Department News

Alex Taylor, Ph.D., assistant professor of anatomy in neuroscience, has been awarded the Helen Lamb Outstanding Didactic Instructor Award. Taylor received this award to recognize his excellent contributions to training nurse anesthetists at a special ceremony during the Barnes-Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing commencement in December 2025. Of the eight awards presented at this […]

Dr. Yao Chen’s research focuses on how chemical signals in the brain shape behavior, learning, and sleep. Using advanced imaging techniques, her work uncovers how neuromodulators influence neural circuits and links molecular signaling to brain function and disease. She is also a dedicated mentor and educator, training the next generation of neuroscientists. Read the full […]

Anthony Pappas, Ph. D., has been awarded the Stanley Lang Teacher of the Year Award. Pappas joined the department as an education-track faculty member in June 2025 and, in a short period of only nine months, has already made a significant impact on the training of future physicians. As an assistant professor of anatomy in […]

New paper from Harrison Gabel’s Lab in collaboration with Tristan Li’s lab (Genetics) which could have broad implications for studies on brain development, aging and neurodegeneration.

Amy Bauernfeind, PhD, was honored with the Academy of Educators’ Exemplary Educator Award, and Krikor Dikranian, MD, PhD, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the academy.

Kia Barclay of the Li Lab has been selected as a recipient of the Provost’s Graduate Student Research Excellence Award.

Joonas Autio, PhD, an assistant professor of neuroscience and radiology, has over 15 years of experience in comparative magnetic resonance imaging.

A group of researchers from the McKelvey School of Engineering and the Kepecs Lab has created a new kind of fiber-optic device to manipulate neural activity deep in the brain.

Researchers from the McKelvey School of Engineering and the Kepecs Lab have a new paper in Nature Neuroscience describing their development of a panoramically reconfigurable illuminative (PRIME) that offers a powerful platform for optical control of neural circuits across the brain.

Watch the 2025 Department of Neuroscience Distinguished Lecture presented by Michael Rosbash, PhD, a 2017 Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine.

A new paper in eLife from the Cavalli Lab reveals that inhibiting ETBR function enhances axon regeneration and rescues the age-dependent decrease in axonal regenerative capacity, providing a potential avenue for future therapies.

An early interest in epilepsy research led Joanna Jankowsky, PhD, to her focus on understanding the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s.

Read more about the David Van Essen Symposium and see photos from the two-day event.

Jennifer Phillips-Cremins will join the Department of Neuroscience in November with a dual appointment in the Department of Genetics as the James McDonnell Professor.

Anthony Pappas, PhD, has joined WashU Medicine as an assistant professor of anatomy in neuroscience.

Lawrence Snyder, MD, PhD, is part of a new study in Nature Communications that demonstrates that artificial neurons can function as trans-functional devices (transneurons) that reconfigure their behavior to attain instantaneous computational needs, each capable of emulating several biological neurons.

Harrison Gabel, PhD, collaborative partnership awarded grant through 2025 Natural History Study Small Grant Program.