Polina Anikeeva

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Polina Olegovna Anikeeva
Anikeeva in 2016
Born1982 (age 41–42)
Leningrad, Soviet Union
Alma materMassachusetts Institute of Technology
St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University
AwardsNational Science Foundation CAREER Award (2013)
Scientific career
FieldsBioelectronics[1]
InstitutionsMassachusetts Institute of Technology
ThesisPhysical properties and design of light-emitting devices based on organic materials and nanoparticles (2009)
Doctoral advisorVladimir Bulović [2]
Other academic advisorsKarl Deisseroth
Websitebioelectronics.mit.edu Edit this at Wikidata

Polina Olegovna Anikeeva (born 1982) is a Russian-born American materials scientist who is a Professor of Material Science & Engineering as well as Brain & Cognitive Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).[3][1][4] She also holds faculty appointments in the McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT. Her research is centered on developing tools for studying the underlying molecular and cellular bases of behavior and neurological diseases. She was awarded the 2018 Vilcek Foundation Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science, the 2020 MacVicar Faculty Fellowship at MIT, and in 2015 was named a MIT Technology Review Innovator Under 35.

Early life and education[edit]

Anikeeva was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (then Leningrad, Soviet Union). She studied biophysics at St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University, where she worked under the guidance of Tatiana Birshtein,[5] a polymer physicist at the Institute of Macromolecular Compounds of the Russian Academy of Sciences. During her undergraduate studies she also completed an exchange program at ETH Zurich.[3] After graduating in 2003, Anikeeva spent a year working in the Physical Chemistry Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory where she developed photovoltaic cells based on quantum dots (QDs). In 2004, she enrolled in the Materials Science and Engineering Ph.D. program at MIT and joined Vladimir Bulović's laboratory of organic electronics.[2] Working with Bulović, she engineered light-emitting diodes based on quantum dots and organic semiconductors. Through this research, Anikeeva helped to develop quantum-dot ­LED display technology that is now used by television manufacturers and sold in stores around the world[6]. While a graduate student, she was the lead author on a seminal paper[7] that reported a method for generating QD light-emitting devices with electroluminescence tunable over the entire visible spectrum (460 nm to 650 nm). Her doctoral research was commercialized by the display industry, and acquired by a manufacturer that would eventually become part of Samsung.[8]

Research and career[edit]

Anikeeva moved to Stanford University and was appointed to Karl Deisseroth's neuroscience laboratory as a Postdoctoral Scholar, where she created devices for optical stimulation and recording from brain circuits [9]. The Deisseroth laboratory pioneered Optogenetics, a technique that utilizes light-sensitive ion channels such as Channelrhodopsins to modulate neuronal activity. Anikeeva worked on combining tetrodes, which are electronic modalities used to record neuronal activity, with optical waveguides[10] to create optetrodes. In Deisseroth’s lab, Anikeeva found a way to improve upon the fiber-optic probes they were using. Through her version, she incorporated multiple electrodes, allowing them to better capture neuronal signals.[11] These optoelectronic devices could be used to record the electrical activity invoked by light delivered through the waveguide, which became the precursor to the multi-functional fiber-based neural interfaces Anikeeva would later pioneer in her own laboratory at MIT.[12][13][14]

After her postdoctoral studies in California, Anikeeva returned to Cambridge, Massachusetts as an AMAX Career Development Assistant Professor at MIT in 2011.[15] The Anikeeva laboratory, which is also referred to as Bioelectronics@MIT, engineers tools to study and control the nervous system.[16][17] Her laboratory has two main research themes. The first is using the thermal drawing technique, a process originally developed for applications such as fiber optics and textiles, to create flexible polymer, fiber-based neural interfaces.[12][13][18][14] In 2015, Anikeeva and co-workers first reported these flexible neural interfaces, which are also referred to as neural probes, and demonstrated that they could combine optical, electronic, and microfluidic modalities into a single implantable device for chronic interrogation of the nervous system.[12] These fibers are a more advanced and scalable technology than their optetrode precursors. Since then, Anikeeva and her students have created even more advanced neural interfaces that can be highly customized[19] and include materials such as photoresists[20] and hydrogels.[21]

Anikeeva's second main research theme is using magnetic fields to wirelessly modulate neuronal activity. Unlike light, which has a limited penetration depth in biological tissues due to attenuation, weak alternating magnetic fields (AMFs) have minimal coupling to biological tissues due to tissues' low conductivity and negligible magnetic permeability.[22] Magnetic nanomaterials can be engineered to heat up or rotate when in the presence of AMFs. If these nanomaterials are injected into biological tissues such as the brain and exposed to AMFs, they can be triggered to cause local thermal or mechanical stimulation. These technologies can be used to stimulate the TRP family of ion channels, including TRPV1 and TRPV4. In 2015, Anikeeva and her students demonstrated in a key paper published in Science[23] that magneto-thermal stimulation with magnetic nanomaterials could be used for wireless deep brain stimulation. Follow up studies from the Anikeeva laboratory then extended this concept to stimulate mechanosensitive channels.[24] Anikeeva and her colleagues have also shown that these magnetic nanomaterials can additionally be used to trigger drug delivery,[25] hormone release,[26] and for stimulating acid-sensing ion channels.[22]

Past TED Talks[edit]

Anikeeva has given multiple talks on the technologies invented in her laboratory and neural interfaces more broadly, including in two TED talk given in 2015[27] and 2018.[28]

Her 2015 talk, “Rethinking the Brain Interface,” focused on the neuroprosthetics and brain-machine interfaces. Anikeeva’s research explores optoelectronic, fiber-based, and magnetic approaches to minimally invasive neural interrogation. She was the first to demonstrate multifunctional flexible fibers for simultaneous optical stimulation, electrical recording, and drug delivery in the brain and spinal cord, as well as magnetic nanomaterials for wireless magnetic deep brain stimulation. Anikeeva emphasizes the importance of materials that match the brain’s mechanical complexity for connecting neural tissues to prosthetic limbs. She developed a fiber device that mimics the properties of brain tissue, allowing seamless interaction with neural circuits that can match the mechanical complexity of neural circuits, all while interacting with the brain across all its languages – not just electrical, but chemical and mechanical. By designing devices based on the brain’s structure, her team aims to achieve minimally invasive brain interfacing. Her research includes using magnetic nanoparticles to control neural activity remotely. By injecting these particles into the brain and applying a variable magnetic field, specific neurons can be activated and heated without wires or damage to tissues. Through this non-invasive, remote device, any flashes of neurons responding to the magnetic field stimulus create firing action potentials without any wires, tethers, brain sockets, or tissue damage. This approach aims to achieve precise, wireless neural stimulation.

In her 2018 TED Talk, “Why You Shouldn't Upload Your Brain to a Computer,” Anikeeva discussed the differences between human and artificial intelligence, as well as the possibilities and challenges of integrating them. She highlighted the need for brain-inspired machine interfaces that match the biology, chemistry, and mechanics of the nervous system. Her lab is developing nanotransducers that can be injected into the brain to interface with external electronics, facilitating communication with neurons in their natural languages. As AI is developing rapidly, Anikeeva stresses that it is essential to take advantage of AI as a “specialist” device plugged into human's “generalist” brains. As the human brain is not stationary, there is space for all the information that AI is capable of delivering and receiving to become incorporated. By interfacing to the brain directly and collaborating with AI, this device will not just deliver specialist knowledge or skills, but it may make the human brain an even more powerful and diverse generalist. Anikeeva advocates for collaboration between academia, industry, and government to advance neural interface technology, allowing human intelligence to synergize with AI. This partnership could enhance the capabilities of the human brain, making it more powerful and versatile.

Current Research: The Brain-Body Interface[edit]

Professor Polina Anikeeva’s research focuses on developing minimally invasive materials and devices inspired by neurobiology to interface with the nervous system. Her recent work explores the brain-gut interface, advancing the fundamental neuroscience of brain-organ communication. The Bioelectronics Group, led by Anikeeva, is creating technologies that could lead to minimally invasive treatments for neurological and psychiatric conditions.


During the BrainMind Special Forum on Neuromodulation + BCI + AI of June 2024 [29], Anikeeva explained how traditional sharp materials are dangerous when injected into the brain’s soft tissues. To address this, Anikeeva’s team draws inspiration from the flexibility and signal transmission capabilities of natural nerves. Borrowing from phenomics and telecommunications, they have developed multi-material, multi-functional fibers to create artificial nerves. After creating microscale models that can perform a variety of functions just like a nerve, these fibers have been scaled for use in human brains, allowing for drug delivery and neural activity recording. This technology has been successfully tested on mice and primates, enabling sophisticated brain manipulation. [30]


Anikeeva emphasizes the interconnectedness of the brain and body, noting that many neurological conditions also involve gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. For example, Parkison’s patients often experience GI dysfunction before other symptoms, and many individuals with Autism have GI symptoms. To study this brain-body communication, Anikeeva is developing neurotechnology that interfaces with the gut, designing fibers that mimic the gut’s nature and incorporating flexible, stretchable materials with optoelectronic components. By simultaneously controlling both ends of the gut-brain interface, either wirelessly or with a variety of sensory and computational units, Anikeeva believes we can influence the ability to probe an interface gut-physiology across its length without sacrificing the soft mechanics.


This research aims to control both ends of the gut-brain interface, potentially treating conditions traditionally associated with the brain through the peripheral nervous system. Anikeeva’s work in bioelectronics holds promise for creating new paradigms for human health, leveraging the nervous system’s innervation of every organ.

Awards and honors[edit]

Selected publications[edit]

  • Anikeeva, Polina O.; Halpert, Jonathan E.; Bawendi, Moungi G.; Bulović, Vladimir (2009). "Quantum Dot Light-Emitting Devices with Electroluminescence Tunable over the Entire Visible Spectrum". Nano Letters. 9 (7): 2532–2536. Bibcode:2009NanoL...9.2532A. doi:10.1021/nl9002969. ISSN 1530-6984. PMID 19514711.
  • Anikeeva, Polina; et al. (2012). "Optetrode: a multichannel readout for optogenetic control in freely moving mice". Nature Neuroscience. 15 (1): 163–170. doi:10.1038/nn.2992. PMC 4164695. PMID 22138641.
  • Gunaydin, Lisa A.; Grosenick, Logan; Finkelstein, Joel C.; Kauvar, Isaac V.; Fenno, Lief E.; Adhikari, Avishek; Lammel, Stephan; Mirzabekov, Julie J.; Airan, Raag D.; Zalocusky, Kelly A.; Tye, Kay M.; Anikeeva, Polina; Malenka, Robert C.; Deisseroth, Karl (2014). "Natural Neural Projection Dynamics Underlying Social Behavior". Cell. 157 (7): 1535–1551. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2014.05.017. ISSN 0092-8674. PMC 4123133. PMID 24949967.
  • Canales, Andres; Jia, Xiaoting; Froriep, Ulrich P.; Koppes, Ryan A.; Tringides, Christina M.; Selvidge, Jennifer; Lu, Chi; Hou, Chong; Wei, Lei; Fink, Yoel; Anikeeva, Polina (2015). "Multifunctional fibers for simultaneous optical, electrical and chemical interrogation of neural circuits in vivo". Nature Biotechnology. 33 (3): 277–284. doi:10.1038/nbt.3093. ISSN 1546-1696. PMID 25599177. S2CID 12319389.
  • Chen, Ritchie; Romero, Gabriela; Christiansen, Michael G.; Mohr, Alan; Anikeeva, Polina (2015-03-27). "Wireless magnetothermal deep brain stimulation". Science. 347 (6229): 1477–1480. Bibcode:2015Sci...347.1477C. doi:10.1126/science.1261821. hdl:1721.1/96011. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 25765068. S2CID 43687881.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Polina Anikeeva publications indexed by Google Scholar Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ a b Anikeeva, Polina Olegovna (2009). Physical properties and design of light-emitting devices based on organic materials and nanoparticles. mit.edu (PhD thesis). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. hdl:1721.1/46680. OCLC 428140641.
  3. ^ a b bioelectronics.mit.edu Edit this at Wikidata
  4. ^ Polina Anikeeva publications from Europe PubMed Central
  5. ^ a b "Polina Anikeeva | Women in Optics | SPIE". spie.org. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  6. ^ https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/04/23/1090201/i-wanted-to-work-on-something-that-didnt-exist/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ^ Anikeeva, Polina O.; Halpert, Jonathan E.; Bawendi, Moungi G.; Bulović, Vladimir (2009-07-08). "Quantum Dot Light-Emitting Devices with Electroluminescence Tunable over the Entire Visible Spectrum". Nano Letters. 9 (7): 2532–2536. Bibcode:2009NanoL...9.2532A. doi:10.1021/nl9002969. ISSN 1530-6984. PMID 19514711.
  8. ^ a b "Polina Anikeeva". Vilcek Foundation. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  9. ^ https://dmse.mit.edu/faculty/polina-anikeeva/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. ^ Anikeeva, Polina; Andalman, Aaron S; Witten, Ilana; Warden, Melissa; Goshen, Inbal; Grosenick, Logan; Gunaydin, Lisa A; Frank, Loren M; Deisseroth, Karl (January 2012). "Optetrode: a multichannel readout for optogenetic control in freely moving mice". Nature Neuroscience. 15 (1): 163–170. doi:10.1038/nn.2992. ISSN 1097-6256. PMC 4164695. PMID 22138641.
  11. ^ https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/04/23/1090201/i-wanted-to-work-on-something-that-didnt-exist/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ^ a b c Canales, Andres; Jia, Xiaoting; Froriep, Ulrich P; Koppes, Ryan A; Tringides, Christina M; Selvidge, Jennifer; Lu, Chi; Hou, Chong; Wei, Lei; Fink, Yoel; Anikeeva, Polina (March 2015). "Multifunctional fibers for simultaneous optical, electrical and chemical interrogation of neural circuits in vivo". Nature Biotechnology. 33 (3): 277–284. doi:10.1038/nbt.3093. ISSN 1087-0156. PMID 25599177. S2CID 12319389.
  13. ^ a b Park, Seongjun; Guo, Yuanyuan; Jia, Xiaoting; Choe, Han Kyoung; Grena, Benjamin; Kang, Jeewoo; Park, Jiyeon; Lu, Chi; Canales, Andres; Chen, Ritchie; Yim, Yeong Shin (April 2017). "One-step optogenetics with multifunctional flexible polymer fibers". Nature Neuroscience. 20 (4): 612–619. doi:10.1038/nn.4510. hdl:1721.1/111655. ISSN 1097-6256. PMC 5374019. PMID 28218915.
  14. ^ a b Frank, James A.; Antonini, Marc-Joseph; Chiang, Po-Han; Canales, Andres; Konrad, David B.; Garwood, Indie C.; Rajic, Gabriela; Koehler, Florian; Fink, Yoel; Anikeeva, Polina (2020-11-18). "In Vivo Photopharmacology Enabled by Multifunctional Fibers". ACS Chemical Neuroscience. 11 (22): 3802–3813. doi:10.1021/acschemneuro.0c00577. ISSN 1948-7193. PMC 10251749. PMID 33108719. S2CID 225099176.
  15. ^ "Polina Anikeeva". MIT McGovern Institute. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  16. ^ "Polina Anikeeva". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  17. ^ "Polina Anikeeva". TEDxCambridge. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  18. ^ Park, Jimin; Jin, Kyoungsuk; Sahasrabudhe, Atharva; Chiang, Po-Han; Maalouf, Joseph H.; Koehler, Florian; Rosenfeld, Dekel; Rao, Siyuan; Tanaka, Tomo; Khudiyev, Tural; Schiffer, Zachary J. (August 2020). "In situ electrochemical generation of nitric oxide for neuronal modulation". Nature Nanotechnology. 15 (8): 690–697. Bibcode:2020NatNa..15..690P. doi:10.1038/s41565-020-0701-x. ISSN 1748-3387. PMC 7415650. PMID 32601446.
  19. ^ Antonini, Marc-Joseph; Sahasrabudhe, Atharva; Tabet, Anthony; Schwalm, Miriam; Rosenfeld, Dekel; Garwood, Indie; Park, Jimin; Loke, Gabriel; Khudiyev, Tural; Kanik, Mehmet; Corbin, Nathan (2021-05-18). "Customizing Multifunctional Neural Interfaces through Thermal Drawing Process". doi:10.1101/2021.05.17.444577. S2CID 234795185. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  20. ^ Lee, Youngbin; Canales, Andres; Loke, Gabriel; Kanik, Mehmet; Fink, Yoel; Anikeeva, Polina (2020-12-23). "Selectively Micro-Patternable Fibers via In-Fiber Photolithography". ACS Central Science. 6 (12): 2319–2325. doi:10.1021/acscentsci.0c01188. ISSN 2374-7943. PMC 7760470. PMID 33376793.
  21. ^ Tabet, Anthony; Antonini, Marc-Joseph; Sahasrabudhe, Atharva; Park, Jimin; Rosenfeld, Dekel; Koehler, Florian; Yuk, Hyunwoo; Hanson, Samuel; Stinson, Jordan A.; Stok, Melissa; Zhao, Xuanhe (2021-05-07). "Modular Integration of Hydrogel Neural Interfaces". ACS Central Science. 7 (9): 1516–1523. doi:10.26434/chemrxiv.14541432. PMC 8461769. PMID 34584953.
  22. ^ a b Park, Jimin; Tabet, Anthony; Moon, Junsang; Chiang, Po-Han; Koehler, Florian; Sahasrabudhe, Atharva; Anikeeva, Polina (2020-09-09). "Remotely Controlled Proton Generation for Neuromodulation". Nano Letters. 20 (9): 6535–6541. Bibcode:2020NanoL..20.6535P. doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c02281. ISSN 1530-6984. PMC 8558523. PMID 32786937.
  23. ^ Chen, R.; Romero, G.; Christiansen, M. G.; Mohr, A.; Anikeeva, P. (2015-03-27). "Wireless magnetothermal deep brain stimulation". Science. 347 (6229): 1477–1480. Bibcode:2015Sci...347.1477C. doi:10.1126/science.1261821. hdl:1721.1/96011. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 25765068. S2CID 43687881.
  24. ^ Gregurec, Danijela; Senko, Alexander W.; Chuvilin, Andrey; Reddy, Pooja D.; Sankararaman, Ashwin; Rosenfeld, Dekel; Chiang, Po-Han; Garcia, Francisco; Tafel, Ian; Varnavides, Georgios; Ciocan, Eugenia (2020-07-28). "Magnetic Vortex Nanodiscs Enable Remote Magnetomechanical Neural Stimulation". ACS Nano. 14 (7): 8036–8045. doi:10.1021/acsnano.0c00562. ISSN 1936-0851. PMC 8592276. PMID 32559057.
  25. ^ Rao, Siyuan; Chen, Ritchie; LaRocca, Ava A.; Christiansen, Michael G.; Senko, Alexander W.; Shi, Cindy H.; Chiang, Po-Han; Varnavides, Georgios; Xue, Jian; Zhou, Yang; Park, Seongjun (October 2019). "Remotely controlled chemomagnetic modulation of targeted neural circuits". Nature Nanotechnology. 14 (10): 967–973. Bibcode:2019NatNa..14..967R. doi:10.1038/s41565-019-0521-z. ISSN 1748-3387. PMC 6778020. PMID 31427746.
  26. ^ Rosenfeld, Dekel; Senko, Alexander W.; Moon, Junsang; Yick, Isabel; Varnavides, Georgios; Gregureć, Danijela; Koehler, Florian; Chiang, Po-Han; Christiansen, Michael G.; Maeng, Lisa Y.; Widge, Alik S. (April 2020). "Transgene-free remote magnetothermal regulation of adrenal hormones". Science Advances. 6 (15): eaaz3734. Bibcode:2020SciA....6.3734R. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aaz3734. ISSN 2375-2548. PMC 7148104. PMID 32300655.
  27. ^ Rethinking the Brain Machine Interface | Polina Anikeeva | TEDxCambridge, retrieved 2021-05-25
  28. ^ Anikeeva, Polina (10 January 2018), Why You Shouldn't Upload Your Brain To A Computer, retrieved 2020-11-10
  29. ^ https://brainmind.org/neuromodulation-bci-ai-nyc. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  30. ^ BrainMind https://brainmind.org/neuromodulation-bci-ai-nyc. Retrieved 5 June 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  31. ^ "NSF Award Search: Award#1253890 - CAREER: Optoelectronic neural scaffolds: materials platform for investigation and control of neuronal activity and development". nsf.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  32. ^ "Polina Anikeeva". naefrontiers.org. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  33. ^ "Polina Anikeeva". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  34. ^ MIT News https://news.mit.edu/2014/magnetic-neural-control-nanoparticles-customized-arrays-0917. Retrieved 5 June 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  35. ^ "Dresselhaus Award announced | MIT DMSE". dmse.mit.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  36. ^ "Junior Bose Award | MIT DMSE". dmse.mit.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  37. ^ "Technology Review announces TR35 | MIT DMSE". dmse.mit.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  38. ^ National Institutes of Health https://braininitiative.nih.gov/funding/funded-awards?field_fiscal_year_value=&field_priority_area_target_id%5B205%5D=205&title=polina+anikeeva. Retrieved 5 June 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  39. ^ "Seven MIT educators honored for digital learning innovation". MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  40. ^ "2020 MacVicar Faculty Fellows named". MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  41. ^ National Institutes of Health https://commonfund.nih.gov/pioneer/AwardRecipients21. Retrieved 5 June 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Polina_Anikeeva&oldid=1227462774"