Background
I received my B.S. from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) where I completed thesis research examining the function of the basal forebrain cholinergic system in sensory learning in the lab of Dr. Andrea Chiba. In my graduate research conducted with Dr. Douglas Nitz at UCSD, I utilized in vivo electrophysiology to investigate the role of retrosplenial cortex in the extraction and encoding of spatial relationships mapped in different spatial coordinate systems. I am currently a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Michael Hasselmo where I continue to examine cortical computations related to spatial transformations, navigation, and memory.
Contact
email: asalexan@bu.edu | asalexan@gmail.com
twitter: @_AndyAlexander
Google scholar profile
Research
I am interested in neural dynamics supporting spatial cognition, episodic memory, and sensorimotor transformations. My research has specifically focused on:
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- coding mechanisms by which the brain computes coordinate system transformations to bind and interrelate sensory information with spatial knowledge about the environment
- oscillatory interactions between the retrosplenial cortex and the hippocampus that subserve spatial cognition and mnemonic processes
- flexible processing as a function of behavioral demands
As a graduate student and postdoctoral fellow, I have combined multisite in vivo electrophysiology, in vivo imaging, optogenetics, and closed-loop behavior in awake behaving rodents performing sophisticated spatial navigation tasks to explore these topics. Below you will find a brief synopsis of my existing work.
As of 2020, I have begun searching for a tenure track faculty position. My laboratory will build upon my prior work probing circuit mechanisms of spatial transformations and cortico-hippocampal interactions that promote memory and navigation. To do so, we will utilize projection-specific in vivo imaging and optogenetics and high-density in vivo electrophysiological techniques to monitor large populations of cells simultaneously in freely moving animals performing tasks in both spatial and non-spatial domains.
