Zach Barsdale

Thesis advisor: David Liu

Rotation labs: Mandana Arbab, Daniel Hochbaum, David Liu

For me, home is: Roseville, California

Prior degree(s): BA in Molecular & Cell Biology (Neurobiology emphasis) UC Berkeley

Research experience before PiN: After becoming intrigued by the behavioral and cognitive shift I saw in a young boy with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) while caring for him, I joined Professor Kevin Weiner with UC Berkeley’s Cognitive Neuroanatomy Lab to study how deepening of tertiary sulci (small grooves in the brain) during development enhances human-specific cognitive function by bringing cortical regions closer, thereby shortening neural pathways and improving signal efficiency. Then, after graduating I joined Michael Greenberg’s lab at Harvard Medical School to understand the diverse collection of cells in the brain and their therapeutic implications for neurological disorders. I aimed to grant genetic access to varied neuronal cell types by characterizing a library of candidate enhancer elements, assessing their varied ability to drive transgene expression in cell types of-interest.

Current research interests: molecular neurobiology, neuronal epigenomics, treatments for chromatinopathies, synthetic biology

Interests outside lab: Weightlifting, painting, caring for my axolotl, curating my music collection, making music