Nicolas Vélez-ángel, Ph.D.
postdoctoral fellow
Nico completed his Ph.D. at The Rockefeller University in the lab of Jim Hudspeth. During his doctoral work, Nico built a novel optical setup from scratch capable of imaging the entire zebrafish larval brain while simultaneously targeting small groups of peripheral sensory cells in the lateral line system using optogenetics. With this setup, he was able to “play” the lateral line like a piano, activating receptors in any spatiotemporal pattern imaginable. His work revealed how the emergent properties of complex sensory stimuli arise from simple underlying rules, representing one of the first attempts to deconstruct a sensory network from a biophysical perspective. This laid the groundwork for studying how sensory systems adapt to stimuli and injury in real time. Before his time at Rockefeller, Nico trained at UCL as an electrophysiologist where he studied how astrocytes process localized calcium signals, and their effects in synaptic plasticity.
At the Victor Lab, Nico is passionate about bringing his training in systems biology and electrophysiology into the world of human brain organoid research. He takes an integrative approach to studying how different cell types in the brain interact and how these interactions become maladaptive in Alzheimer’s disease. Nico is also deeply interested in experimental and AI-driven approaches to drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases. Looking ahead, he envisions leveraging his scientific expertise and experience in biotechnology venture capital to bridge translational research and innovation, maximizing the impact of his work.
Email: Nicolas.velez-angel@mssm.edu
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-velez-angel/
