People who receive the shingles vaccine may have a lower risk of developing dementia, with some studies estimating a 15-20% reduction.
Includes research by @pascalge.bsky.social supported by a Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience Pilot Grant.
Read more: www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/w...
Michael Greicius, Stanford Neurologist, Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience Steering Committee member, and founding director of the Stanford Memory Disorders Center.
Victor Henderson, Stanford Neurologist
Stanford neurologists Michael Greicius and Victor Henderson explain what science knows about why women develop Alzheimer’s disease at higher rates than men—and the many things science doesn’t yet know.
Learn more: med.stanford.edu/news/insight...
Kathleen Poston is a neurologist and division chief for movement disorders at Stanford Medicine. She's also a member of the steering committee for the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience at Wu Tsai Neuro.
Todd Coleman, Kathleen Poston, and Linda Nguyen speak at the 2025 Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute Symposium.
Symptoms like constipation, sleep disturbances, and loss of smell can appear years before Parkinson's diagnosis. In today's podcast, Kathleen Poston discusses ongoing research exploring where Parkinson's begins and how to slow its progression.
Listen now: neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/could-p...
Congratulations to Institute Scholar @abu-remaileh.bsky.social on receiving the ASBMB Walter A. Shaw Young Investigator Award in Lipid Research!
His journey from East Jerusalem to Stanford highlights resilience and passion for science and mentorship:
Wu Tsai Neuro Faculty Affiliate Kalanit Grill-Spector participates in a brainstorming session with other Institute affiliates at the 2024 Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute Scientific Retreat.
Postdoc Scholar Pilleriin Sikka shares a scientific talk titled "Anesthesia-Induced Dreaming: Frequency, Safety, and Therapeutic Outcomes" at the 2024 Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute Retreat.
Wu Tsai Neuro faculty affiliates and members of their labs share their scientific discoveries and spark new collaborations at the 2024 Institute Retreat poster session.
2024 Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute Retreat attendees gather for a group photo.
We invite Wu Tsai Neuro faculty affiliates and members of their labs to join us on Monday, May 18, at our 2026 Institute Retreat.
⚠️ Attendance is limited. Registration required.
🧠 Learn more: neuroscience.stanford.edu/events/2026-...
🎟️ Register here by April 21: wutsaineuro-retreat-26.zite.so
Interested in aging and rejuvenation?
We have a new Research Assistant position to understand aging at the cellular level!!
Come join our team!!! 😎
careersearch.stanford.edu/jobs/life-sc...
Rahul Nagvekar, a Genetics PhD candidate at Stanford University in the Brunet Lab, presents his research in a talk titled, "Engulfment by brain myeloid cells of a short-lived vertebrate."
Jordan Moore, a Postdoc at Stanford University in the Buckwalter Lab, shared his research in a talk titled, Injectable Drug-Eluting Scaffold To Improve Cognition after Ischemic Stroke."
Jordan Moore, a Postdoc at Stanford University in the Buckwalter Lab, shared his research in a talk titled, Injectable Drug-Eluting Scaffold To Improve Cognition after Ischemic Stroke."
Rahul Nagvekar, a Genetics PhD candidate at Stanford University in the Brunet Lab, presents his research in a talk titled, "Engulfment by brain myeloid cells of a short-lived vertebrate."
Yesterday, Jordan Moore, a postdoc in the Buckwalter Lab, discussed his research, "Injectable Drug-Eluting Scaffold To Improve Cognition after Ischemic Stroke." Rahul Nagvekar @brunetlab.bsky.social shared his research in a talk, "Engulfment by brain myeloid cells of a short-lived vertebrate."
Monther Abu–Remaileh (@stanford-chemh.bsky.social) is advancing lysosomal lipid #biochemistry — earning the 2026 ASBMB Walter A. Shaw Young Investigator Award. His lab focuses on how lysosomal dysfunction contributes to neurodegenerative disease.
⏯️Watch his #ASBMB26 talk: youtu.be/BugAr1mMyJ4?...
An array of fifteen portraits on a green and purple striped background.
From rejuvenating brain plasticity with magnetic stimulation to tracking genome changes with age, Stanford researchers are exploring new paths to brain aging and resilience.
The Knight Initiative is supporting 4 of 8 new seed grant projects. Read more: brainresilience.stanford.edu/news/new-ide...
Institute Scholar Jon Long & team studied the extreme metabolism of pythons—snakes that gorge themselves and then go months without eating—leading to discovery of an appetite-reducing molecule that could be a starting point for new weight-loss drugs:
A clearer picture of brain aging is emerging.
Explore recent research supported by the Knight Initiative on early signals of lifespan, cellular recycling in the brain, and mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration in our Winter 2026 review.
www.linkedin.com/pulse/winter...
Bruker's manufacturer representative, Saaussan Madi, shared datasets on marmoset brains, which exemplified how isotropic resolution allows precise determination of fiber tracks. Image courtesy of J. Hata and H. Okano of Keio University, CIEA, Kanagawa, Japan.
Apply for Neuroimaging Pilot Grants and explore the possibilities of MRI in neuroscience research!
The Neurosciences Preclinical Imaging Lab invites Stanford researchers of all career stages to apply. Awards up to $6,000.
Learn more and apply by April 10: neuroscience.stanford.edu/shared-resou...
Congrats to our 2026 Neurosciences Postdoc Scholars!
They bring expertise in biology, chemistry, engineering, genetics, physiology, neuroscience, psychiatry, and radiology to research projects spanning different scales of neuroscience.
Learn more: neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/announc...
Pythons produce a hunger-suppressing molecule called pTOS after meals. The same molecule tells human and mouse brains it's time to stop eating. Image description: Yellow python with a black background. Image credit: Denis Doukhan/Pixabay.
New study on Pythons—snakes that can go a year without eating—hints at a potential weight-loss drug with fewer side effects than GLP-1 drugs. Research led by the Long Lab at Stanford and supported in part by the Knight Initiative.
Learn more: brainresilience.stanford.edu/news/study-p...
Christoph Thaiss is a Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute affiliate, an assistant professor of pathology at Stanford Medicine, and a core investigator at the Arc Institute in Palo Alto.
Could boosting gut–brain communication prevent memory loss?
New research by @christophthaiss.bsky.social suggests restoring vagus nerve activity can reverse cognitive decline in aging mice. He joins us to discuss microbes, memory, and internal senses.
neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/could-b...
Dr. Kaestner works with a research subject in the Koret Human Neurosciences Lab at Wu Tsai Neuro.
Interested in leveraging EEG and/or TMS in your research? The Koret Human Neurosciences Lab at Wu Tsai Neuro invites Stanford researchers to apply for Human Neuro Pilot grants, awarding up to $10,000 per grant.
Learn more and apply by April 10: neuroscience.stanford.edu/shared-resou...
Annie Goettemoeller, a Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute Postdoctoral Scholar supported by the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience, in her lab.
Annie Goettemoeller looks through a microscope in her lab. Photo by Andrew Brodhead.
Ongoing research explores how epilepsy-like activity may influence the spread of Alzheimer’s pathology in the brain. This work is led by Brain Resilience Postdoc Scholar Annie Goettemoeller in the Soltesz Lab @stanfordmedicine.bsky.social.
Learn more: brainresilience.stanford.edu/news/qa-prob...
Meena Chakraborty, PhD Candidate, Stanford University, presents her research at the March 2026 Brain Resilience Seminar.
Bianca Palushaj presents her research at the March 2026 Brain Resilience Seminar.
Imani Porter presents her research at the March 2026 Brain Resilience Seminar.
Julian Garcia, Brain Resilience Postdoc, shared his research in a talk titled "The light side of the force."
In our monthly seminar, Julian Garcia of the Wendy Liu Lab presented his research in a talk titled "The Light Side of the Force." Meena Chakraborty of the Bhatt Lab discussed her research, "The gut-immune-brain connection in Parkinson's Disease," with lab mates Bianca Palushaj and Imani Porter.
Katrin J Svensson, Associate Professor of Pathology
Nirao Shah, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Major Laboratories and Clinical Translational Neurosciences Incubator), of Neurobiology and, by courtesy, of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Longzhi Tan, Assistant Professor of Neurobiology
How does pregnancy reshape the mother's brain at a molecular level?
In today’s podcast, Nirao Shah and Katrin Svensson discuss the new Stanford Neuro-Pregnancy Initiative with Longzhi Tan and what neuroscience can tell us about pregnancy.
neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/new-neu...
Laura Gwilliams (left), Jill Kries (second from left) and other members of the Gwilliams lab discuss the neuroscience of language. In the lab's latest paper, Kries, Gwilliams, and KU Leuven's Maaike Vandermosten investigated the underlying mechanisms of post-stroke aphasia. Image by Jess Alvarenga.
In stroke patients with aphasia, the brain spends too little time processing ambiguous sounds, suggesting new targets for precision therapies. (@lauragwilliams.bsky.social, @kriesjill.bsky.social)
Read the story by @stellamayerhoff.bsky.social here: neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/why-bra...
Courtesy of Ian Guldner, Stanford University
Degradation-resistant proteins pass from neurons to glial cells in a process that may spread protein clumps around the brain, according to a study in mice.
Read the full story by @thetransmitter.bsky.social here: www.thetransmitter.org/aging/aging-...
Silencing during iPSC differentiation is a major but underrecognized challenge and hard to fund. We are deeply grateful to @chanzuckerberg.bsky.social for supporting this project.
Also, thanks to @brainresilience.bsky.social and @hdfcures.bsky.social for supporting my postdoctoral fellow!
Losing sleep over #iPSC transgene silencing after differentiation?
Same here.
Bright in iPSCs.
Gone after differentiation.
Our paper in @cp-cellstemcell.bsky.social maps what actually keeps expression on👇
www.cell.com/cell-stem-ce...
🔗 Free access (50 days):
www.sciencedirect.com/science/auth...
Ian Guldne, @carolynbertozzi.bskyverified.social, @abu-remaileh.bsky.social & team are exploring relationship between synapse loss & defective protein recycling in the aging brain, offering new insights into brain health & disease risk news.stanford.edu/stories/2026... @brainresilience.bsky.social
Vinod Menon, Rachel L. and Walter F. Nichols, MD., Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Science at Stanford Medicine, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute affiliate.
From Our Neurons to Yours, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University.
Why do our minds wander?
Our podcast is back! Today, we speak with cognitive scientist Vinod Menon about the brain's default mode network behind daydreaming, rumination, and our sense of self—and its links to ADHD, depression, and Alzheimer’s disease.
neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/why-do-...
Proteins that start inside neurons accumulate faster with age and increasingly appear in microglia, the immune cells that prune damaged synapses, according to new research supported by the Knight Initiative. Led by Ian Guldner in the Wyss-Coray Lab.
brainresilience.stanford.edu/news/aging-b...
Kit Vodehnal, a neurosciences PhD candidate in the lab of Marius Wernig, presented their research in a talk titled "Neuron-glia interactions in regulating protein aggregation in human cell models."
Birgitt Schuele, an associate professor at Stanford Medicine: Department of Pathology, discussed emerging research about "Neurodegeneration across Borders: Resilience, Fieldwork, and Gene Therapy."
In yesterday's monthly seminar, Kit Vodehnal of the Wernig Lab discussed "Neuron-glia interactions in regulating protein aggregation in human cell models," and Birgitt Schuele, an associate professor of pathology, shared "Neurodegeneration across Borders: Resilience, Fieldwork, and Gene Therapy."
A new study by @lauragwilliams.bsky.social, @kriesjill.bsky.social, and team suggests that phonetic features are robustly encoded in healthy older adults, but show reduced encoding strength in individuals with post-stroke aphasia during speech comprehension.
www.jneurosci.org/content/46/4...
Text: Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience Winter 2026 Symposium. Image collage, top row, from left: 1. Dr. Brit Mollenhauer, University Medical Center Göttingen. 2. Dr. James Olzmann, University of California at Berkeley. 3. Dr. Michael Ward, National Institutes of Health. Bottom row, from left: 1. Dr. Gaurav Chattree, Stanford University. 2. Dr. Daisy Ding, Stanford University. 3. Dr. Frank Longo, Stanford University.
Our symposium is today!
We look forward to scientific talks by Brit Mollenhauer of UMG, James Olzmann of @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social, Michael Ward of NIH, Gaurav Chattree of @stanfordhealthcare.bsky.social, Daisy Ding of @stanfordneuro.bsky.social, and Frank Longo @stanfordmedicine.bsky.social.
A new atlas maps lysosomal proteins across brain cell types, helping researchers study how breakdowns in cellular waste and recycling systems contribute to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Supported by a Knight Initiative Catalyst Momentum Award.
brainresilience.stanford.edu/news/new-atl...