Víctor Manuel Suárez Casanova, PhD

Prior to joining Choate, Dr. Víctor Manuel Suárez Casanova worked professionally at Eli Lilly & Co. as a Research and Development Scientist in the Chemical Biology group of the Lilly Institutes of Genetic Medicine. Here, he contributed to the development of a fluorescence-based, high-content imaging assay to track the subcellular localization and trafficking of RNAs. He utilized in vitro nonhuman-primate tissue culture and 3D iPSC-derived neurospheroids models to test a range of novel RNA-conjugates, and collaborated with cross-functional partners to establish this assay as a Lilly-wide capability.

Víctor attended Brandeis University, where he received his PhD in Neuroscience and MS in Biotechnology. During his studies, he joined the laboratory of Dr. Stephen D. Van Hooser where his research focused on understanding the underlying circuit mechanisms that contribute to vision processing. Specifically, Víctor characterized the functional organization underlying stimulus speed processing in the adult ferret visual cortex via acute in vivo electrophysiological recordings and two-photon calcium imaging. Additionally, he has collaborated on multiple projects including the development of a novel data analysis interface, characterization of hunting behavior in an ASD rodent model, and improvements for undergraduate pedagogy in biochemistry.

• “Functional architecture for speed tuning in primary visual cortex of carnivores,” first author, manuscript in review, 2024
• “Co-organization of responses to direction, speed and temporal frequency in ferret visual cortex,” poster presentation, Society for Neuroscience (SfN) Annual Meeting, Washington D.C., USA. November 2023
• “Co-organization of responses to direction, speed and temporal frequency in ferret visual cortex,” presenter, International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) World Congress of Neuroscience, Granada, Spain. September 2023
• “Juvenile Shank3 KO Mice Adopt Distinct Hunting Strategies during Prey Capture Learning,” co-author, eNeuro, December 2022
• “NDI: A Platform-Independent Data Interface and Database for Neuroscience Physiology and Imaging Experiments,” co-author, eNeuro, February 2022
• “Exploring DNA in biochemistry lab courses: DNA barcoding and phylogenetic analysis,” first author, Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, September 2021