Matthew Rowan directs FIU Medicine's Advanced Neurotechnology and Innovation Initiative. In this role, he supports the development of shared advanced imaging resources and gene therapeutic tools for the department.
The Rowan Lab combines patch-clamp electrophysiology, confocal and two-photon imaging, omics, and custom gene therapeutic tools to target and interrogate specific cell types in the brain.
Before joining FIU in 2026, Rowan completed postdoctoral training at the Max Planck Institute for Neuroscience and led a research laboratory at Emory University School of Medicine. His research is supported by the National Institutes of Health.
Areas of Expertise
- Synaptic function/physiology
- Cortical/Hippocampal/Cerebellar circuit function
- Inhibitory interneurons, the role of inhibition on plasticity
- Alzheimer's disease (AD) and AD pathology models
- Patch-clamp electrophysiology
- Cell-type-specific proteomics and targeting tools
- Advanced optical imaging, two-photon and voltage imaging
Current Grants
Project: Automated Cell-Type-Specific Electrophysiology for Understanding Circuit Dysregulation in Alzheimer's Disease
Role: Contact PI
Sponsor: NIH/NIA (R01AG079269)
Period: 08/17/2022 – 07/31/2027
Total Funding: $688,408 (FY2026)
Objectives: The overall goals of this proposal are to develop automated, cell-type-specific electrophysiology technologies that reveal how cellular and circuit dysfunction emerges in early Alzheimer's disease.
Project: Searching for the Goldilocks Zone of Innate Immunity in Alzheimer's Disease
Role: Multiple Principal Investigator with Todd Golde (contact) and Yona Levites
Sponsor: NIH/NIA (R01AG085557)
Period: 09/26/2024 – 06/30/2029
Total Funding: $1,010,081 (FY2026)
Objectives: The overall goals of this proposal are to test multiple immune manipulations, and the timing of intervention, to identify ways to harness the innate immune system for benefit in Alzheimer's disease.
Project: Understanding the Contribution of BCL11A to Neuron Function and Neurological Disease
Role: Multiple Principal Investigator with Andrew Escayg (contact) and Zhexing Wen
Sponsor: NIH/NINDS (R01NS146992)
Period: 02/01/2026 – 01/31/2031
Total Funding: $575,485 (FY2026)
Objectives: The overall goals of this proposal are to establish how BCL11A shapes human neuron development and GABAergic interneuron function, and to define how BCL11A dysfunction leads to intellectual disability, social deficits and epilepsy.
Project: Precision Targeting of Hippocampal Subfields with AAVs
Role: Contact PI
Sponsor: NIH/NIMH (R21MH142870)
Period: 03/15/2026 – 03/14/2028
Total Funding: $430,375
Objectives: The overall goals of this proposal are to develop AAV tools that precisely target hippocampal subfields, enabling studies of basic hippocampal function relevant to epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease.
Education
- Postdoctoral training, Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience
- Ph.D., Integrative Biology and Neuroscience, Florida Atlantic University
- BS, Biology, University of Miami