Nick Silva

Thanks Wendy! Things are coming along 😃

Xin Lab Welcome! We study the cellular interactions between neurons and oligodendrocytes, which produce myelin in the central nervous system. Myelination - the process by which oligodendrocytes ensheath neuro...

Super stoked to share that I’m starting my lab at UHN @dkjei-uhn.bsky.social / @kbi-uhn.bsky.social and the University of Toronto!

If you’re interested in neuron-myelin interactions in circuit maturation and cognition, please reach out - we are hiring!

www.oligodendrocyte.org

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Amazing, congrats! 🥳

Brain-engrafted monocyte-derived macrophages from blood and skull-bone marrow exhibit distinct properties. @cp-neuron.bsky.social www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...

Targeting immune cells in the aged brain reveals that engineered cytokine IL-10 enhances neurogenesis and improves cognition Immune cells populate the old brain, but whether they can be specifically targeted to improve brain function in older individuals remains unclear. Navarro Negredo et al. dissect how aging impacts brai...

Excited to share our new study using engineered immune proteins to quench inflammation in aged brains!!

Congratulations to Paloma Navarro and the entire team!

Fantastic collaboration with Chris Garcia's lab, Tony Wyss-Coray's lab, and Saul Villeda's lab!

www.cell.com/immunity/ful...

Fintastic meeting as always, for those interested! #ZebrafishMeeting

🐟👀 SFSU Biology seminar — Thu Mar 5
2–3pm | SEC 116
Dr. Patricia Schneider (LSU): “Split Screens: Exploring Vision through the Eyes of the Four-Eyed Fish.”
Student time: 3–3:30pm. Come by!

Endogenous retrovirus-derived RNA-DNA hybrids induce microglial synaptic pruning in autism models @cp-neuron.bsky.social www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...

🧠 SFSU Biology Special Seminar
Dr. Biswa Ramani, MD, PhD (UCSF) — neurodegeneration + neuropathology + physician-scientist career path
📅 Wed 2/25/2026 • 🕙 10:00–11:40 • 📍 Hensill Hall 233 Hosted by @nicholasjsilva.bsky.social
All welcome!

Axolotls wow scientists by regenerating this complex organ Axolotls can completely rebuild their thymus, a key immune organ

Axolotls can completely rebuild their thymus, a key immune organ

Myelin sheaths in the central nervous system can withstand damage and dynamically remodel Myelin damage is a hallmark of several neurological disorders, but how it occurs remains to be fully understood. In this study, we found that early damage in zebrafish and rodent demyelination models ...

Latest from the lab, led by @ara-donia.bsky.social and @juliavdkorput.bsky.social

Huge team effort, with immense contributions by friends from nearby and around the globe.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Congrats on the amazing story! 🥳

#fluorescencefriday distribution of microglia in the whole brain

I am SO incredibly excited to announce the launch of a global list of Inspiring Black Scientists. You can use this list to nominate and connect with researchers. Please share and join us in highlighting these outstanding scientists for #BlackHistoryMonth and beyond!

www.wiley.com/en-us/resear...

Crafting tales of science with Theanne Griffith A lifelong passion for writing helped the neuroscientist land a book deal and publish 15 chapter books for early readers, covering topics ranging from what the cerebellum does to how a cake bakes.

A lifelong passion for writing helped rising star @doctheagrif.bsky.social land a book deal and publish 15 chapter books for early readers, covering topics ranging from what the cerebellum does to how a cake bakes.

By @avaskham.bsky.social

www.thetransmitter.org/craft-and-ca...

Our paper is (finally) out in Cell today!

CRISPR screens in iPSC-derived neurons reveal principles of tau proteostasis
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Great collaborative effort - read more from first author @asamelson.bsky.social below:

Peripheral cancer attenuates amyloid pathology in Alzheimer’s disease via cystatin-c activation of TREM2 Peripheral cancer inhibits amyloid pathology and rescues cognition of Alzheimer’s disease through secretion of cystatin-c (Cyst-C), which binds amyloid oligomers and activates TREM2 in microglia and e...

A landmark discovery in cancer neuroscience! Why is the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) lower in patients with a history of cancer? CELL: Peripheral cancer attenuates amyloid pathology in Alzheimer’s disease via cystatin-c activation of TREM2 www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Convergent evolution of scavenger cell development at brain borders - Nature Transcription factor osr2 is identified as a specific marker and regulator of mural lymphatic endothelial cell (muLEC) differentiation and maintenance, and muLECs and border-associated macrophages sha...

We’re delighted to see this out today! Latest work from the lab reveals insights into the evolution of brain immunity and the developmental and evolutionary plasticity of lymphatic endothelial cells.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Ageing promotes microglial accumulation of slow-degrading synaptic proteins @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Transplantation of Human IPSC-derived Microglia Ameliorates Neuropathology and Circuit Dysfunction in Progranulin-Deficient Mice Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a major cause of early-onset neurodegeneration characterized by progressive behavioral, emotional, and cognitive decline. Progranulin haploinsufficiency, a leading gen...

Proud to announce our collaboration with @blurtonjoneslab.bsky.social & the Paz lab showing that transplanted human iPSC-derived microglia in a PGRN KO mouse model restores progranulin in microglia and rescues pathology, circuitry, and behavior. Preprint out now: www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...

IFN-brite: A new interferon reporter from our lab designed by Dr. Sarah Anderson is bright and pan cellular

Decoding extracellular matrix–lysosome cross-talk and its implications for neurodegenerative diseases Reciprocal signaling between intracellular lysosomes and the extracellular matrix supports brain health.

New discoveries are reshaping how scientists understand the molecular connections between the extracellular matrix and lysosomes—and the resulting implications for research and therapeutics for neurodegenerative disorders.

Learn more in this #ScienceSignaling Review: https://scim.ag/3Yi2sFS

Maspardin/SPG21 controls #lysosome motility and TFEB phosphorylation through RAB7 positioning, say Thomas Jacqmin, Marielle Boonen and colleagues (University of Namur): rupress.org/jcb/article/...

#Trafficking #Organelles #Disease

NIH funding rates for early-career researchers plunged in 2025, new data show A Trump administration change to how NIH awards grants has sharply reduced early-stage investigators’ odds of securing funding.

Great time to be a new PI 🤦🏾‍♀️

www.statnews.com/2025/12/18/n...

Did you know the last common ancestor of #zebrafish and humans was ~450 million years ago? A whole genome duplication event (3R) occurred early in the teleost fish phylogeny. Despite this event, zebrafish and humans have about the same number of chromosomes. #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪

Dravet Syndrome is a genetic form of epilepsy caused by mutations in SCN1A. Researchers screened a library of compounds on loss-of-function scn1Lab (Nav1.1) #zebrafish and found clemizole (EPX-100) rescued the phenotype. This drug is now in Phase 3 Clinical Trials to treat seizures. #KnowYourZDM 🧪

Congrats! 🥳🥳

Time-lapse movie of mitochondria (blue) transport within neurons (green) in the tail of a transgenic #zebrafish larva. Credit to @paquetlab.bsky.social. #ZebrafishZunday 🧪

Two-photon imaging of pulsating brain activity in a #zebrafish larva that's having a seizure. Credit to Dr. Dominic Burrows. #ZebrafishZunday 🧪

NIH shut out hundreds of young scientists from funding to start their own labs Special Report: The NIH has shut out hundreds of young scientists from funding to start their own labs.

“The only reason I don’t have this funding is because my last name is Rodriguez.”

MOSAIC checked many of the boxes of the administration — but that didn't matter. It was terminated, and left grantees scrambling

Next installment of American Science, Shattered:

www.statnews.com/2025/12/08/t...