Banghart Lab
Principal Investigator: Matthew R. Banghart
Institution: University of California San Diego (La Jolla, CA)
Primary Subfield: Neuroscience
Recruitment Status: ✅ Hiring Postdocs
Research Focus
Genetically-encoded tools that provide researchers with a means to control neural activity in genetically-defined cell types are widely used to establish causal relationships between neural activity and behavior. Current tools for silencing synaptic output in a way that is restricted to anatomically-defined target nuclei in the brain suffer from technical drawbacks that limit their widespread use by the neuroscience community. Optogenetic silencing tools are either prone to artifacts or demonstrate limited efficacy. Although chemogenetic tools such as the hM4Di Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drug (DREADD) appear to be highly effective in multiple cell classes, anatomically-restricted silencing requires local infusion through guide-cannulas, which lacks temporal precision and perturbs ongoing behavior. To address these limitations, we are developing optochemogenetic tools in the form of “photo-caged” DREADD agonists that can be applied systemically in an inactive form and subsequently released in the brain with light to achieve site-specific synaptic silencing with high temporal precision using sub-second flashes of light. These reagents are designed to either…
Active NIH Awards
- 5R01NS139872-02: Development of photocaged DREADD agonists for high-efficiency, target-specific optical silencing of synaptic transmission (2026)
- 1R01DA066837-01: Neuromodulatory control of conditioned placebo-like analgesia (2026)
- 5R35GM133802-07: Cellular mechanisms of peptidergic signaling (2026)
- 1R01NS139872-01: Development of photocaged DREADD agonists for high-efficiency, target-specific optical silencing of synaptic transmission (2025)
- 2R35GM133802-06: Cellular mechanisms of peptidergic signaling (2025)
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