Browse wide-ranging research at the frontiers of neuroscience supported by Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute grants, awards, and training fellowships.
Projects
NeuroChoice Initiative (Phase 2)
Stanford NeuroTechnology Initiative (Phase 2)
Our goal is to develop the next generation of neural interfaces that match the resolution and performance of the biological circuitry. We will focus on two signature efforts to spearhead the necessary advances: high-density wire bundles for electrical recording and stimulation, and analog and digital bi-directional retinal prostheses for restoration of vision.
Stanford Brain Rejuvenation Project (Phase 2)
The Stanford Brain Rejuvenation Project is an initiative by leading aging researchers, neuroscientists, chemists, and engineers to understand the basis of brain aging and rejuvenation and how they relate to neurodegeneration.
Neuro-circuit interventional research consortium for understanding the brain and improving treatment
Combining a detailed understanding of brain circuits with technology that modulates neural activity to develop improved ways of treating mental health conditions.
NeuroVision Initiative
The goal is to forge an inter-disciplinary collaboration between physicists, biologists, chemists, and translational medical scientists by inventing new ways of visualizing the brain, from individual molecules to neuronal circuits to entire brain regions, from a normally functioning neuron to a diseased brain.
The NeuroFab: The hub for new ideas in neuro-engineering
Creating an incubator for next-generation neural interface platforms.
Brain-machine interfaces: Science, engineering, and application
Developing technology to interface with the brain and create intelligent prosthetics.
Stroke Collaborative Action Network
Breaches barriers in our understanding of stroke to develop therapies and improve stroke recovery.
NeuroChoice: Optimizing Choice - from neuroscience to public policy
NeuroPlant Initiative
The NeuroPlant Initiative aims to leverage a botanical armamentarium to manipulate the brain — by building a pipeline to explore chemicals synthesized in plants as potential new treatments for neurological disease and as a window into the chemistry of the brain.
Neurodevelopment Initiative
Investigating how the brain develops from infancy to adulthood across species, focusing on how the interplay between structural development, functional development, experience and affect brain computations and ultimately behavior.
Stanford Brain Organogenesis Program (Phase 1)
Developing brain organoids – three dimensional brain tissues grown in the lab – to study human brain development, evolution and neuropsychiatric disorders.
Neuro-omics Initiative (Phase 1)
Creating new tools to help neuroscientists bridge the study of genes and proteins operating in the brain to the study of brain circuits and systems, which could lead to a deeper understanding of brain function and disease.
Stanford Brain Organogenesis Program (Phase 2)
Developing brain organoids and assembloids – three dimensional brain tissues grown in the lab – to study human brain development, evolution and neuropsychiatric disorders.
Neuro-Omics Initiative (Phase 2)
Creating new tools to help neuroscientists bridge the study of genes and proteins operating in the brain to the study of brain circuits and systems, which could lead to a deeper understanding of brain function and disease.
Manipulating inflammation in the aging brain to promote brain resilience
Inflammation is a hallmark of brain aging, yet the source of inflammation in the old brain — and how to eliminate it — is unknown. This team aims to provide insight on how inflammation affects the aging brain that could potentially lead to the generation of new therapies to promote brain resilience.
Mechanistic dissection and therapeutic capture of an exercise-inducible metabolite signaling pathway for brain resilience
Exercise improves cognition and protects against age-associated neurodegenerative diseases, but further research is needed to understand exactly how this occurs. This project aims to pave the way for therapeutics that can capture the benefits of exercise for promoting brain resilience.
Mutant microglia and resilience to Alzheimer’s disease
This project aims to identify how mutant peripheral immune cells that invade the brain might actually reduce Alzheimer’s disease risk. The research will explore how to mimic these cells’ resilience-promoting effects to design new Alzheimer’s therapies.
From gut to brain: reprogramming peripheral macrophages at the intestinal barrier to prevent age-associated inflammation and cognitive decline
This team will investigate whether a decline in intestinal immune cell metabolism drives age-related inflammation and cognitive decline. By replacing aged intestinal macrophages with metabolically healthy ones, they hope to develop a novel approach to enhance cognitive resilience.
Unleashing engineered T cells as disease sensors and therapeutic actuators for neurodegenerative disease
This project will explore whether amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) result from immune cells attacking altered neurons. The team aims to pioneer the use of engineered immune cells as therapies for neurodegenerative disorders.
Role of Proteostasis and Organelle Homeostasis in Brain Resilience during Aging
This team aims to define how and why protein production breaks down in aging cells, leading to disease. This research may lead to new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches against neurodegenerative diseases and potentially aging itself.