Dr. Christian Cazares Bridges the Class Divide in Neuroscience Through Portable Technology and Institutional Reform

UCSD's Dr. Christian Cazares uses portable EEG technology and institutional reform to bring neuroscience to underserved border communities and low-income students.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 17, 2026, 8:42 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from Genomic Press

The Geographic Lottery of Neurological Healthcare

The trajectory of a scientific career is often shaped by the environment of its origin, and for Dr. Christian Cazares, that environment was the border town of Calexico, California. Growing up in a community where the vast majority of students qualified for social assistance, he experienced firsthand the disparity in medical access that plagues rural areas. This abstract concern became a personal mission when his nephew was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and faced significant hurdles in accessing specialized care. Dr. Cazares observed that the burdens of time and cost required to reach urban medical centers created a systemic disadvantage for families in underserved regions. This realization shifted his research focus from pure laboratory inquiry toward a vision of healthcare equity where geography does not dictate medical outcomes.

Portable Biomarkers for Global Equity

In his pursuit of more accessible diagnostic tools, Dr. Cazares joined the laboratory of Dr. Bradley Voytek to utilize scalp EEG (electroencephalography) as a primary research instrument. Unlike expensive and stationary imaging technologies, EEG is portable, non-invasive, and affordable, making it ideal for deployment in communities far from major research hospitals. His current work involves a multi-pronged approach to link patient EEG signals with cortical organoid activity and transcriptomic signatures. According to Dr. Cazares, the ultimate goal is to create a personalized medicine pipeline where a patient’s EEG can guide the screening of therapeutics in brain organoids derived from that same individual. By developing biomarkers that can travel to the patient, he hopes to reduce the diagnostic delays that impacted his own family.

Dismantling Financial Gatekeepers in Academia

Beyond his technical research, Dr. Cazares has been a vocal advocate for removing the financial and institutional barriers that prevent low-income students from entering the sciences. He identifies standardized tests like the GRE as significant gatekeepers that correlate more with socioeconomic status than with future academic success. In 2018, he successfully led a movement to remove the GRE requirement from graduate admissions at UCSD, predating a national trend toward more equitable application processes. Furthermore, he co-founded the nonprofit "Colors...