Lab of Dr. Theodore Ho

Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin

Aging & Alzheimer’s Disease | Neural Circuit Repair | Neuroengineering

Learning and memory depends on precise patterns of activity across millions of neurons. In normal aging and Alzheimer’s disease, those patterns break down, and with them, cognitive function and the ability to learn and remember. The Ho Lab leverages cutting-edge systems neuroscience tools to discover exactly how and why these circuits fail, and to repair them in aged and neurodegenerative contexts.

We combine advanced neural activity and connectivity imaging, optogenetics, machine-learning techniques, and translational studies in mice and humans to map the neural activity patterns that support learning, memory, and cognitive function, identify how those patterns deteriorate with age and disease, and design precise interventions to restore them. Our long-term goal is to turn these circuit-level discoveries into diagnostics and therapies that meaningfully slow or reverse cognitive decline.