Joshua Downer, PhD

Title(s)Research Data Analyst 3, Neurology
SchoolSchool of Medicine
Address550 16th Street, #6853
San Francisco CA 94158
ORCID ORCID Icon0000-0003-3817-6733 Additional info
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    Josh joined the UCSF Memory and Aging Center in 2024 as a Data Scientist, where he works closely with the Boxer, Saloner, and Staffaroni Labs to study frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). His work spans two complementary areas: proteomic analysis, aimed at identifying fluid biomarkers that can advance the development of novel treatments; and movement analysis, using wearable sensors to develop digital biomarkers of motor and cognitive function.

    He earned his BA in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of California, Davis, before completing a postdoctoral fellowship at UCSF. His early career was spent in the biotech industry, where his work spanned neuroscience product development, drug discovery, brain–computer interfaces, and wearable sensor technology.

    Collapse Biography 
    Collapse education and training
    UC DavisPhD06/2016Neuroscience
    UC BerkeleyBA05/2010Psychology
    City College of San Francisco06/2008
    Berkeley City College06/2008
    Collapse awards and honors
    2017  - 2020Ruth L. Kirchstein NRSA (F32)
    2012  - 2015NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
    2014  - 2015ARCS Foundation Fellowship

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    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.
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    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. In-clinic validation of a smartphone-based finger tapping test for use in neurodegenerative and neurological populations. medRxiv. 2026 Jul 07. O'Connor M, Sanderson-Cimino ME, Li Z, Dhanam S, Sadarangani A, Downer J, Fregly R, Taylor J, Wise AB, Casaletto KB, Forsberg LK, Gorno-Tempini ML, Heuer HW, Kramer JH, Kornak J, Miller B, Paolillo EW, Bove R, Rabinovici G, Seeley WW, Boeve BF, Rosen HJ, Boxer AL, Staffaroni AM. PMID: 42465936; PMCID: PMC13370562.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    2. Clinical Associations of Cerebrospinal Fluid TMEM106B in Familial and Sporadic Frontotemporal Dementia. JAMA Neurol. 2026 Jun 22. Olzinski M, Downer J, Cobigo Y, Rajbanshi B, Li J, Loureiro J, Worringer KA, Heuer H, Ljubenkov P, Vandevrede L, Staffaroni A, Lario-Lago A, Leichter D, Wolf A, Wise A, Sanderson-Cimino M, Barragan E, Spina S, Grinberg LT, Seeley WW, Casaletto KB, Kramer J, Ramos EM, Geschwind D, Cook C, Petrucelli L, Forsberg LK, Gendron T, Boeve BF, Perneel J, Rademakers R, Rosen HJ, Saloner R, Boxer AL, Rojas JC, ALLFTD consortium. PMID: 42329632; PMCID: PMC13288190.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    
    3. Deep neural networks explain spiking activity in auditory cortex. PLoS Comput Biol. 2025 Aug; 21(8):e1013334. Ahmed B, Downer JD, Malone BJ, Makin JG. PMID: 40854000; PMCID: PMC12404638.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    4. Microendoscopic calcium imaging in motor cortices of macaques during rest and movement. iScience. 2025 Jun 20; 28(6):112767. Martel AC, Pittard D, Devergnas A, Risk B, Nassi JJ, Yu W, Downer JD, Wichmann T, Galvan A. PMID: 40568319; PMCID: PMC12192352.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1  
    5. Receptive-field nonlinearities in primary auditory cortex: a comparative perspective. Cereb Cortex. 2024 09 03; 34(9). Homma NY, See JZ, Atencio CA, Hu C, Downer JD, Beitel RE, Cheung SW, Najafabadi MS, Olsen T, Bigelow J, Hasenstaub AR, Malone BJ, Schreiner CE. PMID: 39270676; PMCID: PMC11398879.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    6. An Emergent Population Code in Primary Auditory Cortex Supports Selective Attention to Spectral and Temporal Sound Features. J Neurosci. 2021 09 08; 41(36):7561-7577. Downer JD, Verhein JR, Rapone BC, O'Connor KN, Sutter ML. PMID: 34210783; PMCID: PMC8425978.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 11     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    7. Temporally precise population coding of dynamic sounds by auditory cortex. J Neurophysiol. 2021 07 01; 126(1):148-169. Downer JD, Bigelow J, Runfeldt MJ, Malone BJ. PMID: 34077273; PMCID: PMC8325602.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 11     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    8. Choice-related activity and neural encoding in primary auditory cortex and lateral belt during feature-selective attention. J Neurophysiol. 2021 05 01; 125(5):1920-1937. Mohn JL, Downer JD, O'Connor KN, Johnson JS, Sutter ML. PMID: 33788616; PMCID: PMC8356765.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 7     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    9. Hierarchical differences in population coding within auditory cortex. J Neurophysiol. 2017 08 01; 118(2):717-731. Downer JD, Niwa M, Sutter ML. PMID: 28446588; PMCID: PMC5539454.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 11     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    10. Feature-Selective Attention Adaptively Shifts Noise Correlations in Primary Auditory Cortex. J Neurosci. 2017 05 24; 37(21):5378-5392. Downer JD, Rapone B, Verhein J, O'Connor KN, Sutter ML. PMID: 28432139; PMCID: PMC5456114.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 24     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCellsPHPublic Health
    11. Task engagement selectively modulates neural correlations in primary auditory cortex. J Neurosci. 2015 May 13; 35(19):7565-74. Downer JD, Niwa M, Sutter ML. PMID: 25972181; PMCID: PMC4429156.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 45     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
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