Faculty
The faculty of the Volen Center have appointments in Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics and Psychology. This diverse group of researches is united by a common interest in the brain and intelligence. Approaches run the gamut from gene and protein structure to in vivo and in silico computation.
Director of the Volen Center for Complex Systems
![Leslie Griffith](https://www.brandeis.edu/biology/faculty/faculty-images/griffith_lc_req_340.jpg)
Expertise: Biochemistry of synaptic plasticity.
Biochemistry
![Dorothee Kern](https://www.brandeis.edu/biochemistry/faculty/faculty-images/kern-dorothee.jpg)
Expertise: Dynamics of enzymes, magnetic resonance methods
![Dan Oprian](https://www.brandeis.edu/biochemistry/faculty/faculty-images/oprian-daniel.jpg)
Expertise: Structure-function studies of visual pigments and other cell surface receptors
Biology
![Susan Birren](https://www.brandeis.edu/biology/faculty/faculty-images/birren-susan.jpg)
Expertise: Developmental neurobiology.
![Paul Garrity](https://www.brandeis.edu/biology/faculty/faculty-images/garrity-paul.jpg)
Expertise: Neural development and behavior.
![Christine Grienberger](https://www.brandeis.edu/biology/faculty/faculty-images/grienberger-christine-340.jpg)
Expertise: Understanding how the brain is able to produce learned behaviors.
![Eve Marder](https://www.brandeis.edu/biology/faculty/faculty-images/marder-eve.jpg)
Expertise: Modulation of neural networks.
![Paul Miller](https://www.brandeis.edu/biology/faculty/faculty-images/miller-paul.jpg)
Expertise: Computational and theoretical neuroscience.
![Sacha Nelson](https://www.brandeis.edu/biology/faculty/faculty-images/nelson-sacha.jpg)
Expertise: Physiological genomics of the mammalian neocortex.
![Suzanne Paradis](https://www.brandeis.edu/biology/faculty/faculty-images/paradis-suzanne.jpg)
Expertise: Molecular mechanisms of synaptic development.
![Avital Rodal](https://www.brandeis.edu/biology/faculty/faculty-images/rodal-avi.jpg)
Expertise: Endosomal membrane traffic in neurons.
![Michael Rosbash](https://www.brandeis.edu/biology/faculty/faculty-images/rosbash-michael.jpg)
Expertise: Circadian rhythms, behavior and gene expression.
![Piali Sengupta](https://www.brandeis.edu/biology/faculty/faculty-images/sengupta-piali.jpg)
Expertise: Behavioral and neuronal development in C. elegans.
![Gina Turrigiano](https://www.brandeis.edu/biology/faculty/faculty-images/turrigiano-gina-23-340.jpg)
Expertise: Activity-dependent regulation of neuronal properties.
![Stephen Van Hooser](https://www.brandeis.edu/biology/faculty/faculty-images/van-hooser-stephen.jpg)
Expertise: Development and function of cortical circuits.
Chemistry
![Irving Epstein](https://www.brandeis.edu/chemistry/faculty/images/epstein_340.jpg)
Expertise: Oscillating chemical reactions and pattern formation in reaction-diffusion systems. Mathematical modeling of biochemical kinetics and neural systems.
Computer Science
![Tim Hickey](images/hickey-tim.jpg)
Expertise: Educational technology, computer science education, 3D game design, interval arithmetic, scientific visualization, computer-supported learning, groupware and collaborative editing, constraint logic programming.
![Pengyu Hong](https://www.brandeis.edu/life-sciences/faculty/faculty-images/pengyu-hong.jpg)
Expertise: Computer science, FinTech, machine learning, image processing, bioinformatics, biomedical informatics, intelligent education.
![Constantine Lignos](images/lignos-constantine.jpg)
Expertise: Computational linguistics, natural language processing, language acquisition and change, and psycholinguistics.
![Harry Mairson](images/harry-mairson.jpg)
Expertise: Logic in computer science, Lambda calculus, functional programming.
![Sophia Malamud](images/sophia-malamud.jpg)
Expertise: Formal semantics and pragmatics, corpus linguistics, speech acts, game and decision theory, reference and information structure, modality, impersonals and passives, heritage language acquisition.
![Olga Papaemmanouil](images/olga-papaemmanouil.jpg)
Expertise: Data management, distributed systems, data science, machine learning and cloud computing.
![Jordan Pollack](images/jordan-pollack.jpg)
Expertise: Artificial intelligence, neural networks, machine learning, evolutionary computation and artificial life.
![James Pustejovsky](images/james-pustejovsky.jpg)
Expertise: Theoretical and computational linguistics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, corpus linguistics and annotation, lexical semantics, temporal and spatial reasoning.
![Liuba Shrira](images/shrira-liuba.jpg)
Expertise: Distributed systems, reliable and scalable storage systems.
![Nianwen Bert Xue](images/nianwen-xue.jpg)
Expertise: Computational linguistics, Chinese language processing, semantic role labeling, machine translation and linguistic annotation, including Chinese Treebank, Chinese Proposition Bank, OntoNotes.
![Chuxu Zhang](images/chuxu-zhang-340.jpg)
Expertise: Data science, machine learning, deep learning and related applications in graph/network mining, recommendation/user modeling, natural language processing, time series/spatial-temporal data analysis, inter-disciplines.
Mathematics
![Thomas Fai](images/fai-thomas.jpg)
Expertise: Scientific computing, fluid dynamics and mathematical biology.
![Tyler Maunu](images/maunu-tyler-340.jpg)
Expertise: Algorithms, optimization, statistics and data science
![Jonathan Touboul, Mathematics](https://www.brandeis.edu/neuroscience/faculty/images/touboul-340.jpg)
Expertise: Modeling and mathematical analysis of systems inspired by the brain's activity
![Yangyang Wang](https://www.brandeis.edu/neuroscience/faculty/images/wang-yangyang.jpg)
Psychology
![Anne Berry, Psychology](https://www.brandeis.edu/neuroscience/faculty/images/anne-berry-340.jpg)
Expertise: Cognitive neuroscience, executive function, neuromodulator systems (dopamine, acetylcholine), aging.
![Paul DiZio](https://www.brandeis.edu/neuroscience/faculty/images/dizio-340.jpg)
Expertise: Human spatial orientation and motor control.
![Angela Gutchess](https://www.brandeis.edu/neuroscience/faculty/images/gutchess-340.jpg)
Expertise: Cognitive and social neuroscience; influence of age and culture on memory.
![Jennifer Gutsell](https://www.brandeis.edu/neuroscience/faculty/images/gutsell-340.jpg)
Expertise: Self-control; empathy and environmentalism.
![James Howard](https://www.brandeis.edu/neuroscience/faculty/images/howard-james-340.jpg)
Expertise: Cognitive neuroscience, reward, learning, decision-making, chemosensation.
![Shantanu Jadhav](https://www.brandeis.edu/neuroscience/faculty/images/jadhav-340.jpg)
Expertise: Neural mechanisms of learning and memory-guided behavior in the mammalian brain.
![Donald Katz](https://www.brandeis.edu/neuroscience/faculty/images/katz-340.jpg)
Expertise: Neural dynamics of gustatory perception and learning.
![James Lackner](https://www.brandeis.edu/neuroscience/faculty/images/lackner-340.jpg)
Expertise: Spatial orientation. Human movement control. Adaptation to spaceflight and autonomous vehicles.
![Robert Sekuler](https://www.brandeis.edu/neuroscience/faculty/images/sekuler-340.jpg)
Expertise: Visual perception. Cognitive processes.