Ducan Leitch
Assistant Professor
Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology
Life Science Building 4834
Los Angeles, CA 90095
We study the function and organization of sensory systems in a diverse range of vertebrates using molecular, electrophysiological, and behavioral techniques. This research has included examining somatosensory representation in a wide range of non-traditional mammals (e.g., naked mole rats, shrews, moles) and reptiles (e.g., crocodilians and snakes). Other projects involve the identification of molecular contributors to sensory cells, including those used by aquatic organisms (elasmobranchs, teleost fishes, and amphibians) to detect the faint electric fields from predators and prey (electroreception). This research is united by a desire to understand the basic principles of brain organization and function by adopting a comparative and evolutionary perspective.
Education
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Physiology, University of California, San Francisco (2019)
- PhD, Neuroscience, Vanderbilt University (2013)
- BS, Mathematics; BS, Neuroscience, Vanderbilt University (2006)