Jeremy Dittman

Jeremy Dittman, M.D., Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics and Associate Professor of Neuroscience at Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University. Since 2014 he has also been affiliated with the Brain and Mind Research Institute at the same institution.

He earned a B.S. from Stanford University in 1992 and subsequently completed an M.D./Ph.D. at Harvard Medical School in 2000.

Research spans synaptic transmission, membrane fusion mechanisms, and calcium-dependent neurotransmitter release. His laboratory employs biochemical reconstitution, optical imaging, and genetic approaches—primarily in C. elegans and mammalian neurons—to dissect how Munc13, complexin, SNAREs and auxiliary proteins choreograph vesicle priming and fusion. Additional themes include mitochondrial lipid transport via VDAC, GPCR signaling dynamics, and evolutionary divergence of synaptic proteins.

Across 60+ publications (1994–2025) he has illuminated core principles of presynaptic function, ranging from molecular structures of fusion clamps to quantitative models of short-term plasticity. Work appears in Nature Communications, Neuron, PNAS, Science Advances, and Journal of Neuroscience, accruing >2,500 citations.

Active funding includes an NINDS R01 (PI, 2020–2026) titled Analysis of synaptic protein dynamics.

Contact: jed2019@med.cornell.edu