Giorgio Ascoli

Giorgio Ascoli is a University Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at George Mason University, where he has been since 1997. He is the Founding Director of the Center for Neural Informatics, Structures, & Plasticity (CN3) and Founding Editor-in-Chief of the journal Neuroinformatics. His affiliations span computational neuroanatomy, neuroinformatics, and hippocampal modeling.

• Education: PhD in Biochemistry and Neuroscience (1996), Scuola Normale Superiore; MS in Chemistry and Biochemistry (1993), Pisa University; BS in Chemistry and Physics (1991), Scuola Normale Superiore.

Dr. Ascoli investigates the relationship between brain structure, activity, and function from cellular to circuit levels. His research focuses on anatomically plausible neural networks to model mammalian brains, particularly the hippocampus, with implications for understanding human memory and consciousness. He pioneered computational neuroanatomy, developing tools like L-Neuron for neuronal shape modeling and curating NeuroMorpho.Org, a central repository for digitally reconstructed neurons.

His recent publications emphasize neuronal classification, connectome analysis, and biologically informed machine learning. Awards include the 2012 Outstanding Faculty Award (Virginia), 2022 AIMBE fellowship, and 2023 Presidential Faculty Excellence Awards. He has mentored over 20 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, with funding from NIH, NSF, DARPA, and private foundations.

• Scientific Contributions: Over 137 peer-reviewed articles, 4 patents, 2 authored/edited books, and leadership in NeuroMorpho.Org and Hippocampome.
• Grants: $20M+ in cumulative funding, including NIH R01s, NSF BRAIN EAGERs, and Burroughs-Wellcome Trust support.
• Labs: Leads the Computational Neuroanatomy Group within CN3, focusing on hippocampal modeling, neuronal morphology, and consciousness theories.