We’re happy to announce a new $90M gift from Phil and Penny Knight to extend the Knight Initiative's work at @stanfordbrain.bsky.social. This generous gift will expand our community and advance research in dementia, healthy brain aging, and resilience. Learn more: news.stanford.edu/stories/2026...

Our Year-End Symposium and Research Showcase is tomorrow! We are excited to host esteemed speakers in the field, including Nir Barzilai (@nirbarzilaimd.bsky.social), Anne Brunet (@brunetlab.bsky.social), Takeshi Uenaka (@tuenaka.bsky.social), Ivan Soltesz, and Katrin Andreasson.

This May seminar shared ongoing studies from our community: Caitlin Taylor—Histone deacetylase inhibition expands cellular proteostasis repertoires to enhance neuronal stress resilience. Xiqian Jiang—Dissecting Pathologic Circuits in Parkinson's Disease to Develop Cell-Type-Specific Therapeutics.

PODCAST: Kathleen Poston, MD, MS explains early non-motor signs of Parkinson's—gut clues, new biomarkers, and how they could reshape diagnosis and treatment. https://neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/could-parkinsons-start-gut #ParkinsonsDisease #GutBrain

Vadim Gladyshev of @harvardmed.bsky.social discussed "Targeting Aging and Rejuvenation" at an Aging Research seminar organized by the Knight Initiative and the Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research.

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...

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...

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:

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...

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?...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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.

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...

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...

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

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...

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...

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...

Congrats to the third round of Big Ideas in Neuroscience grant awardees! From studying post-viral fatigue to engineering transparent mouse brains, these five projects will push the bounds of what’s possible in the field. Learn more: neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/big-ide...

In our first Brain Resilience Seminar of 2026, Julia Belk shared her research, "Clonal hematopoiesis and the aging brain," and Alina Isakova discussed data from the Brain Resilience Lab in a talk, "The molecular landscape of human brain aging: Known features and unexpected findings."

Each year, Stanford researchers advance our understanding of the mind and brain and beyond. As we look ahead to the new year, we compiled some key studies covered by Wu Tsai Neuro and @brainresilience.bsky.social in 2025. 🔗 neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/2025-ne...

Meet Dr. Hülya Torun, a postdoctoral researcher at the Brain Resilience Lab. "Science generates the accumulation of knowledge so that physicians can use that knowledge to heal people, and I think that was the reason that I wanted to be a neuroscientist." youtube.com/shorts/C_USl...

Get alerts on the latest brain aging news, publications, datasets, and tools by subscribing to our newsletter. The first edition will go out on Dec 17 via email and LinkedIn. Subscribe via email: stanford.us11.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=... Follow on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/stan...

Meet Theo Guo, a research associate at the Brain Resilience Lab. “One potential impact of this work is that more of humanity will be able to live and enjoy longer lifespans and healthspans, meaning more life spent in a healthy state.” youtube.com/shorts/GM3Wt...

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."

Interested in neural stem cells and neurogenesis throughout lifespan? Exciting meeting in 2026 in Switzerland!! neuro-unige.ch/news/csf-mee...

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-...

Gummy clumps called amyloid plaques have long been the focus of Alzheimer’s therapies. But some Stanford neuroscientists are focusing on the stringy tangles of a protein called tau, the unsung second hallmark of Alzheimer’s. Learn more: med.stanford.edu/news/insight...

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...

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...

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...

“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...

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.