Orkide Koyuncu

Dr. Orkide Koyuncu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics at the UCI School of Medicine. Her research focuses on developing advanced viral vector technologies for neural circuit mapping and studying neurodegenerative diseases. She specializes in engineering recombinant rabies viruses (RV) equipped with fluorescent proteins and ferritin for multi-scale imaging applications. Her work includes applications in Alzheimer's disease models, mitochondrial tracking in neurons, and automated neural circuit analysis.

Research Interests: Dr. Koyuncu's lab develops viral tools for mapping neural circuits, studying synaptic changes in aging and disease, and applying correlative microscopy techniques. Key innovations include RV vectors targeting specific subcellular compartments and dual-modality imaging approaches combining light and electron microscopy.

Recent Work: Her 2024 publication describes 20 new RV variants enabling mesoscale and multi-modal imaging. These tools detect structural changes in Alzheimer's mouse models, reveal mitochondrial dynamics, and support live calcium activity measurements. Automated neuron detection systems were validated across brain regions.

Funding Support: Supported by NIH grants including R24GM137200 (NIGMS) and RF1MH120020 (NIMH) for viral vector development and neural circuit research.