Jose L. Pena

Jose L. Pena is a Professor in the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. His research focuses on understanding how the brain processes auditory information, particularly in birds like barn owls, to efficiently encode spatial and temporal features of sounds. He investigates neural mechanisms underlying sound localization, Bayesian inference, and the integration of sensory cues. His lab uses electrophysiological recordings, in vivo imaging, and computational modeling to study auditory processing across different brain regions. Dr. Pena leads a team of postdoctoral fellows and graduate students, including current advisees Keanu Shadron and Andrea Bae. He has received a BRAIN Award for collaborative research on auditory neural coding and behavior. His work bridges systems neuroscience, neuroethology, and computational approaches to unravel fundamental principles of auditory perception.

• Education: M.D. and Ph.D. (specific institutions not explicitly listed).
• Techniques: In vivo electrophysiology, population vector analysis, calcium imaging, behavioral assays in barn owls.

Research emphasizes statistical inference in neural coding, with studies showing how barn owls use Bayesian principles to localize sounds. Recent projects include collaborations on human spatial perception and translational studies on filial imprinting in chickens. The lab's NIH-funded work explores neural mechanisms of auditory scene analysis and adaptive coding strategies. Dr. Pena has published extensively in journals like Journal of Neuroscience, eLife, and PLoS Computational Biology.

Lab collaborations include institutions such as the University of Oregon, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, and the Osaka Bioscience Institute. Future work aims to integrate deep-brain imaging with behavioral studies to map neural circuits underlying auditory perception and adaptive behavior.