Slav Bagriantsev, PhD

Our lab studies the neurophysiology of sense of touch—the only truly indispensable sense. Studying animals across vertebrate clades, including fish, birds, and mammals such as mice and the thirteen-lined ground squirrel, we investigate how tactile end-organs—Meissner and Pacinian corpuscles, free nerve endings, and others—arose in evolution and how they function. Using a multidisciplinary approach spanning electrophysiology, structural biology, and behavior, we seek to reveal general principles of mechanosensation across vertebrates. Our research informs strategies to ameliorate pathological tactile sensitivity and the development of bio-inspired tactile sensors for advanced prosthetics and human–machine interfaces.