The Strittmatter, Song (@ericsongg.bsky.social), and Zhang labs are studying how misfolded alpha-synuclein—a protein associated with Parkinson’s disease—moves between neurons and is cleared from the brain. Their work could reveal new ways to limit its spread.

Managing Misfolded Proteins to Prevent Parkinson’s Disease

A Yale-led team aims to prevent the spread and increase clearance of misfolded proteins in the brain associated with Parkinson's disease.

medicine.yale.edu

Congratulations to Aaron Kuan (@kuanawanda.bsky.social), assist prof of Neuroscience, for being awarded a NIH Director’s New Innovator Award: "We design systems that will make it possible to map the entire brain and study the individual connections between neurons."

Kuan Wins NIH New Innovator Award to Map Brain Connections

Aaron Kuan, PhD, professor of neuroscience, wins NIH award and funding to map brain connections with electron microscopy.

medicine.yale.edu

There are only 10 days left to apply to the "broad" faculty search in the Department of Neuroscience!

Yale Neuroscience@yaleneuro.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The Department of Neuroscience at Yale is hiring faculty members. We have 2 searches: one general (deadline Oct 15), one focused on computational neuroscience (deadline Nov 30). Apply! apply.interfolio.com/190736 & apply.interfolio.com/190740

Tomorrow, neuroscience postdocs at Yale will have the chance to learn how to give a good chalk talk and to receive feedback on their own 🧑‍🏫. Presenter spots are gone, but you can still join as an attendee! Yale postdocs only.

The Yale Alumni Magazine is featuring @yaleneuro.bsky.social Elena Gracheva, PhD, highlighting her work on "how animals emerge, healthy, from the deathlike torpor of hibernation."

Still life

Neurophysiologist Elena Gracheva uncovers the secrets of how animals emerge, healthy, from the deathlike torpor of hibernation.

yalealumnimagazine.com

The Yale Neuroscience Postdoc Committee @yaleneuro.bsky.social is excited to host Patricia Janak, PhD, @janaklab.bsky.social, for a special seminar on Sept 24. The talk is open to all Yale affiliates and celebrates #NPAW26. We hope to see you there!

We are delighted to host Michelle Monje, MD, PhD, @michellemonje.bsky.social, for our annual Kavli Distinguished Lecture next week, Sept 22. The Lecture will be in the TAC auditorium from 4 to 5 pm, and is open to all Yale affiliates (in-person only). A reception will follow. Join us!

Researchers in the Gracheva @yaleneuro.bsky.social and Bagriantsev labs found that hibernating squirrel mechanosensory neurons—which convert touch sensation into electrical signals—are adapted to survive in low temperatures and retain their signaling capabilities.

How Hibernating Squirrels Retain Sense of Touch in the Cold

Mechanosensory neurons in ground squirrels retain their signaling abilities despite prolonged exposure to cold temperatures.

medicine.yale.edu

A recent YSM study, published in Cell by Cell Press, identifies distinct purposes for two different types of #neurons in the heart's intrinsic nervous system. Learn more about how the "little #brain on the #heart" helps maintain cardiac function: bit.ly/4wYtH73 @cellpress.bsky.social

A YSM team aims to clarify when and how #autism diverges from typical #brain development, thanks to a grant of nearly $25 million from the Aligning Research to Impact Autism (ARIA) initiative.

Yale School of Medicine Awarded a Nearly $25 Million Grant to Map the Developing Brain and Advance Autism Research

Yale School of Medicine (YSM) was awarded a grant of nearly $25 million by the Aligning Research to Impact Autism (ARIA) initiative. The award, which is part of

bit.ly

Senior neuro postdocs, reminder: the SYNAPSES deadline is in a week. Apply now!

Yale Neuroscience@yaleneuro.bsky.social · 2mo ago

📢 Calling all senior neuro postdocs: SYNAPSES brings postdocs from around the world to Yale to share their work during an in-person symposium on October 22, 2026. Apply today! Deadline Sept 3. medicine.yale.edu/neuroscience...

The Department of Neuroscience at Yale is hiring faculty members. We have 2 searches: one general (deadline Oct 15), one focused on computational neuroscience (deadline Nov 30). Apply! apply.interfolio.com/190736 & apply.interfolio.com/190740

Two new articles from the Reinisch lab @yalecellbiology.bsky.social and De Camilli lab @yaleneuro.bsky.social provide the first complete molecular characterization of VPS13A and C, two proteins involved in neurodegenerative diseases, and show that they can exist in active and inactive states.

New Insights into Proteins Linked to Neurodegeneration

Mutations in VPS13 proteins are associated with neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson’s disease. New findings could point to therapeutic avenues.

medicine.yale.edu

Applications are open for WTI Postdoctoral Fellowships! Calling experimental, computational + theoretical researchers working across disciplines to explore human cognition. Apply: apply.interfolio.com/189775 Learn more: wti.yale.edu/initiatives/postdoctoral #KnowTogether #ScienceAtYale

Postdocs - come talk at Yale!

Yale Neuroscience@yaleneuro.bsky.social · 2mo ago

📢 Calling all senior neuro postdocs: SYNAPSES brings postdocs from around the world to Yale to share their work during an in-person symposium on October 22, 2026. Apply today! Deadline Sept 3. medicine.yale.edu/neuroscience...

📢 Calling all senior neuro postdocs: SYNAPSES brings postdocs from around the world to Yale to share their work during an in-person symposium on October 22, 2026. Apply today! Deadline Sept 3. medicine.yale.edu/neuroscience...

A new study led by the Strittmatter lab reveals the structure of "oligomeric amyloid beta", an intermediate state between healthy amyloid beta and harmful plaques found in Alzheimer's disease. This result could lead to better treatment.

View of Alzheimer’s Disease Peptide Could Inform New Drugs

A new study uncovers the structure of a toxic form of amyloid beta driving brain damage associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

medicine.yale.edu

Congratulations to Kavli Postdoc Awardee Antoneta Gavoci, PhD, @yaleneuro.bsky.social, for receiving a Mentor Award from the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs & Yale Postdoctoral Association. Mentors were cited for their availability, feedback, and ability to build trust and belonging.

New work from the @neuralnandy.bsky.social, Jadi, and @stevewcchang.bsky.social labs reveals how the prefrontal cortex and amygdala coordinate during social interaction, and identifies distinct causal communication patterns between these regions.

Congratulations to Amy Arnsten, Albert E. Kent Professor of Neuroscience, for being awarded the Peter Seeburg Integrative Neuroscience Prize. She was honored for her foundational work in understanding the distinctive molecular, cellular, & circuit mechanisms that underlie executive brain functions.

Arnsten Awarded Peter Seeburg Integrative Neuroscience Prize

Amy Arnsten, PhD, Albert E. Kent professor of Neuroscience, received the 2026 Peter Seeburg Integrative Neuroscience Prize, awarded by the Schaller-Nikolich

medicine.yale.edu

The little brain on the heart-intrinsic cardiac nervous system is essential for heart function!

Yale Neuroscience@yaleneuro.bsky.social · 3mo ago

A new role for the "little brain" of the heart: a team of researchers led by @yaleneuro.bsky.social graduate student Qian Xu & associate professor Rui Chang identified two types of cardiac neurons, essential for heart function and resilience under stress. 🫀🧠

A new role for the "little brain" of the heart: a team of researchers led by @yaleneuro.bsky.social graduate student Qian Xu & associate professor Rui Chang identified two types of cardiac neurons, essential for heart function and resilience under stress. 🫀🧠

The intrinsic cardiac nervous system is essential for cardiac function and survival

The intrinsic cardiac nervous system (ICNS) is a key node in heart-brain communication and an emerging target for cardiac therapy, yet its physiologic…

sciencedirect.com

So honored for this award and thrilled to have support to deepen our work on the neural basis of predictive immune regulation! @yaleneuro.bsky.social

Klingenstein Philanthropies@klingensteinorg.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Congratulations to Emilia Favuzzi, Ph.D., recipient of a 2026 Klingenstein Fellowship Award in Neuroscience for the project, "Neural Basis of Predictive Regulation of Immune Function." @emiliafavuzzi.bsky.social www.favuzzilab.com

Your organs aren't just following orders from the brain. A new Yale study finds they build their own nervous systems and talk back, with heart tissue even able to reprogram gut neurons to act like heart cells. Read more: bit.ly/4aD8qYd

New paper from @limlabyale.bsky.social: first author Changwoo (Chris) Lee and lab members show that neurons are not the whole story in ataxia: oligodendrocytes contribute to the development of the disease.

Journal of Clinical Investigation@jci.org · 4mo ago

SCA1 is a neurodegenerative disease driven by polyQ expansion in ATXN1 doi.org/10.1172/JCI1... @limlabyale.bsky.social & team provide strong evidence on the role of oligodendrocyte-specific expression of pathogenic ATXN1 in neuronal malfunction and systemic dysfunction in mouse models.

Congratulations to LaShae Nicholson, postdoctoral fellow in the Strittmatter lab @yaleneuro.bsky.social and previous @kavliatyale.bsky.social postdoc awardee, for being named a 2026 Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Fellow!

Leading Edge Fellows Program@leadingedgeprogram.bsky.social · 4mo ago

We are thrilled to announce the 2026 Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Fellows! 40 remarkable postdocs pursuing transformative research in biological/biomedical sciences. This is the 7th Leading Edge cohort and we are so excited to welcome them! www.leadingedgesymposium.org/fellows/

A team of graduate students in neuroscience welcomed local New Haven middle schoolers for Brain Education Day🧠. From brain imaging to sensory physiology, the young students participated in fun activities to explore the wonders of the nervous system.

Engaging Local Middle Schoolers at Brain Education Day 2026

On March 29, 2026, 60 Yale scientists came together to orchestrate activities around the brain for about 90 middle school students from the greater New Haven

medicine.yale.edu

Congratulations to Emilia Favuzzi for being a 2026 Beckman Young Investigator Awardee! 🧠🏆

Emilia Favuzzi@emiliafavuzzi.bsky.social · 4mo ago

So honored to be named a 2026 #BYI. This recognition is especially meaningful as it supports a recent new direction in my lab @yaleneuro.bsky.social on how the cortex controls immune responses. Grateful to @beckman-foundation.bsky.social for their support, and congrats to all fellow awardees!

A new @nature.com study from Rui Chang's lab uses lineage tracing, 3D imaging, single-cell transcriptomics, and genetic perturbations to show how organ-specific neural circuits are formed. They reveal that organs help shape their own nervous systems.

Beyond the brain: Organs help shape the nervous systems that control them

A new Yale study finds that organs help direct the development of their own nervous systems, creating specialized networks that enable a two-way conversation between body and brain.

news.yale.edu

Lipofuscin accumulates in the brain with age and neurodegeneration. But what is it, where does it come from, and where does it go? The @schandralab.bsky.social built a lipofuscin brain atlas and shed light on its composition.

How Waste Build-Up in the Brain Occurs in Aging and Neurodegeneration

Accumulation of a biological material called lipofuscin is associated with aging and neurodegeneration. A new study uncovers a driver of this process.

medicine.yale.edu

Sreeganga Chandra Lab at Yale@schandralab.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Earlier this month, this exciting paper from previous PhD student in the lab, Sofia, came out! Take a look at her exciting work characterizing lipofuscin in aging and Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis! link.springer.com/article/10.1...