Todd Roberts, Ph.D. Titles and Appointments Professor Endowed Title Thomas O. Hicks Scholar in Medical Research Schools Medical School | Graduate School Departments Neuroscience Graduate Programs Neuroscience Biography Dr. Roberts received his B.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, where he studied the evolution of neuromodulatory circuits and the functional organization of pathways involved in vocal learning. As a postdoctoral fellow at Duke University Medical Center, Dr. Roberts studied how auditory memories are encoded and used to guide learning through the application of novel methods for imaging, manipulating and longitudinally tracking changes to neurons in the brain. Dr. Roberts joined the Department of Neuroscience in March 2013. Education Undergraduate University of Maryland College (1996) Graduate School University of Maryland College (2003) Research Interest In vivo imaging (2PLSM) Synaptic plasticity Systems neuroscience Vocal learning Publications Featured Publications Holistic motor control of zebra finch song syllable sequences. Trusel M, Zuo J, Alam DH, Marks ES, Koch TMI, Cao J, Pancholi H, Zhao Z, Cooper BG, Zhang WH, Roberts TF, Nature 2026 Jan Synaptic connectivity of sensorimotor circuits for vocal imitation in the songbird. Trusel M, Zhao Z, Alam DH, Marks ES, Ikeda MZ, Roberts TF, Elife 2025 Jun 14 Striatal Dopamine at Learned Sequence Boundaries Sustains Birdsong. Xiao L, Roberts TF, bioRxiv 2026 Jul Comparative analysis of the cellular landscape in mammalian striatum. Buyukkahraman G, Caglayan E, Hörpel SG, Zhang Y, van Tussenbroek IA, Orozco CG, Oh E, Hopkins WD, Sherwood CC, Roberts TF, Vernes SC, Konopka G, Nat Commun 2026 May A deep learning approach for the analysis of birdsong. Koch TMI, Marks ES, Roberts TF, Elife 2025 Nov 13 Holistic Motor Control of Zebra Finch Song Syllable Sequences. Trusel M, Zuo J, Alam DH, Marks ES, Koch TMI, Cao J, Pancholi H, Cooper BG, Zhang W, Roberts TF, bioRxiv 2025 May AVN: A Deep Learning Approach for the Analysis of Birdsong. Koch TMI, Marks ES, Roberts TF, bioRxiv 2024 Aug Bidirectional synaptic changes in deep and superficial hippocampal neurons following in vivo activity. Berndt M, Trusel M, Roberts TF, Pfeiffer BE, Volk LJ, Neuron 2023 Sep Neural circuits: How the songbird brain orchestrates courtship displays. Trusel M, Roberts TF, Curr Biol 2023 May 33 9 R351-R353 Expression of FoxP2 in the basal ganglia regulates vocal motor sequences in the adult songbird. Xiao L, Merullo DP, Koch TMI, Cao M, Co M, Kulkarni A, Konopka G, Roberts TF, Nat Commun 2021 05 12 1 2617 Results 1-10 of 37 1 2 3 4 Next Last Honors & Awards Postdoctoral NRSARuth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (2006) Cosmos FoundationGrants-In-Aid to Young Scholars Cosmos Club Foundation (2003) INRSARuth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (2001-2003) Professional Associations/Affiliations International Society for Neuroethology (2005) Society for Neuroscience (2000)
