Nathaniel Williams, PhD
Nathaniel Williams is a postdoctoral researcher with a background in systems neuroscience, electrophysiology and biomedical science. He received his Ph.D. from the Department of Biological Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University. He is keenly interested in solving clinically relevant problems in neurobiology and increasing our basic understanding of the interface between implanted electrodes and neural tissue.
In the Neural Tissue Engineering Lab, Nathaniel is developing paradigms for characterizing the electrode-tissue interface using electrophysiological methods in combination with 2-photon imaging in vivo. He is currently characterizing novel electrode preparations and developing assays for testing long-term functional performance of electrodes in cell culture and animal models. The overarching goals of these projects are to improve electrode functionality by reducing the inflammatory response to implanted neural devices, as well as to paint a detailed picture of how multiple cell types in the brain respond to electrical microstimulation.