Learn about the latest news and events going on in the department. You can also follow us on Twitter (@WUSTLneurosci).
Gaia Tavoni, PhD, awarded Sloan Research Fellowship (Links to an external site)
Assistant Professor Tavoni studies how information is encoded and processed in neural networks and the mechanisms that optimize these functions.
Key regulator of decision-making pinpointed in brain (Links to an external site)
Findings shed light on mental illnesses, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety
How does waste leave the brain? (Links to an external site)
Professor Krikor Dikranian and Assistant Professor Peter Bayguinov among authors of new study in Nature describing a route that serves as a passageway to clear fluid waste from brain.
Newly opened Jeffrey T. Fort Neuroscience Research Building dedicated (Links to an external site)
Celebration signals ‘new era for medical science’
Camillo Padoa-Schioppa: Value in the brain, orbitofrontal cortex, and causality in neuroscience (Links to an external site)
Listen to Professor Padoa-Schioppa discuss his training and research on the BJKS Podcast.
Scialog: Molecular Basis of Cognition Funding Awarded to 7 Research Teams (Links to an external site)
Assistant Professor Yao Chen received two awards for collaborative projects to advance understanding of the molecular or mechanistic processes that underlie memory and cognition.
Do spiders dream? What about cuttlefish? Bearded dragons? (Links to an external site)
Read Professor Paul Shaw’s insights in Big Think on sleep across the animal kingdom.
The Tyrannosaurus rex May Have Had More Brains Than You Think (Links to an external site)
Read Dr. Ashley Morhardt’s comments in Discover on a new study in the Journal of Comparative Neurology.
“Why neuroscience matters, with Ilya Monosov” (Links to an external site)
Dr. Monosov, Associate Professor of Neuroscience, discusses his research on the neurobiological roots of curiosity on the Choose to Be Curious program.
For ninth year David Van Essen earns spot among Highly Cited Researchers
David Van Essen, PhD, Alumni Endowed Professor of Neuroscience at Washington University, is among the scholars on Clarivate’s 2023 list of Highly Cited Researchers.
A look at plans for the new Washington University Neuroscience Research Building (Links to an external site)
The state-of-the-art facility will initially house approximately 100 teams comprising 875 researchers, including experts in neurology, neuroscience, neurosurgery, psychiatry, and anesthesiology.
Valeria Cavalli receives grant to investigate hypersensitivity in Fragile X syndrome
In collaboration with Vitaly Klyachko in the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology at WashU, the funds will support research into the function of sensory neurons and partners known as satellite glial cells.
Graduate student Kia Barclay receives 2023 Thach Award (Links to an external site)
Kia’s poster, “An inducible genetic tool for tracking and manipulating specific microglial states in development and disease,” earns the top honor at the Washington University Neuroscience Retreat.
Introducing a new conceptual framework for astrocyte function
In Nature Neuroscience, Thomas Papouin and colleagues describe the role of astrocytes in “contextual guidance.”
Arthur Loewy and the central regulation of autonomic nervous function
Dr. Loewy worked over his decades-long career at Washington University to uncover connections between the peripheral and central nervous systems.
Sleep disruption—whether from loss of sleep or “social jet lag”—affects thermoregulation
Fruit flies seek out warmer temperatures when they experience sleep deprivation or fragmentation or when faced with a shifted sleep schedule, similar to when people stay up late and sleep in on the weekend.
Neurotech Hub at Washington University forms collaboration to develop custom printed circuit boards
Partnering with St. Louis–based uFab, the Neurotech Hub can meet the need for bespoke neuroscience technology in house.
Applications open for 2024 INSPIRE Symposium (Links to an external site)
Senior graduate students are invited to present their thesis research at Washington University in May 2024. This two-day, all-expenses-paid visit will include one-on-one faculty meetings, networking activities with postdocs and graduate students, and a tour of St. Louis.