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Marc A. Sommer

Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Biomedical Engineering
Duke Box 90281, Durham, NC 27708-0281
1427 CIEMAS, Box 90281, 101 Science Dr., Durham, NC 27708

Research Interests


Neuronal circuits of the brain, including recording from single neurons and studying the effects of inactivating or stimulating well-defined brain areas. His goals are to understand how individual areas process signals and how multiple areas interact to cause cognition and behavior. Results from the work are guiding the design of vision-based models and robots.

Selected Grants


Neurobiology Training Program

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2029

Visual signaling from retina to superior colliculus

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by University of California - Los Angeles · 2023 - 2028

Dissecting inhibitory mechanisms and their contribution to information processing in retinal ganglion cells.

FellowshipPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2025 - 2027

Assessing the spatial and temporal scales of attention effects and attention-dependent cholinergic release in macque V4.

FellowshipCo-Sponsor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2027

Probing D2 and 5HT-2A mechanisms in early visual processing in V1

FellowshipCo-Sponsor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2023 - 2026

Enhancement, mapping, and validation of viral vectors for primate optogenetics

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2022 - 2026

Circuit-Specific Interrogation of the Primate Claustrum

FellowshipPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2022 - 2025

RNA-programmable cell type targeting and manipulation across vertebrate nervous systems

ResearchCo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2021 - 2025

Duke Research in Engineering Program

Institutional SupportPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Burroughs Wellcome Fund · 2022 - 2025

Biology and Biophysics of the Cortical Response to Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2020 - 2025

Analysis of neural activity in the the retina of tree shrews

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by University of Utah · 2024 - 2025

Leica Stellaris Confocal for a Campus-wide Shared Resource

EquipmentMajor User · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2025

Optogenetic dissection of inter-hemispheric frontal eye field circuits for eye movements

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by University of Pittsburgh · 2022 - 2024

Theoretical and Physiological Basis of Priority Maps in the Frontal Eye Field

FellowshipPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2022 - 2024

Impact of Timing, Targeting, and Brain State on rTMS of Human and Non-Human Primates

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2017 - 2022

Psychophysics-Guided Signal Processing for Retinal Prosthetics

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2018 - 2021

Neuromuscular Control of Primate Eye Movements

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2019 - 2021

Rational Design of TMS for Neuromodulation

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2014 - 2021

Neuronal Control of Eye Alignment

FellowshipPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Hartwell Foundation · 2017 - 2019

The Role of Frontal Cortex in Primate Metacognition

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2015 - 2019

Basic predoctoral training in neuroscience

Inst. Training Prgm or CMETraining Faculty · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 1992 - 2018

Visual Continuity Across Saccades

FellowshipPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2016 - 2016

Student Design Projects for People with Disabilities at Duke University

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2010 - 2016

Training in Fundamental &Translational Neuroscience

Inst. Training Prgm or CMETraining Faculty · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2005 - 2016

Functions of Saccadic Circuits in Lateral Cerebellar Cortex

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2012 - 2014

Effects of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Neurons in Behaving Primates

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2012 - 2014

Visuomotor Functions of Ascending Pathways to Frontal Cortex

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2006 - 2012