Nathan Johnston is a second-year Ph.D. student in neurobiology at the University of Utah. He completed his bachelor’s degree in molecular and cellular biology at the University of Washington in 2020 and came to the University of Utah the following autumn. As an undergraduate, he worked in Garret Stuber’s lab at the University of Washington,where he used fluorescence in situ hybridization and functional transcriptomics to map cell types in the mammalian habenula. His graduate work focuses on using a combination of calcium imaging and computational techniques to understand how the computations underlying spatial navigation is altered in contralateral neglect.

Outside of the lab, Johnston is involved in a number of outreach and volunteer organizations including Science for U, which connects local students with scientists for mentorship through the school year, and the Three Minute Thesis competition which challenges graduate students to communicate their thesis work as clearly and succinctly as possible.

Principal Investigator: Nicholas Frost