Jonathan Fisher
2013 Regional Award Winner — Post-Doc
Current Position:
Assistant Professor of Physiology
Institution:
New York Medical College (Previously at The Rockefeller University)
Discipline:
Neuroscience
Recognized for: Utilizing novel photochemical techniques to dissect the active process that accounts for the high sensitivity of the mammalian cochlea
Areas of Research Interest and Expertise: Portable neural diagnostics and therapy, auditory processing, neuroimaging data visualization
Jonathan Fisher
Biography:
PhD, Physics, University of Pennsylvania
BA, Physics, University of Pennsylvania
Jonathan Fisher’s current research examines the dynamic interplay between the physics of sound and the neuroscience of sensation, by answering two open-ended questions regarding our selective attention to sounds:
- How does top-down attention to sounds affect efferent control of the cochlea?
- What is the interplay between efferent activity and the attention modulated representation of sounds in the auditory cortex?
Fisher’s doctoral research gave him a background in physics, as applied to the use of optical techniques for biological experimentation. He has also pioneered advances in techniques for high-speed, multiplexed imaging, and developed new organic dyes with enhanced nonlinear optical properties advantageous for two-photon microscopy. He devised and conducted a set of experiments examining the active process that accounts for the high sensitivity of the mammalian cochlea, subsequently connecting the characteristics of normal hearing to molecular forces and answering long-standing questions in auditory neuroscience.
"I am interested in how the brain’s control of the auditory system influences our perception of sounds. I am also interested in imaging and neural prosthesis."
Key Publications:
- Fisher JAN, Nin F, Reichenbach T, Uthaiah R, Hudspeth AJ. The spatial pattern of cochlear amplification. Neuron. 2012;76(5):989-997.
- Fisher JAN, Kowalik L, Hudspeth AJ. Imaging electrical resonance in hair cells.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011;108(4):1651-1656.
- Fisher JAN, Barchi JR, Welle CG, Kim G-H, Kosterin P, Obaid AL, Yodh AG, Contreras D, Salzberg BM. Two-photon excitation of potentiometric probes enables optical recording of action potentials from individual mammalian nerve terminals in situ.Journal of Neurophysiology. 2008; 99:1545-1553.
Other Honors:
Postdoctoral Fellowship in Basic Neurosciences, Bristol-Myers Squibb, 2008
Bookham Student Award, Optical Society of America New Focus, 2006