Murat Yildirim holds a PhD degree from UT Austin and received his BS and MS degrees from Middle East Technical University in Turkey, both in Mechanical Engineering. He performed his postdoctoral training at Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he developed custom-made optical systems to perform large-scale optical recordings and perturbations in behaving mouse brain and cerebral organoids. His current research interests are developing next-generation multiphoton systems to study the structure, function, and biomechanics of the brain with various biological systems and models spanning from cerebral organoids, to small animals, to humans through their interaction with femtosecond laser pulses for the diagnosis, characterization, and treatment of specific brain disorders to positively impact human mental health. He is the recipient of several prestigious awards such as a Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering.
Research Information
Research Interests
The Yildirim lab investigates brain complexity through the lenses of engineering, optics, photonics, behavioral and computational neuroscience to solve basic and translational neuroscience problems. We are creating cutting-edge, custom-made microscopes and computational techniques to perform large-scale fluorescent and label-free imaging, as well as perturbations of neural circuits that result in complex behavior in vivo and in vitro. We are developing diagnostic and therapeutic platforms for a variety of neurological disorders by developing these novel custom-made technologies.