Duke University · NeuroscienceThe Olfactory Insight Lab
Kevin Franks · Durham, North Carolina
Research Focus
Dr. Kevin Franks' lab at Duke University focuses on understanding how the brain processes smells. His research examines how different cells in the brain's olfactory cortex discriminate between and recognize odors, as well as how these processes relate to memory and behavior. The insights gained could help improve our understanding of diseases affecting the sense of smell, like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, which is especially important given the recent impacts of conditions such as COVID-19.
odor processingolfactory cortexneural circuitsodor recognitionmemoryneurodegenerative diseasesoptogeneticssensory perceptionphase tuning
Research Aims
3AIM 01Determine how the piriform cortex encodes smell signals during different phases of respiration.
AIM 02Investigate the role of specific neuron types in odor discrimination and memory.
AIM 03Examine how information about odor identity and value is processed in the brain.
Skills the Lab Values
optogeneticsneuron recordingbehavioral assaysvirus manipulationmouse modelsdata analysisneural circuit mappingcell cultureimmunohistochemistry
Output against the department
Publications266top 27% of dept.180th of 671
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations5.2kbottom 38% of dept.417th of 671
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.