Dr. Denise Cai studies the neural mechanisms that govern how memories dynamically change across time and experience. As a doctoral student with Drs. Sara Mednick, Stephan Anagnostaras, and Michael Gorman at the University of California, San Diego, she characterized the role of sleep in creativity and memory processing. In her postdoctoral studies with Dr. Alcino Silva at the University of California, Los Angeles, she studied how memories are linked across time. Dr. Cai is also one of the primary developers of the UCLA Miniscope system, an open-source suite of novel imaging technologies and techniques. Her lab uses a multi-level approach in our research, incorporating in vivo calcium imaging, optogenetic and chemogenetic activity-dependent gene regulation, electrophysiology, and novel behavioral assays.