Ed Boyden
Photo courtesy Kent Dayton
- Investigator, McGovern Institute
Associate Professor, MIT Media Lab; Joint Professor, Dept Brain Cognitive Sciences; Dept Biol Engineering - Boyden lab site
- Publications
- phone: 617-324-3085
- fax: 617-253-6285
- MIT address: E15-421
- email: esb@media.mit.edu
Meet Ed Boyden
Engineering matter and mind
Ed Boyden develops new strategies for analyzing and engineering brain circuits, using synthetic biology, nanotechnology, chemistry, electrical engineering, and optics to develop broadly applicable methodologies that reveal fundamental mechanisms of complex brain processes. A major goal of his current work is the development of technologies for controlling nerve cells using light – a powerful new technology that is opening the door to new treatments for conditions such as epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and mood disorders.
In this talk presented at the 2011 TED conference, Ed Boyden describes a radical new technology for controlling brain activity with light:
Biography
Ed Boyden joined the McGovern Institute for Brain Research in July 2007. In 2006, he joined the MIT Media Lab as a visiting scientist, where he is now an Associate Professor (jointly with the Department of Biological Engineering and the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences). He received a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Stanford University in 2005. He holds a double B.S. in Physics and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and a Master of Engineering in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT. His work has won numerous awards, including the Perl/UNC prize, the A. F. Harvey prize, the Society for Neuroscience Research Award for Innovation in Neuroscience, and the 2013 European Brain Research Prize.
