Ryan N Hoffman, Ph.D.

Dr. Ryan Hoffman is a postdoctoral research fellow pioneering the use of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) derived neural cultures for studying the molecular, cellular and network mechanisms involved in psychedelic induced plasticity, and developing a scalable, high-throughput platform for neurotherapeutic preclinical evaluation of novel drugs. Ryan is also developing a versatile set of fluorescence microscopy methods aimed towards performing multichannel whole brain imaging via Lightsheet microscopy, high-content plasticity time course imaging, and developing fluorescent iPSC reporter lines for integrated plasticity evaluation. Having received his PhD in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology from UC Santa Cruz, Ryan brings expertise in human and primate iPSC and ESC tissue culturing and neural patterning, fluorescence microscopy, single nucleus RNA sequencing, electrophysiology, and hydrogel engineering. In his PhD, Ryan developed a novel approach for the high-throughput and uniform application of hydrogel-based basal lamina to cerebral organoids, providing a scalable patterning approach for generating large multimodal time course datasets across various experimental conditions. This approach results in reproducible specification and developmental trajectory of cerebral cell types across various pluripotent stem cell lines and improved neuronal layer-specific subtype specification, laminar cytoarchitectural organization, and functional and molecular maturation. Additionally, Ryan developed a novel media regimen to culture cerebral organoids in a physiological glucose range throughout development, shifting their metabolic preference towards oxidative phosphorylation rather than primarily utilizing glycolysis under standard conditions. Ultimately, these approaches advance the fidelity of cerebral organoids as a model for human development and their use in translational research requiring mature subtype specified human cerebral neurons. Outside of lab, Ryan is a painter (whose work has been featured at the Santa Cruz Museum of Modern Art), craftsman, and musician. He is an avid traveler and happy to share lore over a beer.