Jonathan Ting, Ph.D.

Associate Investigator

Contact Brain Science Human Cell Types

Bio:

Jonathan T. Ting joined the Allen Institute in 2013 to provide electrophysiology expertise for the Human Cell Types program and to develop functional assays on human ex vivo brain slices. Ting has 15 years of experience in patch clamp electrophysiology encompassing both primary neuron cultures and acute brain slices. In his postdoctoral fellowships at Duke University and the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, he studied the neural circuitry basis of psychiatric disorders and developed and characterized several transgenic mouse lines now widely employed for optogenetic control of nervous system function. Ting previously earned a Ph.D. in Neurobiology & Behavior and conducted his thesis research in the Department of Physiology & Biophysics at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. He earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences with emphasis in Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior from the University of California at Davis.

Research Focus:

A comprehensive analysis of the architecture and function of the human brain requires a multifaceted strategy for revealing the true complexity and diversity of cell types that reside within. It is the exquisite and complex assembly of these unique cell types into distinct functional circuits that enables us to perform essential tasks such as sensory perception, coordinated movement, cognition, and more. Although much effort has been devoted to anatomical mapping of the human brain using post-mortem tissue in both health and disease, the detailed analysis of functions subserved by individual cells within the living human brain has been more challenging to explore. To achieve this goal, we have established extensive research collaborations with local neurosurgeons in the greater-Seattle area to routinely obtain neurosurgical samples of human cortex for research purposes. The vital human brain tissue is transported to the Allen Institute and sectioned into brain slices for detailed analysis using diverse methodologies including patch clamp electrophysiology, optical imaging, single cell transcriptomic profiling, morphological reconstructions, and array tomography. We hope this effort will culminate in a comprehensive classification of cell types of the human neocortex.

Expertise

Patch clamp electrophysiology

Synaptic physiology

Molecular biology

Gene targeting and transgene expression strategies

Viral gene delivery

Organotypic brain slice culture

Adult animal brain slice methods

Research Programs

Human cell types

Project co-lead

In vitro single cell characterization (IVSCC) project

Human Epilepsy Translational project

Human Genetic Tools project

News & Events

A spinal cord lit up dynamically in green and red on a black background

News

The Transmitter: Expanding set of viral tools targets almost any brain cell type

11.19.2024

Harmless viruses that encase short noncoding DNA elements called enhancers enable cell-type-specific gene delivery across the central nervous system...

A researcher at the Allen Institute for Brain Science prepares a piece of live human brain tissue. Photo by Erik Dinnel / Allen Institute

News

How do human neurons respond to psychedelics?

11.12.2022

Neuroscientists send live human brain samples on a trip to glean insights into consciousness, therapy for depression and anxiety

Jonathan Ting, Ph.D.

News & Events

Publications

Science Programs at Allen Institute