My current PhD research in the Mody Lab focuses on studying the dynamic changes in neuronal function underlying the progression of neurological disorders – in particular, ischemic stroke. My project aims to characterize the electrophysiological alterations of post-stroke cortex, to determine their underlying causes, and to understand the principles of neuronal adaptation, with the goal of uncovering novel therapeutic avenues to promote neural repair.
Prior to attending UCLA, I worked in the lab of Dr. Eric Kandel at Columbia University, where I received my undergraduate degree. I was first involved in studying the attentional modulation of hippocampal place cells in mice (Kentros et al., 2004, Neuron); I later studied the trafficking of glutamate receptors and trans-synaptic cell adhesion molecules underlying learning-related synapse formation in cultured Aplysia neuronal circuits (Li et al., 2009, Neuron).
Update: The first part of my Ph.D. Dissertation is now published in a co-first-author article in NATURE.
Clarkson, A.N.*, Huang, B.S.*, MacIsaac, S.E., Mody, I., and Carmichael,
S.T. (2010) Reducing excessive GABA-mediated tonic inhibition promotes
functional recovery after stroke. NATURE 468, 305-309. (*equal-contribution first-authors) [online] [PDF]
Li, H., Huang, B.S., Vishwasrao, H., Sutedja, N., Chen W., Jin, I.,
Hawkins, R.D., Bailey, C.H., and Kandel, E.R. (2009) Dscam mediates
remodeling of glutamate receptors in Aplysia during de novo and
learning-related synapse formation. NEURON 61, 527-540. [online] [PDF]
Updated February 2012: Ben Huang is now a post-doctoral researcher in the laboratory of Takao Hensch at Harvard University.
Ben S. Huang
Graduate Student Researcher
Department of Neurology
UCLA School of Medicine
NRB 1, Room 579
635 Charles Young Drive South
Los Angeles, CA 90095-733522
Ben S. Huang 
News and Reviews on Clarkson and Huang et al 2010 Nature