About Me

I am the director of the Laboratory for Complex Brain Networks (LCBN), a multidisciplinary group with faculty, students and staff from departments across Wake Forest Baptist Health. We believe that reductionist science has helped us understand basic neuroscience principles but has not led to deep understanding of issues such as cognition, perception, dementia or consciousness. If we are to gain a meaningful understanding of such complex brain processes, we must approach the brain as a complex system. We use and develop advanced network neuroscience methods to study normal and abnormal brain function. Our laboratory is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study brain networks associated with:

  • Mobility declines in older adults
  • Weight loss in older adults
  • Pesticide exposure in Latino children
  • Alcohol consumption and craving

We also have NIH funding to develop new statistical methodologies to study and compare brain networks.

Education Program Involvement

Biomedical Engineering PhD
Program Research Interest: Biomaterials, Biomechanics, Biomedical Imaging, Cardiovascular Engineering, Nanomedicine and Nanobioengineering, Neuroengineering, Tissue Engineering, Translational Cancer Research

Integrative Physiology and Pharmacology PhD
Program Research Interest: 
Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Cardiovascular Physiology and Hypertension, Regenerative Medicine, Neuro- and Behavioral Pharmacology, Cancer Therapeutics Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism Lifespan Physiology.

Graduate Programs in Neuroscience
Program Research Interest: Addiction and Substance Abuse, Behavioral and Systems Neurobiology, Development and Plasticity, Molecular Neurobiology, Neurological Disease and Aging, Neuropharmacology, Sensory Neurobiology

Connecting the Pieces

Paul Laurienti, MD, PhD, explains complex systems, brain networks and the philosophy that guides the Laboratory for Complex Brain Networks.