Human–machine interfaces and the NEU-CHiP Project: an interview with Dr Eric Hill

I first considered a career in research during my final year undergraduate project at Aston University in Birmingham. At that point I really wanted to become a microbiologist as I was inspired by some really great lecturers. After finishing my degree, I spent 6 months working as a DNA analyst at the Forensic Science Service before being offered a PhD at Aston University investigating a cytokine called Leukaemia inhibitory factor. This cytokine plays a key role in stem cell biology and it was this exposure to stem cells that really sparked my interest in the area I work in now. After my PhD, I worked on a number of postdoctoral researcher positions at Aston University using stem cells to generate neuronal models for developmental toxicity testing. I then started to develop an interest in the function of these neuronal models and how they become disturbed in neurodegenerative disease. I spent about 20 years developing my research in this area at Aston University working alongside neurophysiologists and engineers to produce more physiological models of the brain. I then left Aston University, to develop the more interdisciplinary side of my research at the School of Science at Loughborough University where I am now the Programme director for Natural Sciences.

I work on a number of key areas that are centred on models of neuronal tissue. My main focus has been to use these models to better understand neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. I am particularly interested in how the metabolism of brain cells is altered in disease states and how this may lead to changes in brain function. I am also interested in how these models can be used to study brain function and how they could be implemented to study neuronal networks.

Understanding the brain requires an interdisciplinary approach. This challenge could not be met by one discipline alone. The NEU-CHiP project is an international collaboration of scientists across a wide range of disciplines, with a shared focus to engineer and apply human neural cell circuits as biological computers. In this project, we use stem cells to generate neuronal cell structures that resemble the human cortex and are cultured onto high-density electrodes as well as being genetically engineered to enable stimulation by specialised light sources. The cells are then stimulated in a way that imitates the ‘plasticity’ of the human brain to model complex processes.

I am very excited about this project and we are already developing multiple avenues of research based on this central concept. Current approaches used to interact with neuronal cells are very blunt and do not reflect the sophisticated patterns of activity that drive brain function. Current approaches to AI using electrical components use incredible amounts of energy that are rapidly growing. In comparison, the brain use very little energy to complete far more complex task that current AI approaches are unable to achieve. The findings of NEU-CHiP may enable us to create neuronal-inspired approaches that will reduce the current levels of energy consumption required to achieve complex tasks and develop better devices to interact with neuronal cells.

Biological computers may help us understand how complex brain functions develop. In turn this may provide us with a better understanding of brain disorders and neurodegenerative diseases that currently lack a cure. By modeling complex processes such as information processing, we may be able to generate much better models of disease that could help develop better treatments for these devastating disorders.