Mathew Weston

Mathew Weston is an Associate Professor in the School of Neuroscience at Virginia Tech. He holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Baylor College of Medicine and a B.A. in Echols Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Virginia. His research program investigates the mechanisms of cortical excitation/inhibition balance, focusing on genetic variants that cause severe childhood epilepsies (Developmental Epileptic Encephalopathies). Using multi-scale approaches—including in vivo EEG, Ca++ imaging, and electrophysiology—his lab studies how these genetic disruptions lead to network hyperexcitability and seizures.

Weston's work bridges molecular neurobiology and systems-level neural circuit analysis. Key research themes include: synaptic transmission defects in epilepsy, mTOR signaling in neuronal function, and the development of mouse models for neurodevelopmental disorders. His group employs techniques such as patch-clamp electrophysiology and multicellular Ca++ imaging to dissect synaptic and circuit alterations in disease states.

His publications emphasize epilepsy mechanisms, synaptic physiology, and neuronal network dynamics, with recent work exploring ion channelopathies (e.g., KCNT1, DNM1), mTOR pathway dysregulation, and astrocyte heterogeneity. Weston has also contributed reviews on potassium channels in epilepsy and glutamate receptor variants.

No awards or specific student advisees are listed in the provided information. His lab collaborates extensively to link molecular pathology with organism-level phenotypes.