Jessica Cardin

Jessica Cardin is a Professor of Neuroscience at Yale School of Medicine, where she also serves as Deputy Chair in the Department of Neuroscience. She holds secondary appointments in Psychiatry and is affiliated with multiple interdisciplinary programs including the Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Wu Tsai Institute, and the Yale Combined Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS). Her research is centered on cortical circuit dynamics, particularly the interactions between excitatory and inhibitory neurons in sensory processing and disease.

• PhD, University of Pennsylvania (2004)
• BA in Biology, Cornell University (1997)

Her research investigates the bidirectional relationship between neurons and networks in the cerebral cortex, focusing on cellular and synaptic mechanisms, network interactions, and behavior. Key areas include visual gain control, signal flow across cortical layers, and the role of inhibitory interneurons in regulating perception. Using in vivo intracellular and extracellular recordings, optogenetics, and chronic tetrode recordings in awake behaving animals, her lab explores how neural circuits function in health and are disrupted in conditions like epilepsy and schizophrenia.

Her recent publications span topics such as thalamocortical signaling, cholinergic arousal in seizures, VIP interneuron function, and the development of neural integro-differential equations, reflecting a strong integration of experimental and computational neuroscience. Her work frequently appears in top journals like Cell Reports, Nature Neuroscience, and Neuron.

Jessica Cardin has received numerous honors, including:

• McKnight Scholar Award
• Smith Family Award for Excellence in Biomedical Research
• Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship
• Klingenstein Fellowship
• Narsad Young Investigator Award

She has been actively involved in the neuroscience community, serving as chair for the COSYNE meeting. She mentors trainees through the BBS program and leads a vibrant research group investigating fundamental questions in cortical function. Her lab is part of Yale’s broader neuroscience ecosystem, collaborating with leading researchers such as Michael Higley, Michael Crair, and Quentin Perrenoud. She is also engaged in interdisciplinary initiatives that combine neuroscience with AI and engineering.