3 Cavaliers

OVERVIEW

 
Developed by the Office of the Vice President for Research, 3Cavaliers unites three faculty members around a new research idea and provides seed funding of $60,000 or $15,000.
Learn more here: https://3c.virginia.edu/

NEUROSCIENCE RELATED PROJECTS

Modeling cerebral reperfusion injury using photoacoustic microscopy and oxygen-sensing nanoparticles

This project explores a novel non-invasive, dynamic imaging approach capable of quantifying functional changes in the brain following reperfusion after stroke.

 

A systems approach to understanding a neuronal circuit for detecting motion

Fruit fly larvae develop a simple learned visual recognition system to determine membership in cooperative feeding groups and we propose to study the underlying neural circuit.

 

Genetically-Encoded Norepinephrine Sensors

Norepinephrine (NE) ubiquitously mediates cell-to-cell communication, yet NE transmission remains poorly understood. We aim to develop NE sensors to transform NE biological and translational research.

 

Effects of perturbation of mRNA export pathways on neuron function

This project will explore the effect of CRISPR/Cas9 mediated mutations in the NXF1 gene on the outgrowth and function of primary hippocampal and cortical neurons in culture systems.

 

Brain Synchrony During Student-Teacher Interactions

Real-world interactions involve multiple brains engaging together. Traditional neural metrics consider individuals in isolation. We will quantify engagement via student-teacher brain synchrony.

 

Automatic Sensing and Characterization of Social Interactions

The objective of this project is to design technology to measure the presence of and quality of social interactions.

 

Harnessing the Wandering Mind

How can you harness a wandering mind or control creativity? Our answers combine cognitive neuroscience, Western, and Buddhist philosophy to illuminate "meta-actions" relevant to ADHD and depression.

 

Generation and characterization of a preclinical models to study DDX3X disorder

DDX3X mutation cause intellectual disabilities, seizures, autism, poor muscle tone, and slower physical developments. We propose to generate a female mouse model carrying germline DDX3X mutations.

 

Comparing and Contrasting Artificial Neural Networks with Biological Neural Networks for Improved Representation Learning

We will study what are the implications of the different modes of operation of artificial neural networks and biological neural networks, and how do they build abstraction into their representations.

 

Role of innate immunity in impaired neurodevelopment during zika virus infection

We will study neuroprogenitors by intraventricular injection of ZIKV into fetus of pregnant mice. We will assess the inflammatory signaling with high-throughput protein kinase/phosphatase assay.

 

Single cell proteomics of the hypothalamus

Using mass cytometry (CyTOF), this project will identify unique mammalian hypothalamic cell types important for energy homeostasis.

 

Genetic Dissection of Vagal Motor Circuits Controlling Heart Function

Our project will define the synaptic circuitry and functional role of three novel neuron types in the nucleus ambiguous, the major parasympathetic input to the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.

 

Building an in vitro model for Neural Tube Defects

Establish an in vitro model to study formation and function of the nervous system in the pathological conditions of Neural Tube Defects.

 

Neuromuscular pedicle for improved functional outcome of novel muscle regeneration scaffolds

We aim to generate clinical functional recovery after volumetric muscle loss by combining a neuromuscular pedicle embedded into novel scaffolds to provide regenerative cells and paracrine signaling.