In early 2009, Tim co-founded "Backyard Brains," whose motto is "Neuroscience for Everyone" by designing and making inexpensive equipment (<$100) and experiments that allows scientists of all ages to study and understand the electrical activity of the brain, muscles, and heart. The idea began as a self-imposed engineering challenge between Tim and his friend Gregory Gage to improve neuroscience outreach to local schools in Michigan.
With the generous sponsorship of the Kauffman Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Start-Up Chile Program, Tim works on rapidly bringing prototypes to market and designing intuitive experiments that teach students about physiology. To date the inventions of Backyard Brains are in all 50 States in the USA and 82 countries around the world. Timothy Marzullo received his B.S. in Biochemistry in 2001 from the University of Texas in Austin and his Ph.D. in Neuroscience in 2008 at the Neural Engineering Lab at the University of Michigan. From 2009-2010, Tim worked as a research engineer for NeuroNexus Technologies, designing and supporting novel brain electrode technology for scientists around the world.