People

Graduate student
My research in the Niell lab focuses on the neural correlates of psychedelic-induced alterations in visual perception. Serotonergic psychedelics offer a unique tool to investigate cortical dynamics underlying sensory processing because they provide the ability to acutely and reversibly alter perception in humans. By extending these studies to animal models in the Niell lab, we aim to disentangle the neural circuits and cortical dynamics that give rise to these altered states of perception. More broadly, I am interested in how the biophysical properties of cell types and circuit architecture of the cortex support the emergence of a given conscious state – whether healthy, disordered, or pharmacologically altered – as a function of the hierarchical structure of information processing in the brain. Prior to joining the Niell lab in 2024, my background in neuroscience research started at the University of Michigan with an interest in neuropharmacology. I worked for three years as a postbacc research technician in the lab of Dr. Dinesh Pal where I primarily used EEG, microdialysis, and fiber photometry to probe the regulation of cortical dynamics associated with psychedelic and anesthetized states in rodents.
Contact: cfiel (at) uoregon (dot) edu

Research scientist
I have always been curious about how the brain processes information from the environment in order to guide behavior and decision making. Early on, this motivated my interest to pursue a career in neuroscience. I started out studying neuronal biophysics in rat hippocampal slices for my M.Sc., which I followed up by investigating circuit dynamics of olfactory computations in fruit flies for my Ph.D. Later, to assess neural correlates of behavior, I continued my career studying cortical representations of visuomotor associations in head-fixed mice. This path eventually led me to join the Niell Lab in 2023, where my research now focuses on exploring visual computations in freely navigating mice. To achieve this, I use a combination of animal movement tracking software, augmented reality displays, neural probes and custom eye tracking hardware. My goal is to find neural signals responsible for invariant object recognition and object prediction while mice actively sense their environment, in a more naturalistic way.
Contact: luisfran (at) uoregon (dot) edu

Abbi Koenigsmark

Anne Liu

Research scientist
My background is in molecular biology and genetics, and I was introduced to neuroscience studying spine plasticity and addiction in Dr. Linda Wilbrecht’s lab. As a long-term research scientist in the Niell lab, my goal is to implement and apply novel techniques to enable studies of visual system function and plasticity. I previously generated a GCaMP6 mouse line that is now in wide use and performed a large-scale characterization of visual responses in mouse dLGN.  I am currently studying the role of cortex in ethological behavior in mice, and the impact of environmental experience on natural visual processing.
Contact: dpiscopo (at) uoregon (dot) edu

Research Scientist
My research focuses on exploring the functional organization of the visual system of the octopus. Octopuses rely on their keen sense of sight for most everything in their lives, from prey capture and predator evasion, to camouflaging and finding mates. They have a camera-like eye as vertebrates do, which emerged in a stunning case of convergent evolution. While we know a bit about the structural organization of their visual systems, little is known about its functional organization. Using a combination of calcium imaging and tract tracing techniques, I aim to identify what features of the visual world octopuses extract and utilize, and how this visual information is disseminated to higher order processing centers in their central brain.
Contact: jpungor (at) uoregon (dot) edu

Issac Rhim

Postdoctoral Researcher
Our brains are remarkable at making continuous decisions based on sensory input, often seamlessly. Even in a simple task, such as walking on a trail, we are able to instantaneously decode the visual space before us and move our feet to propel ourselves forward. However, how the brain effectively translates sensory evidence into actionable outcomes is not well understood. Using vision as the sensory model for information processing, I’m interested in the (1) involvement of the visual cortex in encoding and decoding behavior-relevant features and (2) the neural mechanisms that underlie sensory-to-action translation downstream. To this end, I employ a combination of behavioral assays, electrophysiology, 2-photon microscopy, wide-field calcium imaging, intrinsic signal imaging, genetic tools, and computational methods.
contact: irhim (at) uoregon (dot) edu

Jhoseph Shin

Michael Sidikpramana

Graduate student
A central aim of the Niell lab is to further our understanding of vision in the context of naturalistic behavior. My project in the Niell lab focuses on visually guided locomotion, specifically how skillful movement through cluttered environments emerges from the continuous interaction between an agent and its environment. This ability to avoid objects in one’s environment is a highly conserved cognitive process found across many species. The visual scene holds information critical for object avoidance and some of this information can only be accessed as the visual scene changes when one moves through the environment. By studying how freely moving mice navigate cluttered environments, I aim to elucidate what features of the visual scene aid object avoidance and how these features are represented in the brain. This work will provide a better understanding of how vision is used in the context of natural behavior.
Contact: msidikpr@uoregon.edu

Rolf Skyberg