Mark Mazurek, M.D./Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of
Biology
Metropolitan State University of Denver
Contact information
Email:
mmazure1@msudenver.edu
Office: SI 2034
Office
phone:
(303) 352-4169
Spring 2013 office hours
Monday/Wednesday 12:30-2:30pm, Friday 10-11am
Course
information
Current
courses (Spring 2013):
Previous courses:
Link to all video lectures for my courses
Research interests
My
research goal is to understand how the biology of the
brain relates to to the things we think of as "the mind". I study this using two approaches: (1)
Behavioral laboratory experiments; (2) Computational modeling.
In the behavioral lab I study the flash-lag
illusion,
a visual illusion where perception diverges from physical
reality in a consistent way. Subjects in my experiments perform a
"video game"-like task in which I measure their perception as I vary
different aspects of the flash-lag stimulus. By studying the factors
that
influence this illusion, I learn about the brain processes
underlying visually-guided behavior.
I also use computational
modeling to understand the mathematical operations that connect biological processes in the
brain to perception and behavior. Computational modeling allows me to
rigorously test competing theories and to extend these theories to make
predictions for future experiments.
In the future I hope to
aquire equipment for measuring visual responses in the insect nervous system.
I love working with students in the lab, so please contact me at my
email address (mmazure1@msudenver.edu)
if you're interested in participating in this research. My
research is very computer-based and computer programming is a big part
of what we do in the lab. The programming environment I use is Matlab,
which is very user-friendly and easy to learn, so don't be intimidated
by this if you're new to computer programming -- all I ask is a
willingness to learn.
-Note: As of
Spring 2013 I'm pretty booked up with students, but if you think you'd
be able to wait a semester or two, let me know!
Link to some pertinent papers
Resources for students
Flyer for Colorado Alliance for Minority Participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
Student opportunities
CU medical center Undergraduate Pre-Health Program (UPP)
CU medical center CREATE Health Scholar program
Advising information
Biology
academic advising information -- includes health care speciaties
My advising form for pre-medical students