Congratulations to HWNI faculty members Fritz Sommer, Bruno Olshausen, and members of their labs!
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The Helen Wills
Neuroscience Institute
Deepening our understanding of the brain and the rest of the nervous system through original research and neurotechnology innovation, and training the next generation of neuroscientists.
The Helen Wills
Neuroscience Institute
Deepening our understanding of the brain and the rest of the nervous system through original research and neurotechnology innovation, and training the next generation of neuroscientists.
An image of dendritic spines on neurons in the mouse cortex, produced using new microscopy technology developed by HWNI member Eric Betzig.
A Multidisciplinary Approach to Neuroscience
The Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute (HWNI) is the nexus for campus-wide multidisciplinary neuroscience research at UC Berkeley. Our community includes over 70 faculty members in 12 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 nervous system, and to drive the development of novel treatments and technologies.
We support our faculty and their labs in their individual research aims, and foster opportunities for collaboration. We also sponsor major research initiatives, run five innovative neurotechnology and research centers, and train the next generation of neuroscientists through our Neuroscience PhD Program and the training of postdoctoral fellows who conduct research in HWNI faculty labs. We also have over 100 PhD Program alumni who work in a variety of careers across the globe.
Latest News
Austin Roorda awarded Rank Prize for Optoelectronics
Congratulations to HWNI member Austin Roorda!
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Samantha Lewis awarded $500,000 grant from Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Congratulations to HWNI member Samantha Lewis!
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Berkeley scientists discover retinal cells that help stabilize our world view
The Puthussery lab is the first to discover these cells in the primate retina.
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Markita Landry named 2023 Schmidt Science Polymath
Congratulations to HWNI member Markita Landry!
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Samantha Lewis receives 2023 Prytanean Faculty Enrichment Award
Congratulations to HWNI member Samantha Lewis!
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Nature’s poisons: Why we love them and abuse them
New book by HWNI member Noah Whiteman explores the delicious toxins all around us.
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UC Berkeley Nobel laureates Betzig and Schekman write about their research for kids
These HWNI members published in Frontiers for Young Minds, founded by HWNI member Bob Knight.
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Recent Faculty Publications
Front Cell Neurosci. 2023 Nov 8;17:1270489. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2023.1270489. eCollection 2023.ABSTRACTAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder with increasing prevalence. Over 1,000 risk genes have now been implicated in...
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27
Nov
2023
Nat Methods. 2023 Nov 27. doi: 10.1038/s41592-023-02068-7. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTTo increase granularity in human neuroimaging science, we designed and built a next-generation 7 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging scanner to...
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17
Nov
2023
Cell Rep. 2023 Nov 16;42(11):113440. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113440. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTRetinal ribbon synapses undergo functional changes after eye opening that remain uncharacterized. Using light-flash stimulation and paired patch-clamp recordings, we...
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Cereb Cortex. 2023 Nov 15:bhad435. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhad435. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTThe goal of precision brain health is to accurately predict individuals' longitudinal patterns of brain change. We trained a machine...
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Neurosci Lett. 2023 Nov 10;818:137556. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2023.137556. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTADHD is a neurocognitive disorder characterized by attention difficulties, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, often persisting into adulthood with substantial personal and...
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