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Dragoi Receives McDonnell Foundation Award
Valentin Dragoi, Ph.D., assistant professor of neurobiology and anatomy at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston and a 2004 Pew Scholar, has received a five-year, $452,000 award from the James S. McDonnell Foundation – one of just four granted this year.
At the UT Medical School at Houston Valentin Dragoi, Ph.D., uses computer models to help determine patterns of brain activity relevant to visual behavior. Photo by Shannon Rasp
The grant recognizes Dragoi and his innovative studies regarding how the visual cortex processes and updates information.
“The brain is never at rest, even when we close our eyes,” explained Dragoi, who also holds a faculty appointment in the UT Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston. “We want to understand what happens in the brain in the absence of stimulation. We have a specific interest in the visual cortex, the brain region that allows us to perceive the world.”
The recently developed technique of multiple electrode electrophysiological recording in animal models has made possible experiments addressing the relationship between neuronal internal states and behavioral performance. Dragoi and his research team accomplish this by recording the activity of multiple neurons in the brains of alert laboratory animals as they perform specific behavioral tasks. They compare these findings with human psychophysics and computer models to determine patterns of neural activity relevant to visual behavior.
Preliminary data from Dragoi’s lab suggest the intriguing possibility that in order to correctly discriminate a stimulus, neuronal networks have to be in specific states representing levels of network “preparedness.”
The practical applications of understanding the brain’s internal state and cortical processing related to visual processing include the prospect of one day developing a virtual reality-type of sight for the blind and for those who experience low vision, Dragoi said. While his work focuses on the visual cortex, findings may very likely hold value for other sensory functions in the brain and higher cortical functions.
A native of Romania, Dragoi received his bachelor’s degree in computer science in 1989 in Romania and earned a Ph.D. from Duke University in 1997. During postgraduate work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he began his novel work in visual cortex processing. In 2003, he joined the Medical School’s Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy.
The McDonnell Foundation was established in 1950 by aerospace pioneer James S. McDonnell to improve the quality of life through support of research and scholarship. Since its inception, the foundation has awarded over $295.4 million in grants.
By Bryant Boutwell, Dr.P.H., Medical School