Antonio-550x709

Antonio Fernandez-Ruiz, PhD

Assistant Professor

Nancy and Peter Meinig Family Investigator

Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University

Background

I am currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell University. Previously,  I was a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Gyorgy Buzsaki at the NYU Neuroscience Institute

The main goal that has guided my research is to understand how neuronal dynamics in distributed brain circuits support complex cognitive functions. A major obstacle to answer this question are the limitations imposed by current technology, thus, part of my career has been devoted to develop new methods for a more precise interrogation and manipulation of brain circuit dynamics.

During my undergrad, I studied Biology and Physics in the Universities of Sevilla and Madrid, in Spain. I earned my PhD in Biophysics at the Complutense University of Madrid in 2015 investigating the biophysical basis of brain oscillations and developing mathematical tools to analyze them. During my postdoc, in the laboratory of Gyorgy Buzsaki, my main focus has been the hippocampal network mechanisms of navigation and memory. I also worked with Nikos Logothetis at the Max Planck combining fMRI, electrophysiology and optogenetics to study the brain-wide correlates of sharp-wave ripples.