University of Texas at Austin learning and memory research program grows
Tuesday, September 26, 2006</p>
<p>AUSTIN, Texas—The University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Learning and Memory has recruited and hired six top scientists intent upon understanding how the brain processes information, learns and remembers events in our everyday lives.</p>
<p>“There is a need for neuroscience and a demand for a strong neuroscience program at UT,” said Professor of Neurobiology Dan Johnston, who became director of the Center for Learning and Memory (CLM) and the Institute for Neuroscience in 2004.</p>
<p>Johnston said the university has primed itself to become a top-five neuroscience program in the nation within the next five years. CLM’s newest faculty members:</p>
<p>Dr. Richard Aldrich, formerly of Stanford University, studies the molecular mechanisms of ion channel function. Aldrich is the new chair of the Section of Neurobiology. </p>
<p>Dr. Kristen Harris, formerly of Harvard Medical School and Boston University, studies the role of changes in synapse structure and composition in learning and memory. Harris is a professor of neurobiology and retains an adjunct professorship at the Medical College of Georgia. </p>
<p>Dr. Helmut Koester, formerly of the Baylor College of Medicine, studies network activity of neurons using optical imaging and high-speed lasers. Koester is an assistant professor of neurobiology. </p>
<p>Dr. Guosong Liu, formerly of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, studies mechanisms regulating plasticity in hippocampal synapses. Liu is an adjunct professor of neurobiology and maintains residence in California. </p>
<p>Dr. Michael Mauk, of the University of Texas Medical School in Houston, studies motor learning in the cerebellum. He is interested in computer simulation of the cerebellum and is working towards building an artificial cerebellum. Mauk will join CLM in 2007. </p>
<p>Dr. Alison Preston, of Stanford University, studies memory in the medial temporal lobe using functional magnetic resonance imaging on humans. Preston will join CLM in 2007. </p>
<p>The Center for Learning and Memory (CLM) was created at The University of Texas by the Provost in 2004 with the vision of establishing a premier and internationally recognized research center that would utilize the collective abilities of accomplished scientists in the fields of molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, physiology, psychology, pharmacology, engineering, physics, and computer science to elucidate some of the important mysteries into the mechanisms that govern the processes of learning and memory