Lab Members:
Dr. Achim Klug
Principal Investigator
Achim Klug has more than 25 years of experience in the auditory brain stem and sound localization circuit. He has used a number of electrophysiological techniques such as in-vivo recordings, patch clamp recordings, manipulations of neural circuits with pharmacology and optogenetics and combines these with behavior and histological analysis.
Dr. Samuel Budoff
Sam Budoff is a computational neuroscientist specializing in interdisciplinary approaches spanning statistics, machine learning, and experimental biology. He completed his P.h.D in the Poleg-Polsky Lab at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus where he mapped all retinal ganglion cell subtypes' spatial distributions - a challenge that had remained only 25% solved over 30 years. Earlier in his career: he was the 13th employee of Modern Meadow, where he built the biochemical analytics department from scratch; co-founded BaconBio, where he led the team to secure a cell-culture focused patent and develop an MVP; and has earned master's degrees in both Neuroengineering and Applied Statistics. He is now the CEO of Parley Neurotech where he aims to develop breakthrough treatments focused on solving central hearing loss.
Dr. Ben-Zheng Li
Ben-Zheng Li received his doctorate in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Macau. After being a visiting research scholar at the University of Colorado Denver and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, he is now a postdoctoral fellow at the latter institute under Dr. Achim Klug, Ph.D. He is interested in neural circuit modeling, signal/data analysis, and closed-loop optogenetic control in the auditory system.
Shani Poleg
Shani Poleg is a Professional Research Assistant who is an expert at immunohistochemistry, in-vivo and in-vitro electrophysiology, microscopy, and behavioral testing. She works both alterations in the sound localization pathway in aging and in Fragile X.
Matt Ridenour
Matt Ridenour received his M.S. in Integrative Biology at Oklahoma State University in 2020, and began work in the Klug Lab soon after. His work in the lab centers around the optogenetic manipulation of the auditory brainstem. He is currently working on projects elucidating the roles of various auditory brainstem nuclei in the sound localization process.
Ajay Keerthy
Ajay Keerthy is a Professional Research Assistant who is an expert at behavioral testing. He completed his undergraduate thesis on sound source tracking in the auditory cortex at the University of Michigan and is now interested in the sub-cortical sound localization pathway. His experience in sound design and behavioral testing merge together in the Klug Lab.
Bella Nussbaumer - Intern
Bela Nussbaumer is currently a student at Northfield Highschool who is pursuing the International Baccalaureate diploma. She is interested in following a career path in science and medicine. She has had the chance to shadow many lab members and the workings of the lab.
Former Lab Members:
Dr. Elizabeth McCullagh
Dr. Chen Chang Hao
Dr. Anna Dondzillo
Dr. Peng Un Mak
Dr. Otto Albrecht
Dr. Florian Mayer
Dr. Joachim Hermann
Dr. Marc Ford
Alexandra Lucas
Jennifer Libby
Phuong Ly
Brennan Mulligan
Robin Cross
Saif Al-Juboori
Samuel Mincowicz
Panke Wang
Mackenzie Wilderman
Jay Chauhan
Alica Corrales
Mark Holloman
Robert (Buck) Courtney
William (Billy) Kromka