Primary Faculty

Giorgio A. Ascoli has dedicated his career to advancements in biochemistry and neuroscience since he received a PhD from the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa, Italy, and continued his research at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD.  Ascoli investigates protein structure and binding in the nervous system. In the long term, he seeks to create large-scale, anatomically plausible neural networks to model entire portions of a mammalian brain, such as the hippocampus. Ascoli’s interests also involve human memory and consciousness.

Kim Blackwell joined George Mason University in fall of 1996 in the Computational Sciences Institute. From 2007 through 2016 she was a member of the Molecular Neuroscience Department, and joined the Department of Bioengineering in 2016. She also has been a primary investigator in the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study since 1996.

Computational neuroscience is a growing field of research as our technological ability attempts to approach the complexity of the human nervous system. In order to construct real-time intelligent systems, researchers must use high-performance computing, experimental data recording, and complex brain modeling to develop robotic functions that mimic the way humans think.

Michael Buschmann came to Mason with over 20 years of experience at École Polytechnique in Montreal. He is a world-class researcher who has made fundamental and translational contributions to the fields of biomechanics, biomaterials, and nanomedicine.

Engineering solutions for deadly conditions.

Parag Chitnis joined the Department of Bioengineering at George Mason University in Fall of 2014. He also is a Principal Investigator at the Krasnow Institute of Advanced Study. The institute, which functions as an independent research facility at Mason, upholds a mission to expand scientific understanding of the mind, the brain, and intelligence by exploring the intersection of cognitive science, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and complex adaptive systems.

Holger Dannenberg's studies in the molecular biomedicine program at the University of Bonn in Bonn, Germany taught him the scientific basis of medicine and provided him with an understanding of disease mechanisms. As a student, his interest in neuroscience and immunology led him to pursue his diploma thesis on studying microglia and their role in Alzheimer’s disease. Dannenberg continued this inquiry in his PhD thesis in Experimental Epileptology and Cognition Research in Bonn, Germany studying neuronal ensembles, neural engrams, and their modulation by acetylcholine in-vivo.

Caroline Hoemann (BA, UCSD; PhD, MIT) is a full professor of Bioengineering at George Mason University. Prior to this, she was a professor in the Chemical Engineering Department at the Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal, where she spent 15 years directing a federally-funded research program on the role of inflammation in articular cartilage repair.

Many neurological diseases are marked by a process of white matter neurodegeneration; that is, a breakdown of specific brain tissue involved in higher-order cognitive function. The global rise of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease is of urgent focus, but better medical diagnostic systems also offer epilepsy and multiple sclerosis patients hope. Since August 2009 Vasiliki Ikonomidou’s research conducted at Mason’s Krasnow Institute for Advanced Studies has been focused on improving MRI technologies to detect this unique and difficult to measure symptom.

Eugene Kim is primarily focused on engineering education and the scholarship of teaching and learning, specifically in the areas of active learning and team-based learning. His research interests have been in developing protein-based biomaterials using microbial platforms for the production of strong underwater bioadhesives and biocomposites. He received his BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan and PhD in Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis.