Tom Hnasko
Co-PI (Core Leadership)
University of California, San Diego
Tom Hnasko, PhD, earned a BS in pharmacology and toxicology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a PhD in neurobiology and behavior from the University of Washington. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Francisco. In 2012 he joined the Department of Neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego, where he is currently Associate Professor. His lab uses mouse genetics and, molecular and physiological tools to study mesolimbic and basal ganglia neural circuits that guide volitional behavior. A major focus is the study of diverse cell types and circuits in the ventral midbrain, including the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area, with a special focus on neurotransmitter co-release and on how changes in these circuits contribute to neuropsychiatric diseases including addiction and Parkinson’s disease.
Recent ASAP Preprints & Published Papers
Proportion and distribution of neurotransmitter-defined cell types in the ventral tegmental area and substantia nigra pars compacta
Viral overexpression of human alpha-synuclein in mouse substantia nigra dopamine neurons results in hyperdopaminergia but no neurodegeneration
