Dr. Ehud (Udi) Isacoff

Ehud (Udi) Isacoff is a neuroscientist and biophysicist whose research probes the molecular and cellular basis of brain function, with a particular focus on synaptic signaling, sensory perception, and circuit dynamics. By combining advanced imaging, electrophysiology, and genetic engineering, Isacoff’s lab explores how neural circuits process information and adapt to experience.

Isacoff is renowned for developing fluorescent sensors that visualize and control neurotransmission in real time, enabling new insights into how neurons communicate. His research has advanced understanding of learning and memory, sensory integration, and neurological disorders at both molecular and systems levels.

A leader in neurotechnology and synaptic biology, Isacoff is a professor in the Departments of Neuroscience and Molecular and Cell Biology at UC Berkeley, where he also serves as Director of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute and Berkeley's component of Weill Neurohub, which joins with UCSF, University of Washington and the Allen Brain Institute to bring discoveries and new technologies of neuroscience to the clinic. Isacoff is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Research Expertise and Interest

Ion channel function, synaptic plasticity, neural excitability, synaptic transmission, synapse