STG Lab
Bioscience and Bioengineering
This research cluster includes both basic and applied research in the areas of neuroscience, neural engineering, regenerative medicine and point-of-care technologies. Research at NJIT includes understanding functions of the brain and spinal cord under normal, injured and diseased states at molecular, cellular and functional levels through experimental, theoretical and computational methods. Regenerative medicine research deals with the process of replacing dysfunctional cells with regenerating cells, tissues or organs to restore normal functions.
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Members of the Structural Ecology Lab are interested in how the distribution and movement of organisms is affected by the physical and social structure of their environment. Within this arena, we gravitate towards applied conservation questions, such as how landscape alterations caused by humans impact the ability of animals to survive and prosper. After earlier work looking at how the spatial structure of islands and habitat fragmentation impact extinction risk, we have been focusing on animal movement.
The Swarm Lab is an interdisciplinary research unit that explores the mechanisms of swarm intelligence. We study how information is exchanged and transformed during interactions between members of a group and how this leads to “intelligent” group behaviors. We focus on the coordination of large animal groups, such as ant colonies, ungulate herds, baboon troops and human crowds. We use this knowledge to develop applications to problems such as the organization of pedestrian traffic and the control of miniature robotic swarms.
The goal of our research group is to understand how biological networks generate patterns of activity with an emphasis on oscillatory networks, how these networks process information and perform computations, and how all of this depends on the dynamic properties of the participating nodes, the connectivity and the network topology. We particularly focus on oscillatory networks of the nervous system, which play important roles in cognition and motor behavior both in health and disease.
The Keck Laboratory for Topological Materials uses interdisciplinary research to investigate the existence of what are known as topological phonons in microtubules (MTs), a naturally occurring biological material. Our theoretical evidence suggests that topological phonons are integral to the function of MTs – a cytoskeletal component in all eukaryotic cells that is essential for many fundamental cellular processes, including cell division and movement.
Convergence Insufficiency (CI) is a prevalent binocular vision disorder that disrupts coordination of the eyes as they turn inward to focus on a near object. Symptoms, which include double and blurred vision, eyestrain and headaches during reading or other close work, negatively impact activities of daily living and can significantly impair a child’s ability to focus and learn, for example. CI is present in about 5 percent of the population; just over a quarter of these patients do not improve even with validated therapy.
The Zebrafish Neural Circuits and Behavior Laboratory researches the neural circuits underlying locomotor behavior in the larval zebrafish. These tiny fish with transparent bodies are ideal for studying in real time how the brain and spinal cord work together to produce everyday movements the fish needs to swim around its environment. The techniques we employ are multidisciplinary, including high-speed behavioral recordings and analysis, dynamic imaging of calcium activity within populations of neurons and electrophysiology.