Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering Distinguished Guest Seminar

Qi Wang
Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Columbia University

This is a hybrid event. To join virtually, click here.

Abstract: The locus coeruleus is a critical brain structure and the primary source of norepinephrine to the forebrain. Through widespread projections and actions on diverse adrenergic receptors, the locus coeruleus modulates a broad range of brain functions, and dysfunction of the LC-NE system has been implicated in several major brain disorders. In Alzheimer’s disease, for example, the locus coeruleus is the first brain structure to exhibit characteristic pathology, decades before the onset of clinical symptoms. In this seminar, Dr. Wang will discuss neurotechnologies designed to enhance and restore brain function through targeted control of the LC-NE system. He will present findings showing how direct stimulation of this system improves information processing in the sensory thalamus and enhances perceptual behavior in rodents, then describe translational work testing vagus nerve stimulation as a substitute for direct locus coeruleus stimulation. He will also share results demonstrating that non-invasive transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation improves auditory acuity and speech-in-noise performance in humans, and conclude with recent work on how noradrenergic and cholinergic signaling interact in the prefrontal cortex to mediate inhibitory control of impulsive actions. Taken together, these studies suggest that neural stimulation targeting the LC-NE system may offer a promising strategy for enhancing and restoring brain function in both health and disease.

Bio: Dr. Qi Wang received his first Ph.D. in Robotics from Harbin Institute of Technology, China, and his second Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from McGill University, Canada, in 1998 and 2007, respectively. He completed postdoctoral training in Neuroscience at Harvard University from 2006 to 2008. Before joining Columbia University in January 2013, he held a research faculty position in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University. His research interests include neuromodulation, neural coding, brain-machine interfaces, and biomedical instrumentation. He has received numerous honors, including the NSF CAREER Award, the IEEE EMBS Early Career Achievement Award, the Young Investigator Award from the Brain and Behavior Foundation, and Best Paper Awards at the 14th IEEE Haptics Symposium.