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Message from Our Director
 In his annual message, Ehud Isacoff, director of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute (HWNI) and Berkeley Brain Initiative, reflects on the challenges of 2020, the accomplishments of our members, and the resilience, adaptability, and kindness of our community. Read his message…
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Research Discoveries
 Sleep quality predicts accumulation of protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease
A new study from the Walker and Jagust labs found that poor sleep is associated with a higher rate of accumulation of beta-amyloid — a protein implicated in Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers assessed sleep quality in healthy older adults, and then used PET scans to measure the amount of beta-amyloid in their brains over several years. They found that sleep quality can predict how quickly beta-amyloid later accumulates, and identified the specific aspects of sleep that are important in this process. This research supports the idea that sleep quality could potentially be used to predict Alzheimer’s risk, and that improving sleep might reduce that risk. Read the paper in Current Biology, the story in Berkeley News, and coverage by NPR.
 Models of ion channel important for breathing reveals new ways cells detect pH
The Brohawn lab has built high-resolution 3D reconstructions of a pH sensing ion channel, TASK2, which is used by neurons in the brainstem to regulate breathing, among other critical functions. Based on cryo-electron microscopy, the models reveal two new regions in the ion channel that sense intracellular and extracellular pH, respectively, by novel mechanisms. These regions act as gates that open and close the channel, and could potentially serve as targets for new drugs to treat breathing disorders. Read the paper in Nature and an article explaining the research by co-author Robert Rietmeijer.
Image: Banner of TASK2 structures in a lipid bilayer, colored like a pH strip. Image courtesy of Robert Rietmeijer. |
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News
 HWNI launches center for psychedelic science and education
We are excited to announce that we have launched the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics (BCSP) in collaboration with faculty from UCSF and the Graduate Theological Union, thanks to $1.25 million in seed funding from an anonymous donor. The unique new center will use psychedelics to further our understanding of the brain and mind, produce a public education program, and train facilitators as guides for psychedelic experiences. The BCSP is administered by HWNI and led by director Michael Silver, who is also the director of our Neuroscience PhD Program. Other co-founders include HWNI faculty member Jack Gallant, teaching professor of neurobiology David Presti, professor of psychology Dacher Keltner, and journalism professor and bestselling author Michael Pollan. Read more…
Image: Michael Silver. Photo by Elena Zhukova.
 HWNI welcomes new faculty member Doris Tsao
We are thrilled to welcome Doris Tsao, who will be joining HWNI when she arrives in July 2021 as a professor of neurobiology in the department of molecular and cell biology. Tsao is currently a faculty member at Caltech, and is widely recognized for her work on visual perception, particularly the neural system underlying face recognition. Read more...
 Berkeley neuroscience community gathers virtually for annual conference
Our Berkeley Neuroscience Annual Conference was held online this October due to the pandemic, but we continued the tradition of sharing our research, hearing from and talking with keynote speakers, and discussing issues of importance to the HWNI community. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this year’s conference! Read our article to learn more.
 HWNI celebrates 150 years of women at Berkeley
This year, the campus is celebrating the 150th anniversary of women being allowed to be admitted to UC Berkeley with the 150 Years of Women at Berkeley project. We are proud that Helen Wills and HWNI member Marian Diamond were both highlighted as key figures in UC Berkeley’s history. Wills was a Cal alum and tennis champion who endowed the Neuroscience PhD Program, and Diamond was a world-renowned neuroscientist and educator. Funds from the Marian C. Diamond & Arnold B. Scheibel Fund in Neuroscience were recently awarded to HWNI faculty member Joni Wallis. We’d like to honor the women of HWNI, past and present, for their important contributions to our mission and the field of neuroscience as a whole. Read more…
Image: Screenshot from Neuroscience PhD student Julia Bleier’s qualifying exam, held online in spring 2020. Pictured with Bleier are her committee members: HWNI faculty Helen Bateup, Diana Bautista, and Marla Feller, and HWNI collaborator Polina Lishko.
 Remembering Art Shimamura
We are deeply saddened by the passing of HWNI member and professor emeritus of psychology Art Shimamura on October 6, 2020. Art was a world-renowned expert on human learning and memory, an early leader in the field of cognitive neuroscience, and an award-winning teacher. He also explored the relationship between art and the mind and brain, and authored several books. Read more about Art and share your remembrances here.
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PhD Program News
 Neuroscience PhD students host ‘Ask Us Anything!’ session
Several of our PhD students organized a casual Q&A session to talk about the program with prospective applicants. PhD students Laura Haetzel, Zhongyan Gong, Adrián Alejandro, Giovanni Anthony, Karina Bistrong, Sylvia Madhow, Ryan Schultz, Christiane Voufo, Lily Gong, and Christine Tseng served as panelists, and PhD student Holly Gildea facilitated the session. Thank you to everyone who participated! Click here to learn more and to watch the video or read the transcript of the panel discussion.
 PhD student Celia Ford writes about the impact of recent racial injustices on STEM
Neuroscience PhD student Celia Ford published an article in the Berkeley Science Review called “2020’s Wake Up Calls Stir Action in STEM”, about the impact of the killing of George Floyd and subsequent protests for racial justice on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in STEM. The article focuses on the work and perspectives of graduate student activists at Berkeley, and includes quotes from Neuroscience PhD students Krisha Aghi, Malak El-Quessny, Christine Liu, and Sonali Mali. Read the article…
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Honors and Awards
 Kriegsfeld, Dan, and Kaufer win 2020 Radical Ideas in Brain Science Challenge
Professors Lance Kriegsfeld (psychology), Yang Dan (molecular and cell biology), and Daniela Kaufer (integrative biology) are the winners of our 2020 Radical Ideas in Brain Science Challenge. Their collaborative project will explore the idea that the disruption of circadian rhythms and sleep that occurs with age may contribute to cognitive decline via the degradation of the blood-brain barrier. They will also investigate a novel noninvasive technology that could potentially restore circadian rhythms and sleep and protect against cognitive decline. The Challenge is administered by HWNI and made possible through the generosity of Berkeley Brain Initiative donors. Read more…
 Bateup awarded funding from Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s
Helen Bateup, associate professor of neurobiology, is part of a team that was awarded $6.8 million from Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s ( ASAP) to study genes implicated in Parkinson’s disease. The collaborative project is led by UC Berkeley professor Donald Rio, and was one of two Berkeley projects awarded funding from ASAP — a new initiative that funds basic research into Parkinson’s disease. Nobel laureate and Berkeley professor Randy Schekman is the scientific director of ASAP. Read more…
 Xu and Lishko awarded Pew Innovation funding
Ke Xu, assistant professor of chemistry, and Polina Lishko, associate professor of cell and developmental biology, have jointly been awarded a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Innovation Fund to investigate the role of steroid hormones in Alzheimer’s disease. Xu is a HWNI member, and Lishko is a HWNI collaborator who recently won a MacArthur “genius” award. Their project could provide insight into why Alzheimer’s disease disproportionately affects women. Read more…
 Bunge and Weiner awarded Schwab Center Innovations funding
Silvia Bunge, professor of psychology, and Kevin Weiner, assistant professor of psychology, have been awarded spring 2020 Innovations Fund grants from the UCSF-UCB Schwab Dyslexia & Cognitive Diversity Center. Bunge will co-lead a project with Christa Watson (UCSF) to investigate possible cognitive strengths or compensatory mechanisms in children with dyslexia. Weiner will co-lead a project with Florence Bouhali (USCF) to study the development of a brain area important for recognizing letters and words, and how that may differ in people with dyslexia. Read more…
 Gomez wins Young Investigator Grant
Andrea Gomez, assistant professor of neurobiology, has been awarded a 2020 Young Investigator Grant from The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. The grants are awarded to early career investigators with innovative ideas in neurobiological and psychiatric research. Gomez studies how alternative RNA splicing can shape the properties of synapses, which may play a role in conditions such as autism, intellectual disability, and neurodegenerative disorders. Read more…
 Dan Feldman appointed as endowed chair
Dan Feldman, professor and division head of neurobiology, was appointed as the Coates Family Endowed Chair in Neuroscience. The endowed chair is awarded through HWNI and honors a distinguished faculty member in neuroscience. Feldman studies neural circuit function and sensory processing in the cerebral cortex. Read more…
 Yang Dan appointed as endowed chair
Yang Dan, professor of neurobiology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, was appointed as the Nan Fung Life Sciences Chancellor's Chair in Neuroscience. This honor is awarded to faculty of the highest academic and professional caliber. Dan studies neural circuits controlling sleep and mechanisms of executive control in the brain. Read more… |
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Alumni News
 Robin Ball wins faculty award
Neuroscience PhD alum Robin Ball has won a 2020 UC Berkeley Faculty Award for Outstanding Mentorship of Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs). Ball is a lecturer in the molecular and cell biology department at Berkeley. The award recognizes faculty who have provided GSIs with outstanding mentorship in teaching. Read more...
 Home over hospital: Elena Allen develops products to manage heart failure at home
“To me, it seemed like building something — whether it's an app, or an actual tool, or a device that someone uses — was a more concrete goal that I could literally put my hands on.”
Elena Allen is chief scientist at Rodin Scientific, where she is developing products to allow patients to monitor their chronic heart failure at home, reducing the need for repeated trips to the hospital. As a Neuroscience PhD student in the Freeman lab, Allen studied vision, with a focus on technologies used to measure and influence brain activity. She went on to do postdocs focused on big data in neuroimaging before going into industry. Read our Q&A alum profile of Allen to learn more about her path, differences she’s observed between academia and industry, and what she finds motivating and exciting about her work.
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