John A. White, PhD

Chair (BME); Professor (BME, Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Neuroscience)

Office ERB 307
Email jwhite@bu.edu
Phone (617) 353-2805
Website Neuronal Dynamics Lab

In the News

Combining Cutting-Edge Techniques To Study How Brain Cells Function Together
May 8, 2025
"Imagine a therapy for patients with memory deficits, in which their brain is stimulated in a precisely timed manner to improve their recall ability." [ More ]

Publications

View a complete list of publications chronologically by year.
View a complete list of publications by citation.

Research Areas

Professor White’s laboratory uses engineering approaches to understand how information is processed in the brain, with the goal of exploiting these findings to improve the human condition. Ongoing and future research questions include the following:

• Why is coherent electrical activity of the cortex necessary for mental processes like learning and memory?
• What factors control this coherent activity, and how can such knowledge be applied to help patients?
• How can recent advances in computing technology be exploited to develop electronic devices that detect brain dysfunction in real time and react to restore normal function in neurological patients
• Can we take advantage of nonlinear optical techniques to improve methods of measuring and controlling neuronal activity in reduced preparations and the intact brain?
• How do calcium and other second messengers interact to influence short-term and long-term plasticity in synapses and in neurons?
• How can the principles of brain function be adapted to build novel “smart” devices?

Honors and Awards

2019 Elected Fellow of the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering
2019 Elected President of the Biomedical Engineering Society
2014 Meeting Chair, Biomedical Engineering Society Fall Meeting
2011 Distinguished Alumnus Award, Dept. of BME, La. Tech U.
2006 Elected Fellow, Biomedical Engineering Society
2005 Elected Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
2003-2008 Co-Director, Methods in Computational Neuroscience, Marine Biological Lab

Additional Affiliations

Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
Program in Neuroscience
Center for Systems Neuroscience
Neurophotonics Center
Photonics Center

Department or Division: Biomedical Engineering

Affiliations: Administration & Staff, Neuroscience & Neuroengineering, Primary & Affiliated Faculty

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