Two Researchers Earn Pew Honors for Their Work in Neuroscience

A Rutgers professor and postdoctoral associate examine how neural circuits drive movement and contribute to touch sensitivity in autism

Two Rutgers researchers have been recognized by prestigious programs supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts for research that could deepen understanding of how the nervous system shapes movement, sensation and behavior.

The Pew Charitable Trusts supports promising early-career scientists pursuing innovative approaches to understanding human health and disease. Its programs provide funding, mentorship and opportunities to collaborate with leading researchers working to advance biomedical discovery and improve human health.

Ian Oldenburg, an assistant professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, was named a 2026 Pew Biomedical Scholar.

Isabel Barón Mendoza, a postdoctoral associate at Rutgers University-New Brunswick from Mexico, was selected as 1 of 10 scientists in the 2026 cohort of Pew Latin American Fellows.

Together, their research seeks to answer fundamental questions about how the nervous system shapes movement, sensation and behavior.

Ian Oldenburg
Assistant Professor, Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Reaching for a cup of coffee feels simple, but the neural activity that makes your arm move is so complex that it still isn't fully understood.

Oldenburg, who is also a resident faculty member at the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, has been named 1 of 26 recipients of the 2026 Pew Biomedical Scholars award and received $300,000 to support research to learn more about the brain's motor cortex.

In his studies, Oldenburg uses an innovative technology he helped develop as a postdoctoral researcher: multiphoton holographic optogenetics. This lets him use light to activate neurons in a mouse brain, a few dozen at a time, by hitting them with a tiny laser beam.

Older electrical stimulation methods, which resembled tiny cattle prods, were not tiny enough. They triggered many thousands of neurons simultaneously.

Oldenburg said the older method was like trying to detect speech by standing in the middle of a packed stadium at the World Cup: effective if the crowd was chanting something in unison, but useless for studying the unique conversation of any particular group.

By letting Oldenburg and his team focus on the group conversation level of neural activity in the motor cortex, the new technology will allow them to test three hypotheses about what drives movement: the specific neurons that fire, the relative intensity with which different neurons fire or the specific timing of neuron activation.

Oldenburg said what he learns about how neurons in the brain control movement will provide some insight into how they control things that are even more difficult to study, such as conscious thoughts, that don't produce any visible outputs to show the relevant neurons have fired. He also said his findings could inform future work on neuroprosthetics, brain-machine interfaces and neurological diseases.

"People right now are implanting devices in human brains, and they're trying to decode the information of neurons to translate it into whatever - control a cursor, control speech, control whatever," Oldenburg said. "And all of that is based on these decoder algorithms, which are based on watching activity. Nobody's ever tried the flip side."

Oldenburg said the project is ambitious and deliberately uncertain. He described it as a "moonshot" better suited to a foundation award than to more conventional grants that often require extensive preliminary data.

Isabel Barón-Mendoza
Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience
School of Arts and Sciences

For many people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), everyday sensations such as clothing against the skin, a tap on the shoulder or an unexpected touch can feel overwhelming. Yet scientists still don't fully understand why these sensory experiences occur.

That question drives the research of Barón-Mendoza.

Working in the laboratory of Victoria Abraira, an associate professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Barón-Mendoza is investigating how sensory information is processed in the spinal cord and whether disruptions in those pathways contribute to touch sensitivity associated with autism.

"My research aims to understand why touch can feel overwhelming or uncomfortable for many people on the autism spectrum," Barón-Mendoza said.

Many people think of autism as a condition that primarily affects the brain, Barón-Mendoza said. But touch information first passes through the spinal cord, where sensory signals are filtered and shaped before reaching the brain.

"If these signals are processed differently, the brain may receive touch information that is already amplified or minimized," she said.

Central to her research are microglia, immune cells that help refine neural circuits during development by removing unnecessary connections. Barón-Mendoza is researching whether disruptions in this process affect sensory pathways in mouse models of autism.

Using advanced spinal-circuit mapping, 3D imaging and artificial intelligence-based behavioral analysis, she is examining how changes at the cellular level may influence sensory processing and behavior.

"We are developing AI-based behavioral analysis tools that help us measure movements with much more precision," Barón-Mendoza said. "The goal is to connect cellular changes in the spinal cord with real behavioral outcomes."

Ultimately, she hopes the research will identify biological mechanisms that could one day inform new approaches for reducing distressing touch sensitivity.

"We are not trying to change who autistic people are," she said. "Instead, we are interested in helping relieve sensory experiences that may be painful, stressful or limiting in specific situations."

"Being part of the Pew family changed the trajectory of my career," said Abraira. "As a Latina immigrant myself, being able to help open that door for someone like Isabel is incredibly meaningful. I know firsthand what being part of the Pew community can mean for a young scientist, and I wanted that opportunity for her."

As part of the fellowship, Barón-Mendoza will receive a $30,000 annual salary stipend for two years to support her postdoctoral research in U.S. laboratories and professional development.

"Knowing that my research is being recognized and supported by such an important organization is very meaningful," Barón-Mendoza said. "It motivates me to keep growing as an early-career researcher."