Farzan Nadim, PhD, is a professor in the departments of mathematical sciences and biological sciences at New Jersey Institute of Technology. The main focus of Nadim's research is to understand how synaptic dynamics, such as short-term depression and facilitation contribute to the generation and control of oscillatory neuronal activity. Such synaptic dynamics are found ubiquitously in all parts of the nervous systems.

Nadim's research has helped identify new mechanisms through which a fast and a slow oscillatory network coordinate their activities. Elucidating mechanisms through which non-identical networks interact will help us understand, at a cellular and network level, how widespread synchronous patterns arise in large non-homogeneous networks, such as the brain. Such widespread synchronization of rhythmic activity among networks of neurons that normally function to produce distinct behavior can lead to disorders such as generalized epilepsy and Parkinson's disease.

Nadim was appointed chairperson of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Sensorimotor Integration Study Section from July of 2012 to June of 2014. This scientific review panel considers applications that relate to the role of the nervous system in sensory input or motor output.

Publications include: Mamiya A. and Nadim F: "Target-specific regulation of short-term synaptic depression is important for the function of the synapses in an oscillatory neural network," J. Neurophysiology, 2005; Soto-Treviño C, Rabbah P, Marder E and Nadim F: "A computational model of electrically coupled, intrinsically distinct pacemaker neurons," J. Neurophysiology, 2005. (In pdf form); Rabbah P, Golowasch J. and Nadim F: "Effect of electrical coupling on ionic current and synaptic potential measurements," J. Neurophysiology, 2005. (In pdf form); and Ambrosio C, Bose A, Nadim F: "The effect of modulatory neuronal input on gastric mill frequency," Neurocomputing, doi:10.1016/j.neucom.2004.10.054, 2005.

Nadim received his PhD in mathematics from Boston University.

Last update: March 28, 2012