I study the synaptic and circuit mechanisms underlying communication between neurons in the brain by combining electrophysiology and optical techniques to control and monitor neural activity.

I am currently mentoring five graduate students, two in the Masters Program and three in the Doctorate Program in the Institute of Neuroscience at the Universidad de Valparaiso. One of the doctorate students, Nicole Sanguinetti, defended her Magister thesis project in August 2019, looking at the role of endocannabinoid signaling at inhibitory synapses in my lab. The two masters students will be defending their thesis proposal in 2021. In addition, I am participating on the thesis committee of several other students in the Masters and PhD programs. I am giving lectures in four graduate courses in the Universidad de Valparaiso: Sensory Systems, Synaptic Neurotransmission, Experimental Methods in Neuroscience and the Principles of Modern Microscopy and one PhD Introductory Neurophysiology course in the Pontificia Universidad Catolica in Santiago on the topic of "GABAergic inhibition in neuronal dendrites". To enhance the critical thinking skills of graduate students, I have served as the faculty mentor in a student-led Journal Club on synaptic physiology and dendritic computation in cortical neurons and am currently serving on various academic committees and editorial boards. I have trained a postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Angelica Escobar, who is currently a faculty member in the Physiology department in the Universidad de Valparaiso. Members of my laboratory are performing experiments utilizing optogenetics and two-photon fluorescence imaging techniques in brain slices to understand the mechanisms by which distinct inhibitory circuits in the cortex modulate neuronal activity and thus influence behavior.

Of note, the Latin American Training Advisory Group (LATAG) of the Society for Neuroscience in the USA selected the Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurocience de Valparaiso (CINV) to host their 2018 training program. This is a prestigious course in which qualified graduate students throughout Central and South America were selected based on a rigorous and competitive process with the aim of training future scientists in the field of neuroscience. I participated in the course as a lecturer and laboratory instructor. Moreover, as part of the Max Planck Society, with the aid of the CINV, I hosted an international symposium focused on "Understanding Brain Function and Dysfunction from Synapses to Behavior" in December 2018. As an adjunct to the symposium, we also held an Imaging Workshop in which local graduate students participated in laboratory activities and were trained in the use of modern fluorescence microscopy tools such as the spinning disk confocal microscope and the two-photon laser scanning microscope. In 2020, I co-organized a symposium in the Sociedad Chilean de Neurociencia entitled “Closing the circuit: from sensory stimuli to behavioral responses” that brought neuroscientists from abroad to share in their science in Chile. I will co-organize an mini-symposium in the 2021 Society for Neuroscience meeting entitled "The rich dynamism of GABAergic cell types: specificity and diversity of inhibitory plasticity in cortical function." The overall goal of these scientific events is to promote innovation in science and technology in nationally and internationally by providing opportunities for dialogue between experts and novices.

All work resulting from research in the laboratory will be published in peer-reviewed journals. In addition, I will post updates and news on the Universidad de Valparaiso webpage (http://cinv.uv.cl/cchiu/) and a laboratory webpage that is currently being developed. Pre- and post-graduate students in my laboratory will also participate in national and international research conferences such as the Annual Meeting of Chilean Society for Neuroscience as well as the Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in the USA. I also have access to scientific journalists to disseminate findings from my research to make the public aware of how this work impacts them. Some of the interviews have been published in local newspapers such as El Mercurio.