Team Leader

Decades of work have revealed rich neural representations of space and episodic memory in the hippocampus and neighboring cortices of mammals from rodents to humans, with provocative similarities and differences across brain regions and species. My research takes a multidisciplinary approach to better understand these representations and the functions they support, with a particular emphasis on bridging the gaps between brain regions, species, and levels of explanation. I have led and collaborated on projects leveraging a diverse range of techniques including in vivo electrophysiology in rodents, in vivo calcium imaging in rodents, chemogenetic circuit manipulations in rodents, behavior in both rodents and humans, functional magnetic resonance imaging in humans, and computational modeling with tests of the specific hypotheses generated by these models in both rodents and humans. While it is uncommon in our field for one’s work to cut across multiple techniques and species, continued advances have led to a mounting need for such work. Now as an Assistant Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience, this need has become the foundational focus of my lab. 

Contact: atk@uic.edu

Biosketch (2023-07-18)

Google Scholar Profile

Graduate student (Joined June 2023)

I completed a BS in psychology with a minor in biology at UIC. Towards the end of my undergraduate degree I developed a strong fixation on the underlying computational and network dynamics of the brain. I am interested in taking a computational approach to modeling the role of the hippocampus in spatial navigation and memory. In the future, I plan on diving deep into the computational space by expanding my programming skillset with a focus on some of the network dynamics of the brain.

Contact: specir2@uic.edu

Lab Manager (Joined September 2024)

I am currently the lab manager in the Keinath Lab. I received my B.S. in neuroscience at UIC, where I became interested in the complexities of brain function and behavior. Here in the Keinath Lab, I am excited to gain new lab experience and become more familiar with the role of the hippocampus in spatial navigation. I look forward to furthering my knowledge and contributing to the lab's research.

Contact: rbarr7@uic.edu