Graduate Student Seminars are back at the Beckman Institute!

Two graduate students will present their research at the first Beckman Graduate Student Seminar of the fall 2023 semester: Anupriya Edappalil, chemistry; and Rishyashring “Rishee” Raman Iyer, electrical and computer engineering. The event will take place at noon Wednesday, Sept. 6 in 5602 Beckman Institute.

Lunch will be provided to registered attendees. Register in advance here.

Probing of redox-active and redox-inactive neurotransmitters simultaneously using dual-functional nano-probe

Anupriya Edappalil

Electrochemical methods have several decades of history in studying neurochemical dynamics in real time revolutionizing our view on brain communication. Developing nanometer-sized electrodes capable as a scanning electrochemical microscopy, or SECM, probe is a critical step toward understanding neuronal functions at nanometer-sized single synaptic cleft and vesicles considering their advantages of nanometer spatial resolution. Here we are introducing a dual-functional nanoscale SECM probe to enable the detection of two groups of analytes-neurotransmitters simultaneously, i.e., redox-active and redox-inactive. We used dopamine as one example of redox-active neurotransmitters and acetylcholine as an example of redox-inactive neurotransmitters. The dual-functional nanoelectrode is composed of two channels separated by a nanometer distance: a carbon nanoelectrode channel for the detection of dopamine, and a second channel made of nano Interface between Two Immiscible Electrolyte Solutions, or nano-ITIES, electrode for the detection of acetylcholine. Steady state current corresponding to both dopamine and acetylcholine detection increased linearly with increasing their concentrations, respectively. Dynamics of acetylcholine and dopamine as a function of time were recorded concurrently with millisecond temporal resolution using chronoamperometry in vitro.

Anupriya Edappalil is a graduate student in Dr. Mei Shen’s group in the Department of Chemistry. Her work focuses on developing nano-probes to study the neurotransmitter release dynamics from single neurons using scanning electrochemical microscopy. She earned her integrated B.S./M.S. from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Thiruvananthapuram, India.

Label-free optical imaging of neural activity

Rishyashring "Rishee" Raman Iyer

Traditional methods for neural activity measurements are invasive or use contrast agents. There are structural, biochemical, and metabolic markers of neuronal activity, which can be discerned with label-free optical microscopy; however, they are very subtle. I developed two optical systems for imaging the activity of neurons without any labels or exogenous contrast agents.

The first microscope allowed the observation of nanoscale cell movements in the entire network at high speeds and resolution, capturing both short and long-term changes. The second microscope simultaneously captured eight complementary intrinsic imaging contrasts, revealing multidimensional markers of neuronal activity. Innovations in each modality improved speed and sensitivity. These advancements enabled a comprehensive understanding of neuronal functions and enabled progression from low-throughput electrophysiology to high-throughput optophysiology.

Rishyashring "Rishee” Raman Iyer is a graduate student in electrical and computer engineering and a member of the Biophotonics Imaging Laboratory directed by Prof. Stephen A. Boppart. Rishee’s research interests are at the nexus of optics and neuroscience, specifically in developing new optical imaging methods for neuroimaging. Rishee has a bachelor’s in electrical and electronics engineering from the National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, and a master’s in biomedical engineering from Cornell University. When he is not in the lab, Rishee is usually at a coffee shop, cooking, or doing some artsy stuff.

Learn more about Beckman's Graduate Student Seminar Series.

Read Q&As with student researchers on Beckman's Student Researcher Spotlight page.