Dr. Aryn Gittis

Biography

Aryn Gittis received her Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego in 2008, where she studied the vestibular system in the lab of Sascha du Lac. After completing her doctoral studies, she undertook a postdoctoral appointment at the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease from 2008 to 2012 under Anatol Kreitzer, focusing on the plasticity of basal ganglia circuitry in disease contexts. In 2012, she established her lab at Carnegie Mellon University, where she is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition. The Gittis lab investigates the neural basis of motor control in both health and disease. Using mouse models of Parkinson's disease, her research has identified cellular nodes where optogenetic interventions can promote long-lasting recovery of movement in disease states. Current investigations aim to understand the role of broader motor circuits and node functions by employing a combination of behavioral, electrophysiological, and anatomical approaches. The lab is also innovating new experimental models to study network compensation and the implications of progressive dopamine loss in relation to compensatory mechanisms that may paradoxically exacerbate symptoms of movement disorders.

Research Interests

Experience

Awards