Biography

I enjoy teaching exciting facts about the nervous system to interested students! As a new faculty member, I'm very happy to be here and to be working with Brown students.
In graduate school, I used extracellular recording methods to study plasticity in the visual system of awake rodents. Since I began teaching neuroscience, I have also enjoyed bringing elements of my computational background - including the use of MATLAB - into the classroom.
As an instructor, I am always interested in learning about new ideas to try in the classroom. Recently, I've become very interested in reflective and contemplative approaches to teaching and learning.

Awards

MIT School of Science "Spot" Award (2010)
MIT School of Science "Dot" Award (2010)
National Institutes of Health National Research Service Award Predoctoral Fellowship (2007)
Walle Nauta Award for Continuing Dedication to Teaching (2006)
Dean's Educational and Student Advising Award – MIT School of Science (2005)
Agnus MacDonald Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (2005)
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (2002)
National Physical Science Consortium Fellowship (2002 – declined)
MIT Brain and Cognitive Sciences Award for Academic Excellence (2002)
Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society
Sigma Xi Research Honor Society

Affiliations

Society for Neuroscience
Editor for ERIN - Educational Resources in Neuroscience
Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience (Councilor)

Courses Taught

• Neural Systems (NEUR1030)
• Neurobiology of Learning and Memory (NEUR1540)

Selected Publications

• M.L. Linden, A.J. Heynen, R. Haslinger, M.F. Bear. Thalamic activity that drives visual cortical plasticity. Nat Neurosci. 2009 Apr;12(4):390-2(2009)