Symposium organizers Julia Kaltschmidt and Todd Coleman introduce the day's topics.

Christoph Thaiss speaks about his research.

Kang Shen, Vincent V.C. Woo Director of the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, poses a question during a talk by Quifu Ma.

Todd Coleman, Kathleen Poston, and Linda Nguyen speak at the 2025 Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute Symposium.

Could treating anxiety ease constipation? Why does keto reduce seizures? Do gut microbes influence memory?

Our 12th annual symposium explored how our brains and bodies communicate—and what that means for our health and well-being.

Learn more: neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/neurosc...

With support from @stanfordbrain.bsky.social Bio-X NIH and @brainorganogenesis.bsky.social

Deadline approaching for participating in the international Stanford Course on Neural Assembloids in spring 2026!

This is an immersive, hands-on course on generating, probing and manipulating stem cell-derived neural #assembloids and #organoids for disease and development modeling.

"The Emergent Mind" has been living rent free in my head for the past month — I have trouble thinking about the brain without finding a new application.

Check out my conversation with neural network pioneer Jay McClelland, and stay tuned for more on AI and neuroscience in 2026!

Cindy Lin shares her research on "Investigating regulators of GCase activity using CRISPR KO screens" at the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience monthly seminar.

Odilia Sianto shares her research on "Nonsense-mediated decay masks cryptic splicing events caused by TDP-43 loss" at the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience monthly seminar.

Thanks to all who joined our last monthly seminar of 2025!

Cindy Lin gave a talk about "Investigating regulators of GCase activity using CRISPR KO screens," and Odilia Sianto shared her research on "Nonsense-mediated decay masks cryptic splicing events caused by TDP-43 loss."

Conference: Neurogenesis from development to adulthood in health and disease The adult brain consists of billions of neurons that show an unimaginable complexity in their structural diversity and functional connectivity allowing for a plethora of brain functions. Notably…

Interested in neural stem cells and neurogenesis throughout lifespan?

Exciting meeting in 2026 in Switzerland!!

neuro-unige.ch/news/csf-mee...

From Our Neurons to Yours. Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University.

Jay McClelland is Lucie Stern Professor of the Social Sciences and a professor of psychology in Stanford's School of Humanities and Sciences. He directs the Center for Mind, Brain, Computation, and Technology at the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute.

How does intelligence emerge from neural networks in our brains and artificial networks in machines?

Stanford cognitive scientist Jay McClelland explains on our podcast, exploring the neural network view of the mind and what it means for AI.

Listen now: neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/emergen...

Aaron Gitler, Tetsuya Akiyama, Yi Zeng, Chang Liu, Anastasia Lovchykova, Stephanie Rayner, Caiwei Guo, Odilia Sianto

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia are devastating neurodegenerative diseases. Knight Initiative postdoc Yi Zeng is finding the role a protein plays in both, and whether it can lead to new diagnostics and treatments.

Learn more: brainresilience.stanford.edu/news/qa-key-...

Could brain implants read our thoughts? (Not yet) Join us as we talk with Erin Kunz about building brain-computer interfaces to restore speech to people

Imagine losing your ability to speak. You know what you want to say, but the brain-to-muscle connection for forming words no longer works.

Can BCIs bypass those broken circuits to help people speak again? Erin Kunz shares how they work and what’s ahead.

neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/could-b...

Isabella Elkinbard presents research she conducted in the lab of Wu Tsai Neuro affiliate and Stanford Medicine Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery Vivek Buch.

Hongkui Zeng gives a talk on "Dynamic changes of brain cell types in development and aging."

Knight Initiative Brain Resilience Lab Director Alina Isakova describes her team's efforts.

Soyon Hong gives a talk on "Neuro-glia-immune crosstalk conferring synapse vulnerability in neurodegeneration."

From molecular atlases of aging to emerging ideas about immune pathways, synapses, and glial biology, scientists from Stanford, @ucsfhealth.bsky.social, @ucl.ac.uk, and @alleninstitute.org shared new brain resilience research at our recent symposium.

🔗 brainresilience.stanford.edu/news/mind-bl...

With @hankgreely.bsky.social & supported by @danafoundation.bsky.social @brainorganogenesis.bsky.social @stanfordbrain.bsky.social

An amazing group of scientists, philosophers, legal scholars, ethicists, policy makers, patient advocates, funders and trainees convened at Asilomar for one of the most stimulating meetings I have had the privilege to organize, focused on the ethics of research with neural #organoids & #assembloids

Erin Kunz is a postdoctoral scholar in the Neural Prosthetics Translational Laboratory in the Department of Neurosurgery at Stanford Medicine. She earned her PhD in electrical engineering in 2025 as Ketterer-Vorwald Neurosciences Interdisciplinary Graduate Fellow at Wu Tsai Neuro.

From Our Neurons to Yours, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University

Could brain implants read our thoughts? Not yet.

Neuroengineer Erin Kunz builds BCIs to restore speech in people with paralysis. She explains how they decode brain signals—and why imagined thoughts are harder to access than you might think.

Listen now: neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/could-b...

Confocal light micrograph of a synaptic conjugation between three dimensional (3D) human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived brain organoids grown on an organ-on-chip (OOC) system. An OOC is a multi-channel 3D microfluidic cell culture. Organoids are miniature, simplified versions of organs grown in the laboratory. These organoids are being grown to study neural tube formation and neuronal development. Image credit: Arthur Chien, Science Photo Library.

Scientists and ethicists, including Wu Tsai Neuro affiliates @sergiuppasca.bsky.social and Hank Greely, call for an international process to guide the field of human neural organoids.

Read the full @statnews.com story: www.statnews.com/2025/11/06/n...

Raag Airan, Matine Azadian, Payton Martinez and Yun Xiang in the lab. Azadian is holding a version of their ultrasound apparatus designed for humans.

“We’re making a helmet people can wear that delivers ultrasound to the brain, and we plan to initiate clinical testing of this protocol in the next few months,” said Raag Airan.

With Knight Initiative support, they plan to test it on people soon.

🔗 brainresilience.stanford.edu/news/new-ult...

Ted Wilson shared his research on "Unveiling early Alzheimer’s: biomarkers and breakthroughs on the path to brain resilience," at our monthly seminar series.

Raag Airan gave a talk on "Ultrasonic debris clearance for improving neurofluid flow and decreasing neuroinflammation" at the Knight Initiative's monthly seminar.

Fantastic talks at yesterday's seminar!

Ted Wilson - Unveiling early Alzheimer’s: biomarkers and breakthroughs on the path to brain resilience.

Raag Airan - Ultrasonic debris clearance for improving neurofluid flow and decreasing neuroinflammation.

Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute Welcomes 2025 Stanford Interdisciplinary Stanford doctoral students spanning neuroscience, chemical engineering, and electrical engineering are

We welcome three Stanford Interdisciplinary Graduate Fellows (SIGFs)—Sarah Zou, Nick M, and Pengli Wang! Projects include efforts to decode traumatic brain injury (TBI), map brain-body communication, and find treatments for rare childhood diseases.

🔗 neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/wu-tsai...

Brian Knutson is a professor of psychology in Stanford's School or Humanities and Sciences, a Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute affiliate, and a leader of the NeuroChoice Big Ideas in Neuroscience Initiative.

From Our Neurons to Yours, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University.

How can brain activity predict stock prices or viral videos?

In today’s podcast, Stanford neuroeconomist Brian Knutson explores how brain signals shape choice, risk, and attention—bridging neuroscience, psychology, and economics.

Listen now: neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/neurofo...

Rethinking Alzheimer's: How these tiny balls of fat factor in A classic but ignored Alzheimer’s hallmark — myriad oily droplets in brain cells called microglia — may help connect several of the disorder’s better known but not well understood features.

“By the time we examine an autopsied brain-tissue sample, a pathologist will have rinsed it with alcohol, removing lipids,” said Knight Initiative director Tony Wyss-Coray, D. H. Chen Professor II and @stanfordneuro.bsky.social professor. “So, we can miss them.”

med.stanford.edu/news/insight...

‘A celebration’ of the gut and the brain Organizers of the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute’s 12th annual symposium share exciting new discoveries

Ask someone about the nervous system in the gut, and chances are you’ll get a blank stare—or maybe, “There’s a nervous system in the gut?”

Dr Kaltschmidt and Dr. Coleman discuss exciting discoveries from the frontiers of the “gut-brain axis.”

Read more: neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/celebra...

Tim Doyle, Director of Wu Tsai Neuro's Community Labs, shares MRI images from the Neurosciences Preclinical Imaging Lab (NPIL), one of the community labs at Wu Tsai Neuro.

Jieun Kim, Director of the Neurosciences Preclinical Imaging Lab (NPIL), waves at the audience.

Tim Doyle, Director of Wu Tsai Neuro's Community Labs, discusses resources available to Stanford affiliates through the Neurosciences Community Labs to a large audience.

Bryce Grier, Neural Data Architect at Wu Tsai Neuro, discusses data best practices and resources.

Last week, our lab directors hosted a Neurosciences Community Labs Lunch & Learn. Attendees interested in using the facilities learned about the internal and external resources offered by the community labs. Thanks to everyone who joined us!

We're incredibly proud of this recognition — thanks so much to everyone for listening and sharing our conversations from the frontiers of brain science!

Signal Awards. 4th Annual Signal Award Winner. From Our Neurons to Yours, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University.

Signal Awards. 2025 Silver Winner.

Signal Awards. 2025 Listener's Choice.

Our podcast won 2 Signal Awards (@signalawards.bsky.social) for brand storytelling in Science & Education!
🥈 Silver Signal Award
🏅 Listener's Choice Award

Thanks to our fascinating guests, wonderful audience, host Nicholas Weiler, and podcast producer Michael Osborne for making this possible!

From Our Neurons to Yours, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University

Stanford neuroscientist and science communicator Ben Rein, PhD.

Why does social isolation reshape the brain?

This week, Ben Rein, a Neuroscientist, science communicator, and author of 'Why Brains Need Friends,' shares how connection influences brain health and what science says about loneliness in the modern world.

🎙️ neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/why-our...

What a great way to kick off fall events. Thanks for another fantastic symposium!

Audience members listen attentively to a speaker with research posters in the background.

Attendees Tolu Oyeniyi and Veronica Augustina Bot network at the symposium poster session.

David Seong discusses his research from the lab of Nima Aghaeepour at the symposium poster session.

Aaron Gitler, a Stanford Medicine Basic Science Professor in the Department of Genetics and a member of the Knight Initiative Steering Committee, and Elizabeth Mormino, an associate professor (research) of neurology and neurological sciences (neurology research), smile for the camera at the symposium poster session.

Thank you to our wonderful speakers and everyone who joined us at the Fall 2025 Symposium and Poster Session! It was a day full of insights into the latest research on healthy brain aging, resilience, and various neuroscience studies at Stanford.

Text: Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience Fall 2025 Symposium. Image collage, top row, from left: 1. Digital Pathology — Oil Red O staining of a prefrontal cortex sample. It stains neutral lipids to assess lipid pathology. (triacylglycerols and sterol esters). The lipid staining gives an idea of lipid pathology to track a feature of brain aging. The red stains are positive stains (neutral lipid aggregates within cells). 2.Dr. John W. Day, Stanford University. 3. Dr. Soyon Hong, University College London. 4. Dr. Alina Isakova, Stanford University. Bottom row, from left: 1. Dr. Andrew C. Yang, UCSF, Gladstone Institutes. 2. Dr. Hongkui Zeng, Allen Institute for Brain Science. 3. Dr. Xuchen Zhang, Stanford University. 4. Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience logo.

Our Fall Symposium is today! We look forward to our poster session and talks by:

John W. Day, Soyon Hon @soyonhonglab.bsky.social,
Alina Isakova, Andrew C. Yang, Hongkui Seng @hongkuizeng.bsky.social, and Xuchen Zhang.

NIH Directors Transformative Research Award

Bianxiao Cui, the Job and Gertrude Tamaki Professor of Chemistry in the School of Humanities and Sciences, and Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute affiliate.

Congrats to Bianxiao Cui on receiving the Transformative Research Award from the National Institutes of Health!

Dr. Cui will use this grant to support research to uncover and target a newly identified survival mechanism of metastatic cancer cells.

Read more: news.stanford.edu/stories/2025...

Image of the Stanford Discovery walk.

Anne Brunet, the Michele and Timothy Barakett Professor of Genetics at Stanford Medicine and Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute affiliate.

Six @stanford.edu scientists, including Anne Brunet @brunetlab.bsky.social, have been awarded High-Risk, High-Reward Research program grants from the National Institutes of Health.

This will support Brunet's work on the peripheral nervous system, organs & aging.

news.stanford.edu/stories/2025...

Dr. Kristy Zera gave a talk on “Blocking the VLA4/VCAM1 axis prevents infarct-induced neurodegeneration by reducing neuroinflammation and promoting vascular integrity" at the monthly Brain Resilience Seminar Series.

Dr. Carla Shatz gave a talk on “Convergence of signals for pruning at a synaptic receptor implicated in Alzheimer's disease" at the monthly Brain Resilience Seminar Series.

Great talks at our recent seminar! Featuring:

Kristy Zera - Blocking the VLA4/VCAM1 axis prevents infarct-induced neurodegeneration by reducing neuroinflammation & promoting vascular integrity

Carla Shatz - Convergence of signals for pruning at a synaptic receptor implicated in Alzheimer's Disease