Diego Contreras

Diego Contreras, MD, PhD, is a Professor of Neuroscience at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, with dual affiliations in the Neuroscience and Bioengineering Graduate Groups.

Education:

• M.D., University Autonoma of Madrid, Spain (1988)
• Ph.D., Laval University, Quebec, Canada (1996)

His research centers on thalamocortical networks and epilepsy mechanisms, investigating inhibitory circuits in thalamus and visual cortex, thalamocortical synapse dynamics, and intrinsic electrophysiological properties using in vivo intracellular and optical recordings. His lab studies seizure initiation/propagation in neocortex and thalamocortical systems, bridging cellular mechanisms with network-level phenomena in sensory processing and epileptic disorders.

Recent publications (2016-2018) demonstrate expertise in neural coding during gamma oscillations, spatiotemporal evolution of epileptiform activity, and thalamocortical communication. His work employs voltage-sensitive dye imaging and laminar recordings across rodent/cat models to address fundamental questions in visual processing and seizure dynamics, with significant contributions to understanding OFF-subregion inhibition and millisecond-precision temporal encoding.

Dr. Contreras leads a laboratory focused on thalamocortical physiology, utilizing advanced electrophysiological techniques and collaborating with neuroengineers to translate basic findings into clinical epilepsy applications.