Anqi Zhang, Ph. D.
American Heart Association (AHA) Postdoctoral Fellow
Stanford University
Department of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering
Title: Minimally invasive neuroelectronics
Bio: Dr. Anqi Zhang is currently a postdoctoral fellow co-advised by Professor Karl Deisseroth and Professor Zhenan Bao at Stanford University. She received her Ph.D. degree in Chemistry under the supervision of Professor Charles M. Lieber at Harvard University in 2020, and her B.S. degree in Materials Chemistry at Fudan University in 2014. She is interested in combining novel chemical, genetic, and electronic tools to monitor and modulate neural circuits in a minimally invasive manner.
Abstract: Neuroelectronic interfaces have enabled significant advances in both fundamental neuroscience research and the treatment of neurological disorders. However, current neuroelectronic devices have a clear trade-off between invasiveness and spatial resolution, and are unable to achieve seamless integration into the nervous system with cell-type specificity. In this talk, I will first introduce an ultra-small and flexible endovascular neural probe that can be implanted into sub-100-micron scale blood vessels in the brains of rodents without damaging the brain or vasculature. Second, I will describe a biochemically functionalized electronic probe that enables cell type- and neuron subtype-specific targeting and recording in the brain. Third, I will present a bottom-up approach for constructing neural interfaces from the cell surface, where neurons are genetically programmed to express membrane-localized enzymes that catalyze in situ assembly of functional materials. Finally, I will discuss future advances toward clinical translation of minimally invasive neuroelectronic interfaces capable of long-term monitoring and treatment of neurological disorders.
