Advanced rodent phenotyping for neurogenetic studies

Abstract:
Animal phenotyping methods using machine learning and computer vision have made significant progress over the past 10 years. This advancement is largely due to the adoption of new algorithms and technologies from the fields of statistical learning and computer science. Despite these developments, the democratization of this technology remains a challenge, with many laboratories unable to access or fully utilize its potential. In this talk, I will present a theoretical framework for advanced animal phenotyping and outline the contributions of my lab to this field. I will also highlight the key obstacles to democratizing these methods and propose potential solutions.

About the Speaker:
Dr. Kumar is a faculty member at The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine. His lab investigates the genetic and neural circuitry underlying complex behaviors. Using mouse models of neuropsychiatric conditions, his team aims to uncover disease mechanisms and develop novel therapeutics. Dr. Kumar applies computational, genetic, and genomic approaches to advance this research. In this talk, he will describe how his lab has developed AI/ML methods to analyze animal behavior and how these computational approaches may be applied to neurotherapeutics.

Dr. Kumar conducted his undergraduate research at the University of Chicago, where he studied bacterial genetics. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of California, San Diego, focusing on mechanisms of transcriptional regulation. He then pursued postdoctoral training at Northwestern University and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where he used forward genetics to dissect complex behaviors in mice. Dr. Kumar has been a faculty member at The Jackson Laboratory since 2015.

Contact

  Santhosh Giririjan
  sxg47@psu.edu