Learn about the latest news and events going on in the department. You can also follow us on X @WashUMedNeuro and LinkedIn.
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.
MSTP trainee Lizzie Tilden receives prestigious F30 award
Tilden, a graduate student in Yao Chen’s lab, received the fellowship to pursue her research on how sleep, learning and aging are tied together.
Do spiders dream? What about cuttlefish? Bearded dragons? (Links to an external site)
Read Dr. Paul Shaw’s comments in an article in Knowable Magazine about REM sleep across the animal kingdom.
How do developing brains assemble and organize themselves? (Links to an external site)
Brain areas are marked by distinct activity patterns very early, marsupial study published in PNAS by the Richards Lab shows.
Center for Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience welcomes inaugural fellow
Leandro Fosque, PhD, joins the CTCN at Washington University to study the mechanisms underlying homeostasis in the brain.
Naoki Hiratani joins the Department of Neuroscience as Assistant Professor
Hiratani, a theoretical neuroscientist, seeks to bridge the gap between neuroscience and AI to gain a better understanding of both the brain and artificial intelligence.
‘Gain-of-function’ mutation spawns autism traits (Links to an external site)
Assistant Professor Jason Yi’s latest work on UBE3A is highlighted in Spectrum.
Humans will trade pain for useless information (Links to an external site)
Read comments from Dr. Ethan Bromberg-Martin, a senior scientist in Ilya Monosov’s lab, on a new study about the value of inconsequential knowledge.
Jason Yi and Harrison Gabel each receive SFARI Pilot Awards to study autism-related disorders
In the Yi Lab, the funding will go to developing an inhibitor of the protein UBE3A, which causes neurodevelopmental disorders. The Gabel Lab is establishing a novel platform to examine brain connectivity and gene disruption in a model of Rett Syndrome.
Paul Bridgman, Professor of Neuroscience and innovative educator, retires
Dr. Bridgman made fundamental discoveries into the structure of growth cones and developed novel histology teaching approaches over his 4-decade career at Washington University.
The shape of your brain may strongly influence your thoughts and behavior, study finds (Links to an external site)
Read Dr. David Van Essen’s comments on the new study in Nature.
Honoring the Body Donors Who Are a Medical Student’s ‘First Patient’ (Links to an external site)
Gratitude ceremonies give students and faculty members a chance to recognize the sacrifice of those who gave their bodies for medical research and education, and the loved ones they left behind.