, Kwong KK, Larkum ME, Lo EH, Magistretti PJ, Mandeville JB, Masliah E, Mitra PP, Mobley WC, Moskowitz MA, Nimmerjahn A, Reynolds JH, Rosen BR, Salzberg BM, Schaffer CB, Silva GA, So PT, Spitzer NC, Tootell RB, Van Essen DC, Vanduffel W, Vinogradov SA, Wald LL, Wang LV, Weber B, Yodh AG. (2013) "The challenge of connecting the dots in the B.R.a.I.N." Neuron. 2013 Oct 16;80(2):270-4. [PubMed] Matsumoto Y, Jasanoff A. (2013) "Metalloprotein-based MRI probes." FEBS Lett. 2013 Apr 17;587(8):1021-9. [PubMed]

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