I became interested in neuroscience while working as a structural engineer in the San Francisco Bay Area. I decided to enroll at Boston University to study the brain, and my graduate work in the labs of Dr. Howard Eichenbaum and Dr. Michael Hasselmo focused on implementing single-photon calcium imaging in freely moving mice to capture large scale hippocampal neuron activity across weeks.
As a Research Investigator in the Diba Lab, my work focuses on how sleep supports memory consolidation in hippocampal and cortical circuits. I utilize a combination of electrophysiology and calcium imaging techniques to probe whether/how high-frequency oscillations in the hippocampus contribute to long-lasting functional changes in cortical neurons. Recently, Bapun Giri and I showed that sleep loss impairs the hippocampal phenomena of reactivation and replay. I will continue probe how sleep deprivation and Alzheimer’s disease impact interactions between the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex supporting long-term memory.
- Giri, B.*, Kinsky, N. R.*, Kaya, U., Abel, T., & Diba, K. (2024). Sleep loss diminishes hippocampal reactivation and replay. Nature. *Equal contribution.
- Kinsky, N. R., Vöröslakos, M., Ruiz, J. R. L., de Jong, L. W., Slager, N., McKenzie, S., Yoon, E., & Diba, K. (2023). Simultaneous Electrophysiology and Optogenetic Perturbation of the Same Neurons in Chronically Implanted Animals using μLED Silicon Probes. STAR Protocols.
- Kinsky, N. R., Mau, W., Sullivan, D. W., Levy, S. J., Ruesch, E. A., & Hasselmo, M. E. (2020). Trajectory-modulated hippocampal neurons persist throughout memory-guided navigation. Nature Communications.
- Kinsky, N. R., Sullivan, D. W., Mau, W., Hasselmo, M. E., & Eichenbaum, H. B. (2018). Hippocampal Place Fields Maintain a Coherent and Flexible Map across Long Timescales. Current Biology.
- Preview at: Muzzio, I.A. (2018). Spatial Instability: The Paradox of Place Cell Remapping. Current Biology.
- McKenzie, S., Frank, A. J., Kinsky, N. R., Porter, B., Rivière, P. D., & Eichenbaum, H. B. (2014). Hippocampal representation of related and opposing memories develop within distinct, hierarchically organized neural schemas. Neuron.
