D. Matthew Wachowiak

D. Matthew Wachowiak is a Professor in the Department of Neurobiology at the University of Utah School of Medicine, where he serves as Principal Investigator of the Wachowiak Lab. His research focuses on understanding how neural circuits transform sensory representations, with particular interest in how animals actively acquire sensory information to guide behavior. He uses the mouse olfactory system as a powerful model to analyze sensory representations and investigate how the dynamics of neural circuits process incoming information to guide behavior and shape perception.

Dr. Wachowiak's educational background includes:

• PhD from University of Florida
• Postdoctoral Fellowship at Yale University School of Medicine
• Multiple Fellowships at Marine Biological Laboratory
• BS from Duke University

His research program centers on four interconnected areas: (1) Olfaction as an Active Sense, investigating how sniffing shapes odor representations; (2) Cracking the Olfactory Code, analyzing how odor information is represented across the olfactory bulb; (3) Organization of Inhibition in the Olfactory Bulb, studying how synaptic inhibition shapes odor processing; and (4) Top-down Modulation of Olfactory Processing, examining how neuromodulatory pathways affect early olfactory processing. His lab employs optical reporters of neural activity targeted to genetically-defined neuron populations, two-photon imaging in awake behaving animals, and custom olfactometers for precise odor delivery.

Dr. Wachowiak's publication record demonstrates consistent contributions to understanding the neural basis of olfaction, with recent work focusing on how sniffing parameters affect odor representations, mitral/tufted cell processing, and olfactory bulb inhibition. His lab has developed innovative tools including high-throughput olfactometers and functional atlases of odorant responses, contributing significantly to the field's methodological toolkit.

His research has received substantial funding including:

• NSF Neuronex Award under the BRAIN Initiative as part of the 'Odor2Action' network
• NSF IDEASLab funding

As a mentor, Dr. Wachowiak has guided numerous students and postdoctoral fellows who have established independent research programs at institutions including Yale University, Rutgers University, University of Florida, and University of Magdeburg. His lab continues to recruit graduate students through the University of Utah's Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience and welcomes postdoctoral researchers interested in olfactory neuroscience.

The Wachowiak Lab maintains state-of-the-art facilities for in vivo imaging, including widefield and high-resolution two-photon microscopy systems, custom olfactometers, and behavioral setups combining odor presentation with locomotion tracking. They actively collaborate with researchers across the US, UK, and Canada through the 'Odor2Action' project, which addresses how high-dimensional sensory variables are represented in brain circuits and mapped to actions.