Vilas Menon’s lab applies state-of-the-art computational and experimental methods to generate and analyze large-scale multi-modal data in the context of aging. In particular, his group investigates signatures of differential vulnerability and resistance at both the cell type and individual level in aging, neurodegenerative disease, and neuroimmune disease. He obtained his Ph.D. in applied mathematics from Northwestern University, where he studied signal integration and information processing in neurons. Prior to joining Columbia, he spent several years as a scientist at the Allen Institute for Brain Science and as a fellow at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Research Campus, where he developed new analytical methods for large-scale single-cell and population electrophysiology and molecular data analysis. As a member of the Taub Institute for Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease in the Department of Neurology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Menon’s research includes three aspects: 1) selective vulnerability of cell types in aging; 2) individual-level resilience to aging and proteinopathy; and 3) reproducibility of molecular and electrophysiological studies in the brain. To achieve these goals, his lab works closely with experimental, clinical and computational labs, and is involved in large consortia such as the Accelerating Medicines Partnership-Alzheimer’s Disease, the Senescence Network and the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative’s Neurodegeneration Challenge Network.
Project: