Research Labs
The labs of the UCLA Division of Neuromodulation — spanning surgical neuromodulation, neuroimaging, neural circuits, and molecular neuroscience.
Labs in the Division
Our faculty lead independent research programs advancing the science behind neuromodulation — from non-invasive imaging of brain circuits to the molecular basis of mood. Each lab maintains its own site; follow the links to learn more.
Iacoboni Lab
Marco Iacoboni, MD, PhD — Professor of Psychiatry; Director of the Neuromodulation Lab at the Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center. Studies sensory-motor integration, imitation, and social cognition with fMRI and TMS — including the mirror-neuron system and coordinated stimulation of multiple brain regions.
Visit lab site →Wilke Lab
Scott Wilke, MD, PhD — Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry. Investigates how activity patterns arise in prefrontal circuits and shape behavior, focusing on dopamine projections from the VTA to the medial prefrontal cortex — using miniature microscopes, optogenetics, and TMS.
Visit lab site →DeNardo Lab
Laura DeNardo, PhD — Assistant Professor of Physiology. Studies how the medial prefrontal cortex integrates environmental cues with memory to control adaptive threat responses, how those circuits develop, and how early-life stress reshapes them — with links to anxiety, fear, and depression.
Visit lab site →Krantz Lab
David Krantz, MD, PhD — Uses fruit-fly models to study how neurotransmitter transporters shape synaptic transmission and behavior, the mechanisms of antidepressant drugs, and the principles of aminergic signaling.
Visit lab site →Surgical Neuromodulation and Brain Mapping Lab
Ausaf Bari, MD, PhD — Studies how cortical and subcortical brain circuits mediate reward, motivation, and affect, using direct human neuronal recordings and awake brain mapping to advance deep brain stimulation for addiction, depression, anxiety, and pain.
Visit lab site →Interested in research with the Division?
Explore our current clinical studies, or reach our research team directly.
Email TMSResearch@mednet.ucla.edu