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Message from Our PhD Program Director
 As his term as director of the Neuroscience PhD Program comes to a close, Michael Silver welcomes our largest-ever class of entering graduate students; congratulates our graduates; shares highlights of the past year, including new funding for graduate students; and introduces our next PhD Program director, Frédéric Theunissen. Read about all of this and more in his annual director’s message.
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Research Discoveries
 Scientists identify factors associated with greater alertness after waking
A collaboration led by the Walker lab has found that how people sleep, what they eat, and how much exercise they get is related to how alert they feel after waking in the morning. The team monitored several variables in over 800 people, including pairs of twins, who were given breakfasts with different proportions of nutrients for two weeks. The researchers found that greater morning alertness was associated not with genetics, but with four independent factors: sleeping longer and later, exercising the day before, eating a breakfast high in complex carbohydrates, and having a healthy blood sugar response after breakfast. The scientists say this shows that lifestyle changes could help us feel more alert in the morning, which in turn could reduce accidents and other health hazards associated with being groggy. Read the study in Nature Communications and the story in Berkeley News.
Image: Shutterstock
 Structure of protein megacomplex reveals potential new targets for drugs to treat neurodegenerative disease
In a new paper published in Nature, the Hurley lab and collaborators describe the structure of a protein megacomplex that controls degradation of cell components through regulation of lysosomes. The megacomplex forms through an interaction between the enzyme complex mTORC1 and the protein TFEB which inactivates TFEB, reducing degradation of cell components. The study identifies regions of the megacomplex that could potentially serve as targets for new drugs to treat neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, which involve accumulation of toxic proteins and debris, as well as drugs for cancer and other types of diseases. The work was supported in part by Genentech through the Alliance for Therapies in Neuroscience, a partnership between UC Berkeley, Genentech (a member of the Roche group), Roche, UC San Francisco, and the University of Washington. Read more from Berkeley Neuroscience News.
Image: The structure of the protein megacomplex. Cui, Z. et al./Nature (2023) CC BY 4.0
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News
Kid-reviewed journal founded by Robert Knight featured in The Washington Post
The journal Frontiers for Young Minds is the brainchild of Robert Knight, a member and former director of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute (HWNI) and professor of the graduate school of psychology. Scientists submit articles on cutting-edge research to the journal, which are then reviewed by kids from around the world with the help of mentors. The kid reviewers give feedback to the authors — including some Nobel laureates — to make the articles more understandable before they are published. A recent article in The Washington Post explores how this unique journal contributes to science education and improved communication between scientists and the public.
Illustration by Frontiers for Young Minds.
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Honors and Awards
D'Esposito receives 2023 Fred Kavli Distinguished Career Contributions Award
Mark D'Esposito, distinguished professor of neuroscience and psychology, has received the 2023 Fred Kavli Distinguished Career Contributions Award from the Cognitive Neuroscience Society. The annual award, sponsored by the Kavli Foundation, honors a senior cognitive neuroscientist for outstanding contributions to the field over the course of their career. D’Esposito studies the neural basis of high-level cognitive processes in healthy volunteers and patients with brain disease or injury, as well as potential therapies to treat cognitive deficits. Read more from the Cognitive Neuroscience Society.
Wallis elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Joni Wallis, professor of psychology, has been elected as a lifetime fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society. Wallis was selected in recognition of her distinguished contributions to systems and translational neuroscience. Wallis investigates the neuronal mechanisms underlying high-level cognitive and behavioral processes, including decision-making, learning, and working memory. Read more from Berkeley News.
 Shekhar selected as an Allen Institute Next Generation Leader
Karthik Shekhar, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, has been selected as a 2022 Allen Institute Next Generation Leader. Only six early-career neuroscientists from around the world were chosen for this honor. As a Next Generation Leader, Shekhar will serve on an advisory council to help advise research at the Allen Institute for Brain Science, the MindScope Program, and the Allen Institute for Neural Dynamics. Shekhar’s research is at the interface of engineering and neuroscience, with a focus on single-cell genomics and neural diversity in the visual system. Read more from the Allen Institute.
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Faculty Profiles and Perspectives
 Noah Whiteman
“I usually am most comfortable at the interstices between disciplines, and I’ve always been this way. It is hard to navigate because one is always an outsider, but this is both where there is the most to learn, and the most to contribute professionally.”
In a Q&A published in Current Biology, HWNI member Noah Whiteman discusses his path in science as a gay, first-generation college student from a rural community, the importance and challenge of making science more inclusive, and why he thinks loss of biodiversity is one of the biggest crises of our time. Whiteman is a professor of integrative biology and molecular and cell biology who studies adaptations that arise from species interactions. His research topics include the role of dietary toxins in shaping the evolution of the nervous system, and implications for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. Read the Q&A.
 William Jagust explains what we know — and don’t know — about Alzheimer’s disease
“Alzheimer’s disease is probably much more complex than just amyloid, so we are probably going to need other approaches.”
In an interview with Berkeley Public Health, HWNI member William Jagust explains what we know about the causes of Alzheimer’s disease and the gaps in our knowledge that have made it difficult to develop effective treatments. Jagust is a professor of public health and neuroscience who has studied the aging brain and dementia for over two decades. His research has provided insight into how the proteins beta-amyloid and tau contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s disease, but many questions still remain. Read the article to learn more about Alzheimer’s and how Jagust thinks it may begin.
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Alum Profile
 Overcoming obstacles: Neuroscience PhD alum Tara Tracy seeks new approaches to treat Alzheimer’s disease
“It's just so exciting to me — to keep trying to be at the forefront of what we can do to help people with disease.”
Tara Tracy is an assistant professor at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, where she investigates the mechanisms underlying memory loss in Alzheimer’s disease and other age-related dementias. Her work is focused on synaptic deterioriation in these diseases, which could lead to new avenues of treatment. Tracy studied synaptic development as a graduate student at Berkeley, and then focused on synapses in Alzheimer’s disease during her postdoctoral fellowship. Read our Q&A with Tracy to learn more about her research and career path; what it’s like to work at an independent research institute; and her passion for helping women advance in science.
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