Mackenna Wollet, PhD

2026 Leon Levy Scholar in Neuroscience

NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Sub-disciplinary Category

Systems Neuroscience

Previous Positions

• BS, Texas Tech University 
• PhD, University of Texas Health San Antonio (Dr. Jun Hee Kim, Dr. Jason R. Pugh)

Bio

Dr. Mackenna Wollet began her journey in science at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas where she obtained a BS in Cell and Molecular Biology. As a native San Antonian, she returned home to pursue her PhD in the lab of Dr. Jun Hee Kim at UT Health San Antonio in 2019. Her F31-funded dissertation project focused on functional development of the auditory brainstem following nicotine exposure using primarily electrophysiological methods. Continuing in the field of auditory neuroscience, Mackenna joined the lab of Dr. Rob Froemke at NYU School of Medicine to investigate cortical plasticity underlying learning and perception.

Research Summary

Investigating the role of rapid synaptic plasticity mechanisms in auditory cortex perception and learning.

Technical Overview

The ability to rapidly incorporate new information is essential for sensory perception and learning, yet the synaptic mechanisms that support fast, “one-shot” learning remain poorly understood. Classical Hebbian plasticity mechanisms, such as spike-timing-dependent plasticity, require highly precise timing and repeated pairings, making them difficult to reconcile with behavioral learning that can occur within only a few trials. A recently discovered mechanism, behavioral timescale synaptic plasticity (BTSP), enables long-lasting increases in synaptic strength when presynaptic inputs occur seconds after postsynaptic dendritic plateau potentials. BTSP can be induced in a single trial and is known to drive rapid place-field formation in the hippocampus. Whether similar rapid plasticity mechanisms exist in the auditory cortex and whether they contribute to sensory learning remains unknown. Preliminary data from our laboratory shows sudden, trial-to-trial changes in auditory cortical tuning as mice learn to discriminate behaviorally relevant tones, suggesting BTSP-like dynamics may contribute to early phases of auditory perceptual learning. Dr. Wollet’s project will investigate the cellular, synaptic, and circuit mechanisms underlying rapid plasticity in the primary auditory cortex and will test how such plasticity contributes to learning. Understanding these mechanisms will fill a critical gap in our knowledge of how the brain integrates sensory cues and behavioral outcomes on seconds-long timescales and will deepen our understanding of the fundamental neural processes that shape experience-dependent plasticity.

Learn about the The Leon Levy Scholarships in Neuroscience.