Dr. Mark Harnett

Biography

Mark Harnett is an Associate Professor in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) since 2015. He was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 2023 and became the Graduate Officer in 2021. He received a B.A. in Biology from Reed College in Portland, Oregon, and completed his Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin. Before joining MIT, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Research Campus in Ashburn, Virginia. His research laboratory focuses on studying the biophysical features of individual neurons, which endow neural circuits with powerful processing capabilities necessary for complex computations that drive adaptive behavior. His principal focus is on the role of dendrites, the elaborate tree-like structures on neurons that receive the majority of afferent input. He investigates how the spatial arrangement of synaptic contacts on dendrites and the interaction of biophysical mechanisms enable complex integration of synaptic inputs, forming the basis of circuit-level computations.

Research Interests

Experience