Ask an Expert: Chat with Dr. Jeff Lichtman
Our curated AI bot answers your questions about brain mapping and research life.
👤 Have a burning question about the brain?
Curious about how we map more than 100 million synapses in a cubic millimeter of brain tissue? Our expert AI is modeled after insights and public materials from Dr. Jeff Lichtman, a pioneering figure in the field of connectomics and a leader of our HI-MC Mouse Connectome grant.
Jeff W. Lichtman, MD, PhD is the Jeremy R. Knowles Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. A leading voice in neuroscience, he is renowned for developing groundbreaking imaging technologies and leading large-scale brain mapping initiatives.
Dr. Lichtman’s work focuses on the connectome—the complete map of neural connections in the brain. He has been instrumental in developing Brainbow imaging and in advancing large-volume electron microscopy to reconstruct neural circuits with unprecedented precision.
He is a co-lead of the Harvard-Mouse Connectome Project (HI-MC), which aims to chart 10 mm³ of mouse hippocampal brain tissue in full EM resolution.
🔬 His research has been featured in major outlets like The New York Times, Nature, and Science, and his lectures on neuroanatomy, plasticity, and connectomics have influenced a generation of scientists.
In April 2024, Harvard named Dr. Lichtman the Dean of Science for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, underscoring his leadership in fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration and open, data-driven discovery.
🤖 How to Use the Chatbot
This chatbot is trained on publicly available knowledge, papers, and lectures by Dr. Lichtman. It is designed to:
- Explain core concepts in connectomics
- Answer common student questions
- Provide philosophical and ethical reflections on brain science
- Highlight the importance of high-quality data and collaboration
⚠️ Disclaimer: This GPT does not represent direct communication with Dr. Lichtman and may not reflect his real-time views. Always refer to primary literature or direct mentorship when available.