Ken Tatebe
MS2, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Expected Graduation: 2013
The University of Texas at Austin, BS Physics, 2001
The University of California, Berkeley, PhD Physics, 2007
Past Research Experiences
My first research project was in molecular genetics at MD Anderson Cancer Center. It gave me a valuable model of what it is to be scientific, and how to collaborate well. As an undergraduate in Dr. John Markert’s lab, I began trying to push the resolution limits of MRI on living samples by using novel detection techniques.
In graduate school I rotated through a few projects before beginning my thesis work. These included studying extremophile life and ancient climate in ice cores, string theory, and theoretical cosmology. I did my thesis work in stellar astrophysics with Dr. Charles Townes, exploring imaging methods using interferometry.
The summer following graduate school, I worked as a researcher with Dr. Christian Forst at UT Southwestern. We used bioinformatics methods to examine how cells respond to influenza infection. I then began a postdoc at UT Southwestern with Dr. Thomas Ferree, studying various way the brain processes data and how these can be measured using EEG and fMRI. The imaging modalities, used together, provided a novel synthesis of the interferometry and MRI principles I had learned in earlier research. We scanned injured brains in an effort to better understand the precise nature of patients’ lesions as they related to deficits found on clinical exam.
Current Areas of Interest/Research
I am interested in how the brain and other complex systems work. More generally, I want to better understand how complexity arises spontaneously from relatively simple systems, and what factors are at play when such systems break down. I hope, ultimately, to find ways of better guiding clinical interventions using a deeper understanding of these principles.
Current Professional Trajectory
I am currently working towards my MD at UT Southwestern. I plan on applying for a residency in neurology, or a related field, and then pursuing a position in academic medicine.
"Personal Words of Wisdom"
Research is about exploration, do what you enjoy. It doesn’t have to be one thing for the rest of your life, but always finish what you’ve started.
Meeting Abstracts
1. “Interferometry on Stars at Mid-Infrared Wavelengths”, K. Tatebe, D.D.S. Hale, and C.H. Townes, 2007, SPIE - Infrared Spaceborne Remote Sensing and Instrumentation XV, San Diego, California.
2. “Evolution of Dust Shell Structure and Asymmetry Around 6 Mira-Type Stars”, K. Tatebe, A.A. Chandler, D.D.S. Hale, and C.H. Townes, 2006, SPIE - Advances in Stellar Interferometry, Orlando, Florida.
3. “Microbial Life in Ice and Subglacial Environments”, P. B. Price, N. Bramall, and K. Tatebe, 2003, EGS-AGU-EUG Joint Assembly Nice, France.
4. “Magnet-on-Oscillator Characterization for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Force Microscopy”, T. A. Messina, M. D. Chabot, K. T. Tatebe, U. Mirsaidov, A. Badinski, and J. T. Markert. 2001, March Meeting Seattle, Washington.
Publications
1. “Response network analysis of differential gene expression in human epithelial lung cells during avian influenza infections”, Ken Tatebe , Ahmet Zeytun , Ruy M. Ribeiro , Robert Hoffmann , Kevin S. Harrod , Christian V. Forst, 2010, BMC Bioinformatics, 11, 170-180.
2. “The Evolving Shapes of O Ceti and R Leonis”, K. Tatebe, E.H. Wishnow, C.S. Ryan, D.D.S. Hale, R.L. Griffith, and C.H. Townes, 2008, Astrophysical Journal, 689, 1289-1294.
3. “The Non-Spherical Shape of Betelgeuse in the Mid-Infrared”, K. Tatebe, A.A. Chandler, E.H. Wishnow, D.D.S. Hale, and C.H. Townes, 2007, Astrophysical Journal Letters 670, L21-L24.
4. “Asymmetries in the Circumstellar dust of the Mira Binary in the Mid-Infrared”, A.A. Chandler, K. Tatebe, E.H. Wishnow, D.D.S. Hale, and C.H. Townes, 2007, Astrophysical Journal, 670, 1347-1352.
5. “Observation of a Burst of High-Velocity Dust from Alpha Herculis”, K. Tatebe, D.D.S. Hale, E.H. Wishnow, and C.H. Townes, 2007, Astrophysical Journal Letters 658, L103-L106.
6. “The Radiative Pattern and Asymmetry of IRC +10216 at 11 Microns Measured with Interferometry and Closure Phase”, A.A. Chandler, K. Tatebe, D.D.S. Hale, and C.H. Townes, 2007, Astrophysical Journal 657, 1042-1045.
7. “Characterization of Dust Shell Dynamics and Asymmetry for 6 Mira-Type Stars”, K. Tatebe, A.A. Chandler, D.D.S. Hale, and C.H. Townes, 2006, Astrophysical Journal 652, 666-680.
8. “Changes in Apparent Size of Giant Stars with Wavelength Due to Electron-Hydrogen Collisions”, K. Tatebe and C.H. Townes, 2006, Astrophysical Journal 644, 1145-1150.
9. “Asymmetric Dust Environment of IK Tau”, J. Weiner, K. Tatebe, D.D.S. Hale, and C.H. Townes, J.D. Monnier, M. Ireland, P.G. Tuthill, R. Cohen, R.K. Barry, J. Rajagopal, and W.C. Danchi, 2006, Astrophysical Journal 636, 1067-1077.
10. “Hypermutable myotonic dystrophy CTG repeats in transgenic mice”, Darren G. Monckton, Mary I. Coolbaugh, Ken T. Ashizawa, Michael J. Siciliano, and C. Thomas Caskey, 1997, Nature Genetics 15, 193-196. (Published as Ken T. Ashizawa)
Works in Progress
1. “Biophysical Foundations of Factor Decompositions for Space-Time-Frequency Analysis of Scalp EEG”, Thomas C. Ferree, Matthew R. Brier, Ken Tatebe, Biological Cybernetics, submitted.
2. “The non-uniform, dynamic atmosphere of Betelgeuse observed at mid-infrared wavelengths”, V. Ravi, E. H. Wishnow, C. H. Townes, S. Lockwood, H.
Mistry, K. Tatebe, 2011, submitted. arXiv:1105.3273
3. “Statistical Test for Canonical Coherence I: An Efficient Numerical Algorithm”, Ken Tatebe, Jeffrey S. Spence, and Thomas C. Ferree, Physics in Medicine and Biology, in preparation.
4. “Statistical Test for Canonical Coherence II: Analytic Derivation Using Moments”, Ken Tatebe, Jeffrey S. Spence, and Thomas C. Ferree, Physics in Medicine and Biology, in preparation.
5. “Spatial Filtering to Remove Ocular Artifacts: A Pre-whitening Approach to Preserve the EEG”, Thomas C. Ferree, Ken Tatebe, Jyoti V. Bhat, Matthew R. Brier, Mark E. Pflieger, Psychophysiology, in preparation.