The Center for Neural Circuit Mapping (CNCM) is currently administered by the UCI School of Medicine (SOM) Office of Research. Leveraging their multiple NIH BRAIN Initiative Awards, other NIH grants and collaborations, SOM faculty Xiangmin Xu, Rozanne Sandri-Goldin, Todd Holmes and Bert Semler developed the Center plan which was recommended by the Dean’s Research Council and approved by the Dean on January 27, 2020.

This Center focuses on neural circuit studies and new viral-genetic technology development. The main aim of the Center is to advance the study of neural circuits to define mechanisms and pathways that underlie neurodevelopmental, neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. Understanding the brain’s neural circuitry is critical for successful translational progress in better treating these diseases. Given the increasingly inter-disciplinary nature of neural circuit analysis, this Center will emphasize collaborative inclusion of Engineering, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Physical Sciences and Computer Science faculty on Campus.

One critical component of the Center is the creation of a viral production facility to disseminate to the worldwide neuroscience community new molecular tools developed by the Center investigators funded by BRAIN Initiative awards. This Center facility will also support UCI basic and clinical investigators using viral genetic tools, and locally serve the UCI research community by custom-making genetically modified AAV, lentivirus, rabies and herpes viruses, etc. on a recharge basis.

The CNCM membership is potentially available to all UCI faculty and faculty at partner institutions. There are ~80 faculty who have joined in the Center, including faculty members of UCI, UCSD, University of Washington, and UT Southwestern. We expect that the establishment of this Center improves our research and competitive edge for large scale funding, and will raise our institutional profile and success of our neuroscience faculty.