Jeff W. Lichtman

In 2013, he was named the inaugural Santiago Ramón y Cajal Professor, a five-year appointment intended to recognize outstanding research and teaching.

The lab uses genetically modified mice and automated imaging tools to identify neural circuit motifs throughout the nervous system.

[3][8] Additionally, the Lichtman lab developed a device called the Automatic Tape-Collecting Lathe Ultramicrotome (ATLUM),[3][9] which can be used for automated electron microscopy in neural circuit reconstruction.

Data from the Lichtman lab has been used in the citizen science game EyeWire, developed in collaboration with Sebastian Seung and Winfried Denk, to construct a full connectome of the mouse retina.

[10][11] The lab is also interested in inhibitory interneurons in the prefrontal cortex, which are thought to be selectively vulnerable in mental disorders such as autism or schizophrenia.