Katherine Pizano is a graduate student working in the lab of Dr. Joshua Singer at the University of Maryland, College Park. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Princeton University in molecular biology where she used in vivo calcium imaging techniques to study how dopaminergic activity encodes freezing behavior during auditory fear conditioning. Before starting her graduate studies, she also did a post baccalaureate fellowship at the NIH, investigating how neuropeptidergic input to gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons is affected during development.

In her current lab, the Singer lab is interested in understanding how the underlying synaptic transmission and intrinsic properties of individual cell types shape circuit outputs. The mammalian retina is a model circuit for this, given that physiological function is well-understood — i.e., it takes light and transforms it into a signal that the brain can process. More recently, inquiry has expanded to include retinorecipient circuits involved in non-image forming behavior(e.g. light effects on mood and motivation). Her doctoral work, specifically, explores how PACAP neuropeptidergic modulation by ipRGCs affects synaptic communication in two key regions (the SCN and PHb), using a combination of whole-cell patch recordings and behavioral paradigms.

In this webinar, Katherine Pizano will:

  • Describe slice preparations for electrophysiological recordings
  • Discuss how to use optogenetic stimulation as a tool in understanding local synaptic transmission in retinal and retinorecipient pathways
  • Explore PACAP neuromodulation in retinorecipient pathways