Alysson Muotri

Associate professor
University of California, San Diego

Alysson Muotri is professor of pediatrics and of cellular and molecular medicine at the University of California, San Diego. He also co-directs the Stem Cell Program at the university’s Moores Cancer Center.

From this contributor

Spectrum

With tweaks, brains in a dish may yield clear clues to autism

By Alysson Muotri
21 March 2017 | 5 min read
Spectrum from The Transmitter.
Spectrum

Questions for Alysson Muotri: Applying autism tools to Zika

By Jessica Wright
14 June 2016 | 6 min read

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Research image of mice microglia.
Spectrum

Single-gene systems-level effects, and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 6 April.

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Book cover of The Brain, In Theory by Romain Brette.
Theoretical neuroscience

‘The Brain, In Theory,’ an excerpt

In his new book, Brette pushes back against theories that describe the brain as a “biological computer.” In this excerpt from Chapter 4, he challenges equating brain evolution with programming, and the universality of neural network models.

By Romain Brette
7 April 2026 | 5 min read
Kieth Hengen looks through a small window, aligning his face with a fancy moustache sticker and rolling his eyes comically to the side.
Computational neuroscience

Computational neuroscientist Keith Hengen explains his work through illustrations

The images help him communicate the “big-picture ideas” behind the mathematical principles of neuronal networks.

By Helena Kudiabor
7 April 2026 | 4 min read