Neuroscience, optogenetics, and poetry: A word with Karl Deisseroth

Karl Deisseroth, MD, PhD, calls the human brain “the most complicated object in the universe.” The Stanford psychiatrist and bioengineer is well-known for developing two game-changing techniques — optogenetics and CLARITY. At 44, his list of accomplishments and accolades runs long. He's been profiled in the New York Times, The New Yorker and most recently he received the 2016 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences. Deisseroth hopes these tools will unlock the mysteries of the brain and help lead to clinical treatments for mental illness. In this podcast, he discusses the path that led to his work, which has been referred to as the "most revolutionary thing that has happened in neuroscience in the past couple of decades.” Deisseroth is the D. H. Chen Professor, professor of bioengineering, and of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford.