News

Neurons formed through two different “birth routes” in a mouse embryo grow into adult neurons with noticeably different structures and functions.

In a new study, a team of Duke researchers led by Neurobiology training faculty member Bradley Goldstein and including Neurobiology alum Tiffany Ko show that a quick, outpatient nasal swab can pick up early biological changes linked to Alzheimer’s, even before thinking and memory problems appear.

Duke University School of Medicine scientists have discovered a hidden brain circuit that helps explain how we learn from experience.

Debra Silver, PhD, is pursuing one of neuroscience’s biggest questions: What makes a human brain human? She researches it with the same mix of precision and adventure she brings to her passion for scuba diving.

The initiative will support recruitment of faculty with expertise at the intersection of AI and biology to be embedded in basic science departments.  It will also provide shared computational resources, a seminar series, coding bootcamps, and access to cutting-edge laboratory technologies.

In older adults, postoperative delirium—characterized by confusion, inattention, and agitation—can occur following surgical procedures, and some individuals fail to fully recover. Researchers led by Anesthesiology faculty member Niccolò Terrando and Neurobiology training faculty member Warren Grill have identified that activating the vagus nerve, which links the brain to multiple organ systems, can reduce brain inflammation and cognitive disturbances after surgery in mice predisposed to Alzheimer’s-like disease. These results indicate a promising therapeutic approach for managing postoperative delirium in humans. The intervention, known as percutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (pVNS), employs a minimally invasive, skin‑applied device developed at Duke University to deliver targeted electrical stimulation to the vagus nerve.

A team led by Neurobiology's Josh Huang and postdoc first-author Yi Li studied how different parts of the mouse brain work together to guide a natural action where the animal reaches out and brings water to its mouth to drink.

Second year graduate student Jillian Saunders (Eroglu Lab) and postdoc Julia Dziabis (Scott-Hewitt Lab) have been selected to receive 2026 Duke Institute for Brain Sciences Germinator Awards for their innovative proposals for interdisciplinary research in the brain sciences.

Sixth year graduate student Michael Sindoni of Grandl Lab has been selected to receive the 2026 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.

 Discovery at Duke School of Medicine suggests a new way to tackle the root cause of nerve pain by helping cells share energy.