Raymond completed his PhD in Physics, studying a class of lifelike materials called active matter, where he developed and characterized several biology-based model materials to study the emergent properties of these complex systems.
As a Schmidt Science Fellow, Raymond has pivoted from Physics to Neuroscience working with Dr. Jonathon Howard at Yale University. Using the regenerative ability of the primitive model animal Hydra Vulgaris, Raymond will investigate the emergence of a nervous system from disassociated cells in order to understand the rules that guide neurons to collectively form ensembles.
Dysfunctional neuronal ensembles are correlated with diseases like epilepsy and schizophrenia, but how these altered ensembles arise remains a mystery. By characterizing the synchronization of healthy neuronal ensembles, this work has the potential to shed light on the neurobiological origin of several dysfunctions.