Michael Riad
Email: riad@mit.edu
Michael Riad joined the Graybiel laboratory in August 2013 as a technical assistant interested in the functional neuroanatomy of basal ganglia circuitry. He develops immunostaining protocols for cellular markers and viruses and is responsible for the confocal microscopy of histological stains.
Michael graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a B.S. in Psychology/Neuroscience. There, he investigated the relationship between social behaviors and alcohol self-administration in rodents, in the laboratory of Dr. Heather Richardson. After completing his undergraduate degree, Michael worked as a laboratory technician at the National Institute of Mental Health under Dr. Charles Gerfen. There, he assessed the selectivity of Cre-driver line expression, in collaboration with the Gene Expression Nervous System Atlas (GENSAT) Project. Michael then pursued a M.Sc in Neurobiology from Northwestern University, in the laboratory of Dr. William Klein. His thesis research addressed the pathogenic role of glutamate receptor trafficking in early Alzheimer’s disease synaptic dysfunction. In his spare time, Michael enjoys swimming, photography, BBQs, and anything automotive.