Mazen Kheirbek, PhD

Title(s)Associate Professor, Psychiatry
SchoolSchool of Medicine
Address675 Nelson Rising Lane, #514D
San Francisco CA 94158
Phone415-514-8326
ORCID ORCID Icon0000-0001-9157-7363 Additional info
vCardDownload vCard
    Other Positions
    Title(s)UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences


    Collapse Biography 
    Collapse Education and Training
    Washington University in St. LouisBA
    University of ChicagoPhD
    Columbia UniversityPostdoc
    Collapse Awards and Honors
    2020McKnight Foundation Memory & Cognitive Disorders Award
    2019Pew Scholar in Biomedical Sciences
    2019Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship Award in Neuroscience
    2019Human Frontier Science Program, Young Investigator Grant
    2016Rising Star Award, One Mind
    2016Weill Scholar Award
    2014The Freedman Prize for Exceptional Basic Research, Honorable Mention, NARSAD
    2012NARSAD Young Investigator Award
    2012Mentored Research Scientist Development Award, NIMH
    2009Harry Ginsburg Memorial Prize in Physiology

    Collapse Overview 

    Collapse Research 
    Collapse Research Activities and Funding
    Circuit dynamics supporting associative learning in the dentate gyrus
    NIH/NIDCD R01DC19813Aug 1, 2021 - Jul 31, 2026
    Cell-type, circuit and network mechanisms of adult oligodendrogenesis in memory storage and retrieval
    NIH/NIMH R01 MH125515Jul 1, 2021 - Jun 30, 2026
    How is anxiety-related information relayed across hippocampal-prefrontal circuits
    NIH/NIMH R01MH117961Aug 3, 2018 - Apr 30, 2023
    Circuit and cellular mechanisms of adult neurogenesis in context encoding and discrimination
    NIH/NIMH R01MH111754Sep 15, 2017 - Aug 31, 2022
    Hippocampal modulation of subcortical circuits in the control of emotional behavior
    NIH/NIMH R01MH108623Apr 1, 2016 - Feb 28, 2026

    Collapse Featured Content 
    Collapse Twitter

    Collapse Bibliographic 
    Collapse Publications
    Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Researchers can login to make corrections and additions, or contact us for help. to make corrections and additions.
    Newest   |   Oldest   |   Most Cited   |   Most Discussed   |   Timeline   |   Field Summary   |   Plain Text
    Altmetrics Details PMC Citations indicate the number of times the publication was cited by articles in PubMed Central, and the Altmetric score represents citations in news articles and social media. (Note that publications are often cited in additional ways that are not shown here.) Fields are based on how the National Library of Medicine (NLM) classifies the publication's journal and might not represent the specific topic of the publication. Translation tags are based on the publication type and the MeSH terms NLM assigns to the publication. Some publications (especially newer ones and publications not in PubMed) might not yet be assigned Field or Translation tags.) Click a Field or Translation tag to filter the publications.
    1. Identifying and modulating neural signatures of stress susceptibility and resilience enables control of anhedonia. Res Sq. 2024 Jan 24. Xia F, Fascianelli V, Vishwakarma N, Ghinger FG, Fusi S, Kheirbek MA. PMID: 38343839; PMCID: PMC10854313.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    2. Neural signatures of stress susceptibility and resilience in the amygdala-hippocampal network. bioRxiv. 2023 Oct 23. Xia F, Fascianelli V, Vishwakarma N, Ghinger FG, Fusi S, Kheirbek MA. PMID: 37961124; PMCID: PMC10634760.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    3. Neural dynamics underlying associative learning in the dorsal and ventral hippocampus. Nat Neurosci. 2023 05; 26(5):798-809. Biane JS, Ladow MA, Stefanini F, Boddu SP, Fan A, Hassan S, Dundar N, Apodaca-Montano DL, Zhou LZ, Fayner V, Woods NI, Kheirbek MA. PMID: 37012382; PMCID: PMC10448873.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 7     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    4. Linking external stimuli with internal drives: A role for the ventral hippocampus. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2022 10; 76:102590. Turner VS, O'Sullivan RO, Kheirbek MA. PMID: 35753108.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 3     Fields:    
    5. New myelin for old memories. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2022 01; 47(1):383-384. Kern MC, Kheirbek MA. PMID: 34294875; PMCID: PMC8616940.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Cells
    6. Publisher Correction: Circuit and molecular architecture of a ventral hippocampal network. Nat Neurosci. 2021 Nov; 24(11):1637. Gergues MM, Han KJ, Choi HS, Brown B, Clausing KJ, Turner VS, Vainchtein ID, Molofsky AV, Kheirbek MA. PMID: 34552273.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    
    7. Circuit and molecular architecture of a ventral hippocampal network. Nat Neurosci. 2020 11; 23(11):1444-1452. Gergues MM, Han KJ, Choi HS, Brown B, Clausing KJ, Turner VS, Vainchtein ID, Molofsky AV, Kheirbek MA. PMID: 32929245; PMCID: PMC7606799.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 41     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    8. Circuit-Based Biomarkers for Mood and Anxiety Disorders. Trends Neurosci. 2020 11; 43(11):902-915. Xia F, Kheirbek MA. PMID: 32917408; PMCID: PMC7606349.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 16     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimals
    9. Contextual fear memory retrieval by correlated ensembles of ventral CA1 neurons. Nat Commun. 2020 07 13; 11(1):3492. Jimenez JC, Berry JE, Lim SC, Ong SK, Kheirbek MA, Hen R. PMID: 32661319; PMCID: PMC7359370.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 27     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    10. Microglial Remodeling of the Extracellular Matrix Promotes Synapse Plasticity. Cell. 2020 07 23; 182(2):388-403.e15. Nguyen PT, Dorman LC, Pan S, Vainchtein ID, Han RT, Nakao-Inoue H, Taloma SE, Barron JJ, Molofsky AB, Kheirbek MA, Molofsky AV. PMID: 32615087; PMCID: PMC7497728.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 197     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    11. A Distributed Neural Code in the Dentate Gyrus and in CA1. Neuron. 2020 08 19; 107(4):703-716.e4. Stefanini F, Kushnir L, Jimenez JC, Jennings JH, Woods NI, Stuber GD, Kheirbek MA, Hen R, Fusi S. PMID: 32521223; PMCID: PMC7442694.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 41     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    12. A neuronal signature for monogamous reunion. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 05 19; 117(20):11076-11084. Scribner JL, Vance EA, Protter DSW, Sheeran WM, Saslow E, Cameron RT, Klein EM, Jimenez JC, Kheirbek MA, Donaldson ZR. PMID: 32381740; PMCID: PMC7245077.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 29     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    13. The Dentate Gyrus Classifies Cortical Representations of Learned Stimuli. Neuron. 2020 07 08; 107(1):173-184.e6. Woods NI, Stefanini F, Apodaca-Montano DL, Tan IMC, Biane JS, Kheirbek MA. PMID: 32359400; PMCID: PMC7426196.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 30     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    14. Preservation of a remote fear memory requires new myelin formation. Nat Neurosci. 2020 04; 23(4):487-499. Pan S, Mayoral SR, Choi HS, Chan JR, Kheirbek MA. PMID: 32042175; PMCID: PMC7213814.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 123     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    15. Efficient and accurate extraction of in vivo calcium signals from microendoscopic video data. Elife. 2018 02 22; 7. Zhou P, Resendez SL, Rodriguez-Romaguera J, Jimenez JC, Neufeld SQ, Giovannucci A, Friedrich J, Pnevmatikakis EA, Stuber GD, Hen R, Kheirbek MA, Sabatini BL, Kass RE, Paninski L. PMID: 29469809; PMCID: PMC5871355.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 222     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    16. Anxiety Cells in a Hippocampal-Hypothalamic Circuit. Neuron. 2018 02 07; 97(3):670-683.e6. Jimenez JC, Su K, Goldberg AR, Luna VM, Biane JS, Ordek G, Zhou P, Ong SK, Wright MA, Zweifel L, Paninski L, Hen R, Kheirbek MA. PMID: 29397273; PMCID: PMC5877404.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 204     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    17. Optogenetic activation of granule cells in the dorsal dentate gyrus enhances dopaminergic neurotransmission in the Nucleus Accumbens. Neurosci Res. 2018 Sep; 134:56-60. Tritschler L, Kheirbek MA, Dantec YL, Mendez-David I, Guilloux JP, Faye C, Doan J, Pham TH, Hen R, David DJ, Gardier AM. PMID: 29246683; PMCID: PMC6663490.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 5     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    18. The Small World of a Fear Memory. Neuron. 2017 Apr 19; 94(2):226-227. Woods NI, Kheirbek MA. PMID: 28426955; PMCID: PMC5881586.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 3     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimals
    19. Imaging Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis In Vivo. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2017 01; 42(1):373. Biane JS, Kheirbek MA. PMID: 27909315; PMCID: PMC5143502.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 2     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    20. Decreasing Striatopallidal Pathway Function Enhances Motivation by Energizing the Initiation of Goal-Directed Action. J Neurosci. 2016 06 01; 36(22):5988-6001. Carvalho Poyraz F, Holzner E, Bailey MR, Meszaros J, Kenney L, Kheirbek MA, Balsam PD, Kellendonk C. PMID: 27251620; PMCID: PMC4887564.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 45     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    21. GluN2B-Containg NMDA Receptors on Adult-Born Granule Cells Contribute to the Antidepressant Action of Fluoxetine. Front Neurosci. 2016; 10:242. Tannenholz L, Hen R, Kheirbek MA. PMID: 27303260; PMCID: PMC4885883.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 6  
    22. Distinct Contribution of Adult-Born Hippocampal Granule Cells to Context Encoding. Neuron. 2016 Apr 06; 90(1):101-12. Danielson NB, Kaifosh P, Zaremba JD, Lovett-Barron M, Tsai J, Denny CA, Balough EM, Goldberg AR, Drew LJ, Hen R, Losonczy A, Kheirbek MA. PMID: 26971949; PMCID: PMC4962695.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 156     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    23. Activation of local inhibitory circuits in the dentate gyrus by adult-born neurons. Hippocampus. 2016 06; 26(6):763-78. Drew LJ, Kheirbek MA, Luna VM, Denny CA, Cloidt MA, Wu MV, Jain S, Scharfman HE, Hen R. PMID: 26662922; PMCID: PMC4867135.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 81     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    24. Loss of Striatonigral GABAergic Presynaptic Inhibition Enables Motor Sensitization in Parkinsonian Mice. Neuron. 2015 Sep 02; 87(5):976-88. Borgkvist A, Avegno EM, Wong MY, Kheirbek MA, Sonders MS, Hen R, Sulzer D. PMID: 26335644; PMCID: PMC4559856.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 36     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    25. Finding the Roots of Adult Neurogenesis. Cell. 2015 Jun 18; 161(7):1500-2. Kheirbek MA. PMID: 26091033; PMCID: PMC5771261.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 3     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    26. Gremlin 1 identifies a skeletal stem cell with bone, cartilage, and reticular stromal potential. Cell. 2015 Jan 15; 160(1-2):269-84. Worthley DL, Churchill M, Compton JT, Tailor Y, Rao M, Si Y, Levin D, Schwartz MG, Uygur A, Hayakawa Y, Gross S, Renz BW, Setlik W, Martinez AN, Chen X, Nizami S, Lee HG, Kang HP, Caldwell JM, Asfaha S, Westphalen CB, Graham T, Jin G, Nagar K, Wang H, Kheirbek MA, Kolhe A, Carpenter J, Glaire M, Nair A, Renders S, Manieri N, Muthupalani S, Fox JG, Reichert M, Giraud AS, Schwabe RF, Pradere JP, Walton K, Prakash A, Gumucio D, Rustgi AK, Stappenbeck TS, Friedman RA, Gershon MD, Sims P, Grikscheit T, Lee FY, Karsenty G, Mukherjee S, Wang TC. PMID: 25594183; PMCID: PMC4436082.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 335     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    27. Hippocampal memory traces are differentially modulated by experience, time, and adult neurogenesis. Neuron. 2014 Jul 02; 83(1):189-201. Denny CA, Kheirbek MA, Alba EL, Tanaka KF, Brachman RA, Laughman KB, Tomm NK, Turi GF, Losonczy A, Hen R. PMID: 24991962; PMCID: PMC4169172.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 226     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    28. Add neurons, subtract anxiety. Sci Am. 2014 Jul; 311(1):62-7. Kheirbek MA, Hen R. PMID: 24974712; PMCID: PMC4165637.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 9     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    29. Local and regional heterogeneity underlying hippocampal modulation of cognition and mood. Front Behav Neurosci. 2014; 8:147. Tannenholz L, Jimenez JC, Kheirbek MA. PMID: 24834033; PMCID: PMC4018538.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 34  
    30. Dendritic inhibition in the hippocampus supports fear learning. Science. 2014 Feb 21; 343(6173):857-63. Lovett-Barron M, Kaifosh P, Kheirbek MA, Danielson N, Zaremba JD, Reardon TR, Turi GF, Hen R, Zemelman BV, Losonczy A. PMID: 24558155; PMCID: PMC4018419.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 231     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    31. Repeated cortico-striatal stimulation generates persistent OCD-like behavior. Science. 2013 Jun 07; 340(6137):1234-9. Ahmari SE, Spellman T, Douglass NL, Kheirbek MA, Simpson HB, Deisseroth K, Gordon JA, Hen R. PMID: 23744948; PMCID: PMC3954809.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 223     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    32. (Radio)active neurogenesis in the human hippocampus. Cell. 2013 Jun 06; 153(6):1183-4. Kheirbek MA, Hen R. PMID: 23746833; PMCID: PMC4046854.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 4     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    33. Differential control of learning and anxiety along the dorsoventral axis of the dentate gyrus. Neuron. 2013 Mar 06; 77(5):955-68. Kheirbek MA, Drew LJ, Burghardt NS, Costantini DO, Tannenholz L, Ahmari SE, Zeng H, Fenton AA, Hen R. PMID: 23473324; PMCID: PMC3595120.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 314     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    34. Neurogenesis and generalization: a new approach to stratify and treat anxiety disorders. Nat Neurosci. 2012 Dec; 15(12):1613-20. Kheirbek MA, Klemenhagen KC, Sahay A, Hen R. PMID: 23187693; PMCID: PMC3638121.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 218     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimals
    35. NR2B-dependent plasticity of adult-born granule cells is necessary for context discrimination. J Neurosci. 2012 Jun 20; 32(25):8696-702. Kheirbek MA, Tannenholz L, Hen R. PMID: 22723709; PMCID: PMC3388607.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 87     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    36. Increasing adult hippocampal neurogenesis is sufficient to improve pattern separation. Nature. 2011 Apr 28; 472(7344):466-70. Sahay A, Scobie KN, Hill AS, O'Carroll CM, Kheirbek MA, Burghardt NS, Fenton AA, Dranovsky A, Hen R. PMID: 21460835; PMCID: PMC3084370.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 730     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    37. Dorsal vs ventral hippocampal neurogenesis: implications for cognition and mood. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2011 Jan; 36(1):373-4. Kheirbek MA, Hen R. PMID: 21116266; PMCID: PMC3055508.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 48     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    38. Dopamine-dependent motor learning: insight into levodopa's long-duration response. Ann Neurol. 2010 May; 67(5):639-47. Beeler JA, Cao ZF, Kheirbek MA, Ding Y, Koranda J, Murakami M, Kang UJ, Zhuang X. PMID: 20437561; PMCID: PMC3129617.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 46     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    39. A molecular dissociation between cued and contextual appetitive learning. Learn Mem. 2010 Mar; 17(3):148-54. Kheirbek MA, Beeler JA, Chi W, Ishikawa Y, Zhuang X. PMID: 20189959; PMCID: PMC2832921.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 4     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    40. Adenylyl cyclase type 5 contributes to corticostriatal plasticity and striatum-dependent learning. J Neurosci. 2009 Sep 30; 29(39):12115-24. Kheirbek MA, Britt JP, Beeler JA, Ishikawa Y, McGehee DS, Zhuang X. PMID: 19793969; PMCID: PMC2782774.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 46     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    41. A cAMP pathway underlying reward prediction in associative learning. J Neurosci. 2008 Oct 29; 28(44):11401-8. Kheirbek MA, Beeler JA, Ishikawa Y, Zhuang X. PMID: 18971482; PMCID: PMC2610269.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 17     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    42. Loss of cocaine locomotor response in Pitx3-deficient mice lacking a nigrostriatal pathway. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2009 Apr; 34(5):1149-61. Beeler JA, Cao ZF, Kheirbek MA, Zhuang X. PMID: 18704092; PMCID: PMC2752723.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 20     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    43. A molecular switch for induction of long-term depression of corticostriatal transmission. J Neurosci. 2007 Sep 12; 27(37):9824-5. Kheirbek MA. PMID: 17855596; PMCID: PMC6672637.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 2     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    44. Hox gene misexpression and cell-specific lesions reveal functionality of homeotically transformed neurons. J Neurosci. 2004 Mar 24; 24(12):3070-6. Hale ME, Kheirbek MA, Schriefer JE, Prince VE. PMID: 15044546; PMCID: PMC6729858.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 8     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    45. Knockdown of duplicated zebrafish hoxb1 genes reveals distinct roles in hindbrain patterning and a novel mechanism of duplicate gene retention. Development. 2002 May; 129(10):2339-54. McClintock JM, Kheirbek MA, Prince VE. PMID: 11973267.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 62     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    With one click, see people who:

    Mentor Faculty

    Run Clinical Trials

    Work in Global Health Equity

    Offer Student Projects

    See more options in the Advanced Search tab

    Mazen's Networks
    Concepts (214)
    Derived automatically from this person's publications.
    Explore
    _
    Co-Authors (7)
    People in Profiles who have published with this person.
    Explore
    _
    Similar People (60)
    People who share similar concepts with this person.
    Explore
    _
    Same Department
    Search Department
    _

    UCSF Profiles is managed by the UCSF Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), part of the Clinical and Translational Science Award program funded by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (Grant Number UL1 TR000004) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

    We use cookies to operate our website. We also use cookies to analyze our site’s performance and improve your experience on our site. For more information about how we use cookies, please see our Website Terms of Use. This site is running Profiles RNS version UCSF-v3.1.0-3-g1ef1264b on PROFILES-PWEB04.

    Copyright © The Regents of the University of California.