Frances K Skinner, PhD

We create bidirectional links between models and experiments in the context of oscillatory activities in brain dynamics. The research involves: (i) establishing intimate links with experimental studies to allow mathematical models with a neurological and pathophysiological functional basis to be developed, and (ii) simulating and analyzing developed mathematical models together with experimental data to enable insights and predictions to emerge. There is a strong focus on the hippocampus, with a specialization on inhibitory GABAergic cells, and in the context of physiologically relevant population activity outputs of theta and gamma rhythms. Inhibitory cells and networks have been found to play critical roles in learning and memory as well as in pathological conditions such as epilepsy and Alzheimer disease. The work is highly interdisciplinary and collaborative in nature.