Fall 2025
By Silvia Cernea Clark and Marcy de Luna
At Rice, breakthroughs in neuroscience are reshaping what we know about how the brain functions — and how we can interact with it.
Researchers across engineering, biosciences and neurotechnology are developing tools and methods that were once the realm of science fiction: optogenetic devices that allow scientists to decode the brain using light, high-resolution neural recording systems to track decision-making in real time and implant-free techniques to monitor gene expression and brain activity from a simple blood test.
“In order to build tools to assist the brain, we first have to deeply understand how it functions,” said Behnaam Aazhang, director of the Rice Neuroengineering Initiative. “That requires not only new technologies, but new ways of thinking.”
The NEI brings together faculty from across disciplines to investigate the structure and function of neural systems and to build next-generation devices for monitoring and repairing them. Among its most ambitious efforts is the creation of minimally invasive neural interfaces that allow researchers to study and influence brain activity without traditional surgical implants.
In order to build tools to assist the brain, we first have to deeply understand how it functions.
The nanogrid is one such device, designed by a Rice-led team in collaboration with Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas Health Science Center. At just one-fifth the width of a human hair, the nanogrid enables precise interaction with individual neurons.
“This is the first neural interface that’s compatible with the biological function of brain tissue over long periods of time,” Aazhang said. “It opens the door to research and clinical treatments that were previously impossible.”
Neural recording and modulation are also central to the work of Valentin Dragoi, who joined Rice in 2023. Dragoi’s lab focuses on decoding how networks of cortical neurons encode and transmit information, especially during complex decision-making. Using custom high-density electrophysiological arrays, his team can monitor neural activity across thousands of neurons simultaneously. “What we’re learning is how populations of neurons dynamically reshape their activity based on behavioral context,” Dragoi said. “That’s essential to understanding memory, perception, and cognition.”
Meanwhile, Jacob Robinson, professor of electrical and computer engineering and bioengineering, is developing optogenetic protocols that enable researchers to stimulate and observe neurons using light, bypassing the need for physical electrodes. These new tools allow scientists to study the brain’s communication patterns in far greater detail and with less disruption to tissue. “This work will significantly improve our ability to map how different parts of the brain communicate,” said Robinson, who also leads Motif Neurotech, a Rice-affiliated startup designing bioelectronic therapies for treatment-resistant depression.
Robinson and Aazhang also collaborated on the development of a state-of-the-art neural recording system, which dramatically increases the volume and resolution of neural data collection — a key step toward understanding large-scale brain function and treating neurological disorders.
Another major front of investigation is sleep and its link to cognitive performance. A recent study led by Rice engineers and cognitive scientists uncovered how neural activity during sleep is reorganized across brain regions, offering insights into how memories are stored and consolidated. “The sleep brain isn’t shutting down — it’s rewiring,” Aazhang said. “This has profound implications for learning, neurorehabilitation, and neurodegenerative disease.”
Elsewhere, bioengineer Jerzy Szablowski is designing noninvasive methods to control and monitor specific brain circuits, including the use of synthetic serum biomarkers that may one day replace brain imaging with a blood test. Robotics expert Marcia O’Malley is building wearable exoskeletons for stroke rehabilitation and motor training. And neuroscientist Caleb Kemere is mapping how memory is encoded in hippocampal circuits.
In the workplace, Margaret Beier is examining how motivational and situational components and traits such as cognitive ability and personality are related to intellectual development throughout the lifespan with a current focus on workplace aging and continuous employment. Rebecca Brossoit is studying employee sleep, organizational strategies and interventions for improving employees’ lives at work and at home, and the impacts of the built and natural environment on employee well-being.
Across the board, Rice is turning bold ideas into working systems.
Now in its sixth year, the NEI has become a national model for cross-disciplinary innovation. It links brain science to real-world applications, from treating neurological disorders to enhancing human performance. Many of these projects operate in tandem with Rice’s Center for Neural Systems Restoration, a joint venture with Houston Methodist that unites clinicians, engineers, and scientists to advance translational neuroscience and neurotechnology.
This level of integration — combining basic research, device engineering, clinical application and entrepreneurial translation — is what positions Rice at the forefront of the field.
“Rice has always had strengths in electrical engineering, signal processing and biosciences,” said Aazhang. “What we’re doing now is applying those strengths to one of the most complex and urgent frontiers of human knowledge: the brain.”
As Rice continues to expand its research capacity under the leadership of President Reginald DesRoches, neuroscience has become a focal point of institutional growth. Whether in the lab, the clinic, or the startup space, the university is helping chart the next chapter of brain science.
“We’re not just building knowledge,” said DesRoches. “We’re building platforms that can reshape how we understand, heal, and enhance the human mind.”