The cutting edge of neuroscience

I remember when I first read about Na Ji's work and realized the implications. I think I gasped.

With an ultimate goal of truly understanding the brain, she is pursuing detailed observation of neuronal dynamics. That requires some powerful visualization technology. So, she leads a team at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) that is focused on new methods to enable deep imaging of the brain in vivo—at high resolution and high speed.

Yup, deep-tissue, in vivo functional imaging at subcellular resolution. If you tune in to her webcast called Novel Approaches to Optical Neuroscience, set to premiere October 17, 2018, at 11 a.m. ET, you'll have the chance to learn about it and ask her questions.

Ji did some amazing work at Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) before moving last year. Now, she is Associate Professor for the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at UC Berkeley, where she also serves in the Departments of Physics and Molecular Cell Biology. Ji has much in common with her longtime collaborator Eric Betzig (now also at UC Berkeley), recognized in 2014 with a Nobel Prize for his work in superresolution microscopy.

I'm thrilled that Prof. Ji will join us to describe technological innovations that are enabling a better understanding of neuronal function—and the brain overall. I hope you'll join in, too.