Gina Poe

Gina Poe is a Professor of Innovative Brain Research at UCLA, holding roles as Director of COMPASS Life Sciences, BRI SURE, and co-Director of the MARC U*STAR program. She earned her B.A. in Human Biology from Stanford University (1987) and her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from UCLA (1995). Her research focuses on sleep's role in memory consolidation and neural plasticity, employing techniques like optogenetics and tetrode recordings. Key areas include REM sleep mechanisms, synaptic weakening during sleep, and sleep disorders linked to PTSD and Alzheimer’s. Poe has advised over 80 undergraduates, 9 graduate students, and 8 postdoctoral scholars, and her mentoring programs have served over 1,000 trainees. Notable honors include the nation’s highest mentoring honor (2018) for her work with the Society for Neuroscience’s NSP program. She also leads initiatives to diversify STEM fields, particularly in neuroscience.

Education: B.A., Human Biology, Stanford University (1987); Ph.D., Neuroscience, UCLA (1995).

Research highlights include uncovering REM sleep’s dual role in memory consolidation and forgetting, and identifying hormonal and neurochemical changes (e.g., noradrenaline, serotonin) that enable synaptic renewal. Recent work explores sleep’s impact on PTSD and trauma resilience, as well as cross-species sleep mechanisms. Poe’s lab supports over 600 trainees annually and collaborates on national programs like the Marine Biological Lab’s SPINES course.

Her 80+ publications span sleep physiology, neural coding, and translational neuroscience, with recent emphasis on sleep’s role in emotional health and cognitive aging. She has contributed to high-profile media, including TED Talks and podcasts on sleep science.