The major long-term goal of Sung Eun “Samuel” Kwon’s research program is to elucidate mechanisms underlying cortical plasticity in both health and conditions of neurocognitive disorders.

Kwon’s scientific training spans the breadth of the neurosciences, with training in molecular, cellular, synaptic and behavioral studies in mice. Kwon is currently focused on using tools to monitor and quantify neuronal plasticity at cellular and circuit levels in the intact mouse sensory cortex during sensory experience and perceptual learning. By combining this approach with mouse genetic tools, Kwon aims to understand specific cell types and circuits that are causally involved in plasticity and learning, and how alterations in these mechanisms lead to neurocognitive disorders.