Harvard Brain Science Initiative

Rethinking How We Train Scientists for Today’s Careers How do we prepare early-career scientists for today’s wide range of paths in and beyond the lab? Jelena Patrnogić shares a new flexible competency framework she developed with Xiuqi Li and David Van V...

Jelena Patrnogić shares a new flexible competency framework she developed with Xiuqi Li and David Van Vactor to help prepare early-career scientists for today’s wide range of career paths in and beyond the lab. brain.harvard.edu/hbi_news/ret...

We are excited to announce the 2026 HBI Postdoc Pioneer awardees! Congratulations to Jennifer Ding, Bruno Gegenhuber, Mark Khoury, Rishav Mitra, Sebastiano Trattaro, Diana Valverde, Sanket Walujkar, Cosmos Wang, & Zhexin Brian Xu! Read more about their projects at brain.harvard.edu/grants/grant....

From Stem Cells to Mature Sensory Nerves: The Satellite Glia Effect iPSC-derived sensory neurons provide an accessible platform for scientists to study sensory biology and disease; however, these cells are similar to embryonic neurons. Chelsey Derderian-LeBlang and Ro...

Chelsey Derderian-LeBlang and Rosalind Segal share new research revealing that satellite glia play a major role in sensory neuron development and degeneration. The insights gained improve scientists’ ability to study sensory disorders using in vitro models.
brain.harvard.edu/hbi_news/fro...

In darkness our eyes may fail us, but our brain cells still glimmer in response to things we cannot see. This image snapshots the activity and connections between cells in the visual cortex, the brain area responsible for processing vision, even when we are in complete darkness.

Beauty in Darkness
Shon Koren (Lab of Michael Greenberg, Harvard Medical School)

Winning submission in the 2025
#HBIBeautyOftheBrain image contest.

Visit brain.harvard.edu/beauty-of-th... to learn more. Click image for description.

This image was captured as part of our research into understanding nerve–stem cell interactions in the skin. Shown here is the intricate network of sensory neurons (blue) that innervate the skin epidermis and hair follicles (white), enabling us to perceive touch, temperature, and pain—crucial functions for adapting to a constantly changing environment.

Sensory Network Beneath the Skin
Jingyu Peng (Lab of Ya-Chieh Hsu, Harvard University)

Winning submission in the 2025
#HBIBeautyOftheBrain image contest.

Visit brain.harvard.edu/beauty-of-th... to learn more. Click image for description.

Reprogramming: A perfect recipe for a corticospinal neuron A tailored cocktail of genes can reprogram a subset of progenitors to no longer produce glial cells and instead develop into neurons involved in motor control.

Related Insight piece: elifesciences.org/articles/102...

Directed differentiation of functional corticospinal-like neurons from endogenous SOX6+/NG2+ cortical progenitors Developmentally-based directed differentiation from cortical progenitors sets a foundation for in vitro mechanistic and therapeutic disease modeling, and toward regenerative neuronal repopulation and ...

Original study here: elifesciences.org/articles/100...

The team was led by Jeff Macklis of the Dept of Stem Cell & Regenerative Biology at Harvard, co-first authors Abdulkadir Ozkan & Hari K Padmanabhan.

Researchers grow specialised nerve cells that degenerate in ALS/motor neuron disease and are damaged in spinal cord injury A research team has developed a way to produce a subset of highly specialised brain neurons that centrally degenerate in motor neuron disease and are damaged in spinal cord injury, laying foundations ...

In a new study in @elife.bsky.social, researchers grow specialised nerve cells that degenerate in ALS/motor neuron disease and are damaged in spinal cord injury: elifesciences.org/for-the-pres...

This image shows neurons in the brain of a larval Japanese Rice Fish that transmit motor commands to the spinal cord. This was achieved by embedding a crystal of dye into the spinal cord and allowing the axons to carry dye to the brain. Color represents z-depth.

Spinal Projection Neurons in Larval Japanese Rice Fish
Jackson Roberts (Lab of Florian Engert, Harvard University)

Winning submission in the 2025
#HBIBeautyOftheBrain image contest.

Visit brain.harvard.edu/beauty-of-th... to learn more. Click image for description.

The Neuroscience Scholars Program application is now open!

Connect with mentors, access professional development resources, and build relationships that will support your research career.

Applications close Wednesday, February 11.

🔗 vist.ly/4nntf

#neurosky #neuroskyence #academicchatter

The Developing Cranial Motor System
Gabriela Carrillo & Fiona Mensching (Lab of Elizabeth Engle,
@bostonchildrens.bsky.social )

Winning submission in the 2025
#HBIBeautyOftheBrain image contest.

Visit brain.harvard.edu/beauty-of-th... to learn more. Click image for description.

Click here to register and learn more: brain.harvard.edu/hbi_events/i...

🧠 Join us Wed, Feb 4 at 12:30pm for a talk organized by the @harvardbrainsci.bsky.social - "The Nose as a Window Into the Brain" at HMS. Dr. Mark Albers and patient James Carney discuss nasal biomarkers & brain health. Lunch provided!

The mammalian cochlea is a spiral-shaped organ that mediates the sense of hearing with astounding precision. Here, auditory neurons are shown with their cell bodies in magenta, extending cyan axons to innervate sound-sensitive cells around the spiraling border of the tissue, also in magenta.

Where Sound Takes Shape
Katelyn Boulanger (Goodrich Lab, Harvard Medical School)
Winning submission in the 2025 #HBIBeautyOftheBrain image contest.

Visit brain.harvard.edu/beauty-of-th... to learn more and see other submissions. Click image for description.

Humans of HBI - Hannah Farnsworth Hannah's research aims to uncover how brain tumors integrate into neural networks and influence cognitive processes such as learning and behavior.

Meet Hannah Farnsworth on #HumansofHBI
brain.harvard.edu/hbi_humans/h...

@venkatesh-lab.bsky.social

You can read a preprint of his newest publication here: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

Humans of HBI - Byung Hun Lee Byung Hun studies how how neurons communicate and visualizes their activities in the brain.

Meet Byung Hun Lee on #HumansofHBI
brain.harvard.edu/hbi_humans/b...

Decoding Epilepsy with the Power of AI - Kempner Institute The Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural and Artificial Intelligence has launched an ambitious new project that brings together the frontiers of biology and computing to uncover how genetic […]

🧠💻Kempner researchers are using the new #DGXSpark to map how genes shape the brain — bringing the power of #AI straight to the bench and accelerating the pace of discovery.🚀
bit.ly/4ogQabW
@blsabatini.bsky.social @harvardmed.bsky.social @bethstevenslab.bsky.social @bostonchildrens.bsky.social

Congrats to our founding co-director Josh Sanes on winning the Gerard Prize from Society for Neuroscience!

The Brain’s Relapse Wires: A Tale of Two Pathways
The fight against addiction is a fight against memory.
@harvardmed.bsky.social
brain.harvard.edu/hbi_news/the...

Thank you for participating Luis!

Meet @luxorboero.bsky.social on #HumansofHBI
"My work aims to understand how animals integrate this noisy odor information over time to figure out where an odor is coming from"
brain.harvard.edu/hbi_humans/l...
@neurovenki.bsky.social

Thanks for sharing!

From Pipettes to Paychecks: Exploring Biotech Careers - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology Monday, October 20 | 3:00–4:00 PM | BioLabs Lecture Hall, Room 1080 Wondering what comes after grad school or your postdoc? Join MCB for a lively panel discussion […]

From Pipettes to Paychecks: Exploring Biotech Careers 🧠 🧪🧬 #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @dulaclab.bsky.social @rivaselenarivas.bsky.social @zymoresearch.bsky.social @harvardbrainsci.bsky.social @neurovenki.bsky.social

Autism. Chronic pain. Rising colon cancer rates. New Harvard center explores urgent health problems. - The Boston Globe Harvard's new Brain-Body Center will dive deep into health issues that have stymied researchers.

The new center, supported by a gift to Harvard University from philanthropist K. Lisa Yang, will bring together scientists working to demystify brain-body communication.
@bostonglobe.com @harvardmed.bsky.social
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/17/m...

Absolutely one of the highlights of my scientific career! My whole lab was inspired by Marianne’s curiosity, willpower, optimism, and generosity. Thank you so much Marianne, and thanks to the Harvard Brain Science Initiative for posting about her visit ☺️

When your research donor is 6 — Harvard Gazette First-grader raises $1,000 for axolotl research, meets her scientist hero — and maybe gets taste of what she wants to do when she grows up

When Your Research Donor Is 6
First-grader Marianne Cullen raises $1,000 for axolotl research, meets @jesslamae.bsky.social, her scientist hero — and maybe gets taste of what she wants to do when she grows up.

news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

Making real gains in war on Alzheimer’s — Harvard Gazette Researchers hope new technologies, approaches usher in era of effective treatment for incurable disease amid urgency of ‘silver tsunami’

The Harvard Gazette summarizes the current state of Alzheimer's research and profiles the research of Steven Arnold, Reisa Sperling, Ted Zwang, @sdas617.bsky.social, Bradley Hyman, and Bruce Yankner.
@teamcart.bsky.social

news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

Bedtime Story Elizabeth Klerman, MD/PhD ’90, a professor at Massachusetts General Hospital’s (MGH) Department of Neurology, and a faculty affiliate of Harvard Medical School’s (HMS) Division of Sleep Medicine,…

Elizabeth Klerman, MD/PhD ’90, a professor at MGH, and a faculty affiliate of Harvard Medical School, contends we’re almost certainly not getting enough rest, we probably don’t know how tired we are, and our sleep debt is affecting our work and health.