Academic résumé

Ali Mohebi, PhD

An expanded record of my education, research training, publications, support, service, recognition, and invited presentations.

Career

Education and training

Assistant Professor

Department of Psychology · University of Wisconsin–Madison

Principal investigator of the Mohebi Research Group, studying neuromodulatory mechanisms of cognition, learning, and decision-making.

Professional Researcher

Department of Neurology · University of California, San Francisco

Mentors
Josh Berke, Vikaas Sohal, and Vijay Namboodiri
Main project
Dopaminergic modulation of prefrontal cortex during working memory
Methods
Two-photon imaging and holographic stimulation, head-fixed mouse behavior, and Neuropixels recording
Contributions
First-authored work in Nature Neuroscience and multiple collaborative publications

Postdoctoral Scholar

Department of Neurology · University of California, San Francisco

Mentor
Josh Berke
Main project
Dopamine dynamics in learning and motivation
Methods
In vivo electrophysiology in freely moving rats, opto-tagging of dopamine neurons, and multicolor fiber photometry
Contributions
First-authored paper in Nature and collaborative work in Nature Methods

Postdoctoral Scholar

Department of Psychology · University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Mentor
Josh Berke
Main project
Striatal microcircuits in reinforcement learning
Methods
Reinforcement-learning models, optogenetics, behavioral design, and low-cost custom instrumentation

PhD, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Michigan State University

Advisor
Karim Oweiss
Dissertation
Neural mechanisms of action selection: implications for brain–machine interfaces
Methods
Neural signal processing, brain–machine-interface decoding, and silicon-probe recordings
Contributions
Publications in IEEE TNSRE, Journal of Neural Engineering, and JOVE; PhD dissertation

MSc, Electrical and Computer Engineering

University of Tehran

Mentor
Hamid Soltanian-Zadeh
Project
Extraction of left-ventricular torsion using tagged magnetic-resonance imaging
Methods
Medical imaging, digital image processing, machine learning, and pattern recognition

BSc, Electrical Engineering

Sharif University of Technology

Advisor
Mehran Jahed
Project
Linear and nonlinear modeling of heart-rate variability using dynamical systems
Methods
Dynamical systems, modern control, digital signal processing, C++, and MATLAB

Scholarship

Selected publications

  1. 2024
    Dopamine transients follow a striatal gradient of reward time horizons.

    Mohebi A, Wei W, Pelattini L, Kim K, & Berke JD. Nature Neuroscience 27, 737–746.

  2. 2020
    An expanded palette of dopamine sensors for multiplex imaging in vivo.

    Patriarchi T, Mohebi A, Sun J, et al. Nature Methods 17, 1147–1155.

  3. 2019
    Dissociable dopamine dynamics for learning and motivation.

    Mohebi A, Pettibone JR, Hamid AA, et al. Nature 570, 65–70.

View the full publication record on Google Scholar ↗

Funding

Research support

NIMH K01

2021—2024

Dopaminergic modulation of prefrontal cortex during working memory.

Principal Investigator: Ali Mohebi · Annual direct cost: $177,842

NARSAD Young Investigator Award

2021—2023

Nicotinic modulation of dopamine release in nucleus accumbens.

Principal Investigator: Ali Mohebi · Annual direct cost: $35,000

Kavli Foundation Seed Grant

2019

A database of dopamine-cell recordings in freely moving rats.

Principal Investigators: Ali Mohebi and Josh Berke · Direct cost: $10,000

Community

Service

  • Ad hoc reviewer for Nature, Science, Cell, Nature Neuroscience, Neuron, eLife, Cell Reports, eNeuro, COSYNE, Neural Networks, PLoS One, and Frontiers in Neuroscience.
  • Co-organizer, Learning in Carbon and Silicon seminar series, Stanford University, 2022.
  • Co-founder, NeuroLaunchpad, 2020.
  • Co-founder, Virtual Dopamine Meeting (ViDA), 2020.
  • Postdoctoral representative, search committee for the Dean for Postdoctoral Scholars, UCSF, 2019.
  • Graduate-student representative, search committee for the Dean of the College of Engineering, Michigan State University, 2014.
  • Graduate-student representative, Commencement Committee, Michigan State University, 2013–2014.
  • Graduate-student representative, Instructional Computing and Technology Committee, Michigan State University, 2013–2014.
  • Chair, Council of Graduate Students Constitution and Bylaws Committee, Michigan State University, 2013–2014.

Awards

Recognition

Psychiatry Trainee Research Award

2020

University of California, San Francisco

Poster Award

2019

Catecholamines Gordon Research Conference, Newry, Maine

Presentations

Invited talks

  • Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
  • Monitoring Molecules in Neuroscience, Lyon, France
  • Winter Conference on Brain Research, Snowmass, Colorado
  • Neuroscience Seminar, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California
  • SPiNES Seminar, New York University, New York, New York
  • Psychiatry Grand Rounds, UCSF, San Francisco, California
  • Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering, East Lansing, Michigan
  • Society for Neuroscience, Chicago, Illinois
  • Winter Conference on Brain Research, Snowmass, Colorado
  • Gordon Research Conference: Basal Ganglia, Ventura, California

Last updated: July 2026.