Chinfei Chen, M.D., Ph.D.

Research

The goal of Chinfei Chen’s research is to provide insight into neurological disorders that result from aberrant synaptic connections, such as some forms of epilepsy and mental retardation. To this end, she and her colleagues are working to understand synaptic mechanisms that underlie developmental synaptic remodeling and contribute to the processing of information in the immature and mature central nervous system. In one line of investigation, her lab focuses on how firing patterns of retinal ganglion cells are decoded into the output of the thalamocortical relay neurons. They are interested in understanding how specific retinal firing patterns and how ascending neurotransmitter systems from the brainstem alter the strength of the retinogeniculate synapse. Another area of her research examines the factors that are important in the formation and refinement of synaptic connections during development.