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Saskia de Vries, Ph.D.

Principal Product Manager

Bio:

Saskia de Vries joined the Allen Institute in 2012 as a scientist in the neural coding team. With a background in systems neuroscience, she has studied visual processing in both vertebrate and invertebrate systems using a combination of physiological, computational, behavioral and molecular tools to parse how neural circuits process visual information and use that information to select appropriate behavior. Prior to joining the Allen Institute, de Vries was a postdoctoral scholar in the department of neurobiology at Stanford University, where she identified loom sensitive neurons in the optic lobe of the fruit fly and directly linked them to the fly's escape behavior. De Vries received a B.S. from Yale University in molecular biophysics and biochemistry and a Ph.D. in neurobiology from Harvard University.

Research Focus:


My research interests are centered on how the brain transforms sensory information into perceptions and appropriate behaviors. Such transformations result from sophisticated computations that are carried out by individual neurons and their interactions within a larger circuit. I seek to understand the cellular and circuit mechanisms that underpin these computations. My research combines optical imaging with computational, behavioral and molecular tools to examine how individual cells function in the visual circuit.





Expertise




  • Neural circuits

  • Systems neuroscience

  • Visual neuroscience

  • Electrophysiology


Research Programs




  • Neural coding


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