Dr. Vassiliy Tsytsarev received his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Saint-Petersburg State University, Russia. He worked at the Brain Science Institute of RIKEN and the Human Brain Research Center in Kyoto, Japan, where he specialized in auditory neuroscience, intrinsic optical imaging, and voltage-sensitive dye imaging and participated in fMRI research. After seven years in Japan, he moved to the United States and shifted his focus to the somatosensory cortex, while continuing to explore new methods in brain imaging. He is currently an Assistant Research Professor at the University of Maryland. His research topics primarily include functional brain mapping, neural circuits, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, and regeneration, with an emphasis on rodent somatosensory systems.