Education

B.S.
Virginia State University
2004

Ph.D.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2012

Expertise

Learning and Memory

Cerebellum

Optogenetics

Academics

Animal Physiology (BIOL 341)

Neurobiology (BIOL434)

Research

Specialty

Learning and Memory

Group Information

Laboratory Research Detailed:

Dominique Pritchett is an assistant professor of Physiology in the Department of Biology at Howard University. Prior to his current position, he obtained his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he used optogentic techniques to study neural mechanisms of the selective attention. He received his post-doctoral training at the Champalimaud Neuroscience Program, in Lisbon PT, where his knowledge of optogenetics was leveraged to study the synaptic mechanisms underlying Pavlovian conditioning in the cerebellum. A central theme to the research has been on using new genetic tools to dissect neural circuits that underlie complex behaviors. Optogenetics and chemogenetics are two such tools he utilizes to gain genetic access to specific cell types in neural circuits, to alter their activity with high temporal precision. In addition, his work relies on using open-source platforms and towards developing low-cost approaches to neuroscience. His current work is focuses on understanding the neural mechanism that underlie simple associative learning behaviors. In particular, he continues to study the cerebellum, where much is understood about how mechanisms of synaptic plasticity contribute to the association of a stimulus with a behavioral response. The goal of his research is to understand how the cerebellar circuit contributes to associative behaviors more generally by exploring the functional connections between the cerebellum and the neocortex and the basal ganglia.

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=NTM94R4AAAAJ&hl=en

Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dominique_Pritchett