Edward M. Callaway

Biosketch

Edward Callaway is a neuroscientist recognized for his work on the organization and function of neocortical circuits and development of tools for elucidation of brain circuits. Callaway was born in Los Angeles and received his B.S. from Stanford University and his Ph.D. from The California Institute of Technology. He received postdoctoral training at The Rockefeller University and Duke University before taking his first faculty position at The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. In 1995 he joined the faculty of the Salk Institute and the newly founded Systems Neurobiology Laboratories, where he is now Vincent J. Coates Chair and Professor. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Research Interests

Edward Callaway's laboratory is interested in the neural mechanisms that give rise to perception and behavior in mammals. Work focuses primarily on vision and the visual cortex, with a focus on identifying the circuits and functional contributions of specific cortical neuron types. The laboratory uses a wide range of experimental approaches. Single-cell genetic and epigenetic profiling is used to identify cell types and to reveal genetic regulatory elements that allow transgene expression to be targeted to cell types of interest. These tools are combined with genetic methods for selective and reversible neuronal activation and inactivation, as well electrophysiology and activity imaging methods to test the impact of activity manipulations on circuit function. Monosynaptic rabies tracing methods first developed in the Callaway laboratory are used to reveal the connectivity of specific cell types. The laboratory has particular interests in cell-type-specific wiring motifs and the roles of specific types of inhibitory cortical neurons in shaping the way that visual information is extracted and encoded by cortical circuits.