Sebnem Tuncdemir, PhD

Position:
Postdoctoral Fellow, Columbia University (Laboratory of Rene Hen),

Education and Training: 

• 2015-Present: Postdoctoral Fellow, Rene Hen Lab, Columbia University Medical Center, NY

• 2009-2015: Ph.D. Student, Gordon Fishell Lab, Smilow Institute, NYU School of Medicine, NY

• 01/2006 – 09/2008: M.S. and B.S in Biology, Schreyer Honors College Integrated Undergraduate-Graduate Program, PennState, State College, PA

• 09/2002 - 12/2005: Molecular Biology and Genetics, Bogazici University, Istanbul- Turkey

Current or Past Study:
My general scientific interests are on the development and function of the neocortical networks. In particular, I am very interested in how the diverse populations of GABAergic interneurons, generated in the ventral subpallium, acquire their position in the neocortex and incorporate into cortical circuitry. Currently, I am using viral tracing and optogenetic methods to examine the dynamic changes in the connectivity of interneurons during postnatal development. These approaches allow us to dissect the identity and synaptic dynamics of the afferents and efferents of early-born interneurons (for example somatostatin expressing-martinotti cells), and elucidate theirroles in early forms of cortical activity.