How are transient external stimuli converted into lasting internal representations? And how do these internal memory representations, once formed, continuously re-organize across the brain into progressively more stable forms? The Rajasethupathy lab addresses these questions by bridging functional genomics with systems neuroscience to provide cross-disciplinary insights. On one hand, we perform genetic mapping in outbred mice for unbiased discovery of genes, cell types, and circuits relevant for memory across different time scales. In parallel, we develop and apply methodologies to record and manipulate high resolution neural activity from relevant circuits in the behaving animal. Together, we aim to learn the molecular, structural, and functional changes governing the evolution of a memory, and how this may be leveraged for cognitive rescue and therapeutic relief.

Priya Rajasethupathy obtained her BA from Cornell University, and an MD (2013) and PhD in Neuroscience (2012) from Columbia University, working with Eric Kandel. She did her post-doctoral work at Stanford University with Karl Deisseroth. Priya is a Searle and Klingenstein Scholar and has been a recipient of an NIH New Innovator Award, Presidential Early Career Award, and the MIND Prize.

Rajasethupathy Lab