My overarching goal is to formulate hypotheses about how the human body (especially the brain) functions and then design-conduct experiments to test our ideas. I focus on molecular and cellular neuroscience questions and use imaging technology (cutting edge microscopes and image analysis tools) to understand how gap junctions dynamically connect astrocytes. I study other subcellular aspects of brain function. We also have ongoing human participant research that leverages the largely untapped opportunities for human neuroscience that new-generation virtual reality systems afford. These two seemingly divergent lines of research connect through our development of microscopy-based minimally invasive brain-function biomarkers and patient-derived cell models.