Stine Jewett 3/6/24 Stine Jewett 3/6/24

Weill Neurohub welcomes the Allen Institute as our new institutional partner!

We are delighted to announce that the Allen Institute has officially joined the Weill Neurohub partnership. Since its founding in 2019 through a gift from the Weill Family Foundation, the Weill Neurohub has embodied a vibrant network of collaborative researchers across UC Berkeley, UCSF and the University of Washington, supporting cross-institutional, multidisciplinary research programs that tackle a wide range of debilitating neurological conditions. With the Allen Institute joining this powerful alliance – and bringing to bear its field-leading expertise in ambitious, large-scale neuroscience and advanced analysis – the Weill Neurohub is now ideally positioned make transformative progress against some of the most important clinical challenges of our time.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/allen-institute-joins-the-weill-neurohub-302081583.html

Heather Dawes 5/10/23 Heather Dawes 5/10/23

Washington Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowships

The Washington Research Foundation is now accepting applications for postdoctoral fellowships supporting transformative research in the natural sciences and engineering-related disciplines. Fellowships include salary support for the postdoc at an eligible research institution in Washington state. With a focus on real-world impact, the program’s ultimate goal is for fellows’ research to benefit the public, via discoveries and innovations that make possible new products, services or practices. Twelve fellowships will be awarded in the current cycle; applications and letters of recommendation are due June 26. An information session will be held on June 2. For further details, including eligibility and application process information, visit

https://www.wrfseattle.org/grants/wrf-postdoctoral-fellowships/

Heather Dawes 2/14/23 Heather Dawes 2/14/23

Update: Current BRAIN Initiative Funding Opportunities

Weill Neurohub community members, a spreadsheet featuring currently active BRAIN Initiative funding opportunities may be found at the link below. Please always feel free to reach out to heather.dawes@ucsf.edu for assistance with proposal and team development!

Current BRAIN Initiative Funding Opportunities, February 2023

Heather Dawes 10/6/22 Heather Dawes 10/6/22

Faculty Recruitment, UC Berkeley: Assistant Professor - Statistics, Data Science, Computational or Theoretical Neurosciences

Statistics Department and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute

The Department of Statistics, in the Division of Computing, Data Science and Society at the University of California, Berkeley is consistently ranked as a top program in Statistics nationally. Since the inception of the Department in 1955, graduates and faculty of Berkeley have shaped the foundations and applications of Statistics. The department is equally proud of our interdisciplinary and collaborative nature, with many faculty and students collaborating across fields such as medicine, public health, the social sciences, and computer science.

The Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute (HWNI) is the nexus for campus-wide multidisciplinary neuroscience research at UC Berkeley. The institute has over 70 faculty members from 12 different academic departments. This unique cross-departmental structure brings together experts from a variety of fields to use the power of interdisciplinary research to achieve breakthroughs in the study of the brain and the rest of the nervous system and to drive the development of novel treatments and technologies.

The Berkeley Statistics Department and the Helens Wills Neuroscience Institute currently seek applicants with outstanding records in Statistics, Data Science and Computational/Theoretical Neurosciences for a position at the Assistant Professor level. Applicants are expected to be directly motivated by cutting-edge high-impact neuroscience questions and being deeply engaged in collaborative projects with experimentalists. Applicants who investigate computational and statistical principles underlying brain function are particularly encouraged. Relevant areas of Statistics broadly include experimental design, high-dimensional inference, machine learning and causal inference. Serious consideration will be given to the candidate’s potential for success in mentoring PhD students, record in teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and potential for effective leadership. Serious consideration will also be given to professional service, including service promoting access to and diversity in higher education and the academic profession.

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are core values of the Department of Statistics and HWNI. We believe that our excellence can only be fully realized by faculty, students, and staff who share fully our commitment to these values. We are committed to addressing the family needs of faculty, including dual-career couples and single parents. We are also interested in candidates who have had non-traditional career paths or who have taken time off for family reasons, or who have achieved excellence in careers outside academia.

For full details: https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF03588

Heather Dawes 9/27/22 Heather Dawes 9/27/22

UW Joins Industry-Academia Alliance to Accelerate Research in Neuroscience

The University of Washington has joined the Alliance for Therapies in Neuroscience (ATN), a long-term research partnership between academia and industry geared to transform the fight against brain diseases and disorders of the central nervous system.

Launched in 2021 by the University of California, San Francisco, UC Berkeley, Genentech — a member of the Roche group — and Roche Holding AG, the ATN seeks to accelerate the development of new therapies for a broad range of brain and central nervous system conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, autism, depression and psychiatric disorders. As part of the ATN, Genentech and Roche committed up to $53 million over 10 years for research at the ATN’s participating academic institutions, a collaboration that is unique for both its duration and the breadth of its ambitions.

“The Alliance for Therapies in Neuroscience is a new and transformative template for research and academia to partner, and it is an ideal collaboration for the University of Washington,” said Tom Daniel, the Emeritus Joan and Richard Komen Endowed Chair and professor of biology at the UW and incoming CEO of the Washington Research Foundation, who led efforts to join the ATN. “Scientists at the UW will be integrated with academic and industry partners in a way that has simply never been done before. And the UW will bring its cross-disciplinary strengths and expertise in neuroscience — which span medicine, engineering and basic and clinical research — to address the urgent need for new therapies, remedies and treatments in neurological diseases and disorders.”

The new alliance builds on an existing academic partnership. In 2019, the UW, UCSF and UC Berkeley formed the Weill Neurohub, a $106-million, multidisciplinary endeavor supported by the Weill Family Foundation to speed discovery and innovation across neurological and psychiatric disorders, including basic research, technology development and patient care. With the UW’s accession to the ATN, scientists at all three Weill Neurohub institutions can now access this novel pipeline to channel academic discoveries toward new therapies and treatments.

“Pairing academic researchers with industry partners early in the research process will accelerate the transformation of academic research into clinical applications,” said Dr. Stephen Hauser, the Robert A. Fishman Distinguished Professor of Neurology at UCSF and director of the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences. “And this long-term, 10-year commitment from Genentech and Roche means that researchers at UCSF, UC Berkeley and now the UW will benefit from years-long, close collaborations with industry. It is a type of partnership that hasn’t been seen before in academic or industry research.”

“Membership of the UW in ATN fully leverages the vision that we and the Weills have for the Weill Neurohub,” said Ehud Isacoff, the Evan Rausch Chair in Neuroscience at UC Berkeley and director of the Berkeley Brain Initiative. “This collaboration with Roche and Genentech – world leaders in pharma and biotech — opens powerful new directions for Weill Neurohub researchers, with crucial resources and proven track records of bringing new treatments to patients and families.”

Teams of scientists at ATN institutions will drive efforts to profile the progression of disease, identify new targets for therapies and model their effectiveness. Existing organizational infrastructure within the Weill Neurohub will serve to coordinate the expanded ATN efforts. In addition to Daniel, the other UW leader within the Weill Neurohub and the ATN is Dr. Jürgen Unützer, professor and chair of the Department of Psychi atry & Behavioral Sciences.

ATN endeavors are intended to meet current demands in neurological disease research and treatment, as well as lay the groundwork for future innovations in understanding and treating nervous system disorders.

“The ATN is focusing on pressing needs in neurological disorders across the board: not just therapies to treat conditions like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, but also methods to diagnose them at early stages, as well as understand them at the cellular and molecular level,” said Jon-Eric VanLeeuwen, director of strategic initiatives at the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences.

The UW brings a variety of strengths to the ATN, according to Daniel. Neuroscience expertise at the UW spans clinical trials, cell and molecular studies, computational modeling and even research into artificial intelligence. Neuroscientists are based across the UW’s STEM schools and colleges, including the School of Medicine, the College of Arts & Sciences and the College of Engineering. UW researchers have a strong track record of innovative cross-institutional collaborations in neuroscience with scientists across the region, including at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and the Allen Institute, which they can also draw on for ATN research.

“Through the ATN, all partners will bring their best and brightest to bear on these ‘boiling hot,’ challenging problems in neuroscience,” said Daniel.

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Courtesy of the University of Washington

Christine Liu 10/28/21 Christine Liu 10/28/21

Faculty Positions at the Intersection of Neuroscience, Computer Science, and Engineering

The Weill Neurohub, established with the exceptional generosity of Joan and Sanford I. “Sandy” Weill and the Weill Family Foundation, brings together world-class researchers and clinicians at three premier West Coast research institutions to speed the development of new treatments for neurological and psychiatric diseases.

Join the Weill Neurohub community through faculty positions at UW, UCSF, or UC Berkeley. Currently, there are faculty searches occurring at the University of Washington Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, the UC Berkeley Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (EECS) with joint appointment in the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute (HWNI), and the UW Department of Physiology and Biophysics.

Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Full Professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering

due nov 15 2021

Assistant Professor - NeuroEngineering - Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute

due Dec 10, 2021

Assistant Professor of Physiology and Biophysics

Due Nov 15, 2021

Please apply and share with communities and candidates who may be interested in these opportunities!

Ally Berke 2/25/21 Ally Berke 2/25/21

Weill Neurohub joins with Genentech, Roche to advance neuroscience research

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and UC Berkeley today announced a long-term research partnership with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, and its parent company, Roche Holding AG, to speed the development of new therapeutics for debilitating brain diseases and disorders of the central nervous system (CNS), such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, ALS and autism. UCSF and UC Berkeley will receive up to $53 million from Genentech over the course of the 10-year collaboration.

The partnership, dubbed the Alliance for Therapies in Neuroscience (ATN), is a major milestone for the Weill Neurohub, a joint research collaboration between UCSF, UC Berkeley and the University of Washington. The Weill Neurohub was launched in 2019 with gifts from the Weill Family Foundation to focus researchers from many different disciplines on one of society’s most pressing health problems — disorders of the brain and nervous system, which afflict over 1 billion people and represent the leading cause of disability worldwide. Just one year later, the Genentech and Roche partnership provides a powerful mechanism for putting those collaborations into action with a focus on developing long-needed therapies for these disorders.

Allen Institute for Brain Science seeks applicants for the Next Generation Leader Council

From our colleagues at the Allen Institute, an opportunity to join their leadership council:

Allen Institute’s MindScope Program’s annual call for applicants for the Next Generation Leader Council is now open. The council fosters the development of emerging leaders in neuroscience and recognizes the importance of fresh and innovative contributions from scientists at early stages in their careers. We are thrilled to continue this program through the recent and future evolution of the Allen Institute for Brain Science as outlined in our recent press release.

The Allen Institute for Brain Science’s mission is to accelerate the understanding of how the human brain works in health and disease. Using big science, team science and open science approaches, we generate useful public resources, drive technological and analytical advances, and discover fundamental brain properties through integration of open-ended and hypothesis-driven research and free public dissemination of our data. Since its inception, the Allen Institute for Brain Science has sought the advice and feedback of esteemed scientists through program-specific advisory councils. The Next Generation Leaders form a complementary group of advisors, bringing fresh and forward-looking perspectives, and will continue to interact with both the Cell Types and MindScope programs over the coming years.

We are seeking your help in identifying exceptional candidates to join the council. A Next Generation Leader may be selected from any basic scientific, biomedical, or technological field, but must be passionate about understanding the complex problems facing brain research today. Candidates should have demonstrated innovation and have potentially transformative research programs or ideas. We welcome diverse candidates whose experience in research, teaching, and outreach has prepared them to contribute to our commitment to making a broad, inclusive scientific impact.

Requirements are (1) a PhD and/or MD in a relevant field; (2) currently in a post-doctoral position, or began as an Assistant Professor on or after 6/12/2018 (or the equivalent level in industry).

Detailed information and application instructions are available on our website. The application deadline is June 12, 2020. If you have questions or need additional information, please contact us at NextGen@alleninstitute.org. Thank you in advance for your candidate suggestions and support.

Ally Berke 5/4/20 Ally Berke 5/4/20

Music and the Mind

Music and the Mind video

UC Berkeley’s Cal Performances is partnering with Weill Neurohub and the Weill Institute for Neurosciences on performances that illuminate the connections between performance and healing.

We do not “need” music to survive, yet rarely do we meet anyone who claims not to love it. Music has the power to unite, entertain, move, and comfort us. However, our relationship with music is full of mystery. From where does something so abstract and seemingly non-essential for human life draw its power? What can listening—an act both simple and complex—teach us about how our brains work? And what is current scientific research revealing about the therapeutic power of music to treat long-term degenerative diseases?

Music and the Mind partnerships UC Berkeley partners include the Berkeley Brain Initiative, the UC Berkeley faculties of Molecular & Cell Biology and Psychology, and Berkeley Public Health. Off-campus partners include UC San Francisco’s Weill Institute for Neurosciences and the Weill Neurohub, a partnership between UC Berkeley, UC San Francisco, and the University of Washington.

More information at calperformances.org/illuminations.

Silver Lumsdaine 3/8/20 Silver Lumsdaine 3/8/20

Weill Neurohub Launches with Investments in Foundational Projects

Weill Neurohub is supporting five inaugural high-impact neuroscience projects. This initial project funding will support the development of foundational platforms and tools in four priority areas – imaging, genomics and molecular therapies, computation and data analysis, and engineering – deemed most likely to fuel new therapeutic discoveries across the three institutions.

Weill Neurohub is supporting five inaugural high-impact neuroscience projects. A pioneering research network, the Weill Neurohub unites three premier West Coast public universities to advance treatments for brain diseases. This initial project funding will support the development of foundational platforms and tools in four priority areas – imaging, genomics and molecular therapies, computation and data analysis, and engineering – deemed most likely to fuel new therapeutic discoveries across the three institutions.

Weill Neurohub launched in November 2019 with a $106 million gift from the Weill Family Foundation. The network brings together neuroscience communities at UC San Francisco (UCSF), UC Berkeley (UCB), and the University of Washington (UW) and draws on the power of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to answer some of the toughest questions about the brain and find effective therapies for the millions of people who suffer from neurological and psychiatric illnesses. By forging interdisciplinary partnerships and harnessing resources collaboratively, the Weill Neurohub will accelerate neuroscientific and clinical breakthroughs.

An open-call application process for Weill Neurohub awards will begin later this spring, with the first grants being made in January 2021. Faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students from the neuroscience communities at all three institutions will be invited to apply. The awards committee will consider proposals for highly innovative, cross-institutional projects and “high-risk/high-reward” explorations.

The five foundational projects are:

Engineering and application of “NextGen 7T” MRI scanner

The NextGen 7T project aims to create the world’s most powerful magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. It will allow investigators to see brain structures as small as 200 to 300 microns – one-quarter of the size of a grain of sand – which is about 60 times sharper than a standard hospital MRI. This ultra-high resolution will enable the discovery of previously unknown brain circuits and functions, providing investigators with new insights into brain diseases and how to treat them. Weill Neurohub funding will complete the construction of the scanner and the facility to operate it and support research to evaluate the first use cases.

Project leaders: David Feinberg, MD, PhD (UCB); Thomas Grabowski, MD (UW); Chunlei Liu, PhD (UCB); Pratik Mukherjee, MD, PhD (UCSF)

Identification of novel treatments for Alzheimer’s and related disorders

This project aims to speed progress toward safe and effective therapies for Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders (ADRD). Historically, progress has been limited by two barriers: an incomplete understanding of the cellular processes that lead to ADRD and a lack of robust cellular models for identifying and evaluating new therapeutic targets. Weill Neurohub support will fund the development of cross-disciplinary strategies and tools to overcome these barriers, including biobanks for collecting brain tissue and cells and platforms for investigating new therapies.

Project leaders: Jennifer Doudna, PhD (UCB); Lea Grinberg, MD, PhD (UCSF); Suman Jayadev, MD (UW); C. Dirk Keene, MD, PhD (UW); Michael Rape, PhD (UCB); William Seeley, MD (UCSF); Jessica Young, PhD (UW)

Creation of a Weill Neurohub collaborative platform for data and analytics

This project will provide a platform for data-science innovation and training at the Weill Neurohub. In launching the platform, Weill Neurohub funding will support the development of new algorithms, software, and shared infrastructure for processing the vast amounts of data currently being generated in neuroscience. The funding will also support outreach and training in advanced computational science for students, fellows, and faculty members from diverse disciplines across the Weill Neurohub community.

Project leaders: Kristofer Bouchard, PhD (UCB, LBNL); Bing Brunton, PhD (UW); Thomas Grabowski, MD (UW); Roland Henry, PhD (UCSF); Geoffrey Manley, MD, PhD (UCSF); Shankar Sundaram, PhD (LLNL); Bin Yu, PhD (UCB)

Advancement of electrical stimulation for treating neurological and psychiatric illness

Electrical stimulation of the brain is a promising technique for treating a wide range of neuropsychiatric disorders, including stroke; chronic pain; and severe, intractable depression and anxiety. This project aims to improve the efficacy of next-generation neurostimulation devices, which could decode a patient’s brain activity and use that information to provide personalized, targeted stimulation for relieving symptoms. Weill Neurohub funding will support research and engineering to improve and test the effectiveness of these devices.

Project leaders: Edward F. Chang, MD (UCSF); Karunesh Ganguly, MD, PhD (UCSF); Michel Maharbiz, PhD (UCB); Chet Moritz, PhD (UW); Rikky Muller, PhD (UCB); Jeffrey G. Ojemann, MD (UW); Amy Orsborn, PhD (UW); Azadeh Yazdan-Shahmorad, PhD (UW)

Construction of next-generation microscopes for live brain imaging

This project aims to build three state-of-the-art microscopes that will allow investigators to observe brain cells in unprecedented detail. Weill Neurohub funding will support the design and engineering of the microscopes’ hardware as well as the computational infrastructure for data analysis and sharing. The completed microscopes will be available to all Weill Neurohub investigators, thereby expanding research opportunities and collaborations.

Project leaders: Graeme Davis, PhD (UCSF), Adrienne Fairhall, PhD (UW), Na Ji, PhD (UCB), Saul Kato, PhD (UCSF), Laura Waller, PhD (UCB)

Sara Shaffer 11/22/19 Sara Shaffer 11/22/19

Joint Statement on Diversity in the Weill Neurohub

Since announcing the launch of the Weill Neurohub, we have received feedback from our communities about the lack of diversity on the Weill Neurohub’s Leadership Committee. We appreciate the dialogue this has created, and recognize that we should – and will – do better.

Full statement here.