Evan Schaffer is assistant professor of neuroscience at the Friedman Brain Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. His lab uses mathematical tools to understand distributed computations in the brain, identify how these computations change with learning and identify how feedback from the body impacts cognition. Schaffer received his Ph.D. at the Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, in Larry Abbott’s lab at Columbia University. He completed his postdoctoral work in Richard Axel’s Lab at Columbia University
Evan Schaffer
Assistant professor of neuroscience
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Selected articles
- “Inhibitory stabilization of the cortical network underlies visual surround suppression” | Neuron
- “A complex-valued firing-rate model that approximates the dynamics of spiking networks” | PLoS Computational Biology
- “Odor perception on the two sides of the brain: Consistency despite randomness” | Neuron
- “The spatial and temporal structure of neural activity across the fly brain” | Nature Communications
- “Behavioral fingerprinting of the naked mole-rat uncovers signatures of eusociality and social touch” | bioRxiv
Explore more from The Transmitter
Remembering Annette Dolphin, who helped explain gabapentin’s effects
The "intuitive" neuropharmacologist pushed against the status quo.
Remembering Annette Dolphin, who helped explain gabapentin’s effects
The "intuitive" neuropharmacologist pushed against the status quo.
By
Michael Eisenstein
13 March 2026 | 7 min read
Revised statistical bar extracts less-common variants from autism genetics studies
Adjusting genetic analyses could help plug autism’s heritability gap, according to a new preprint.
Revised statistical bar extracts less-common variants from autism genetics studies
Adjusting genetic analyses could help plug autism’s heritability gap, according to a new preprint.
By
Holly Barker
12 March 2026 | 4 min read
Tom Griffiths describes how neural networks, logic and probability theory together explain cognition
In his new book, “The Laws of Thought,” Griffiths shows how these three pillars of study complement one another and together form a solid foundation to eventually explain all of our cognition, from brain to mind.
Tom Griffiths describes how neural networks, logic and probability theory together explain cognition
In his new book, “The Laws of Thought,” Griffiths shows how these three pillars of study complement one another and together form a solid foundation to eventually explain all of our cognition, from brain to mind.
By
Paul Middlebrooks
11 March 2026 | 100 min listen