Brain Resilience Postdoctoral Scholars supported by the Knight Initiative are generating paradigm-shifting insights on the mechanisms of neurodegeneration and how to maintain brain resilience into old age.
The Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience awards interdisciplinary postdoctoral scholars with creative proposals that have the potential to generate insights on neurodegeneration and clues to emulate healthy brain aging as we get older.
"The Brain Resilience Postdoctoral Scholar Award has created an enriching community of scholars that have positively impacted my research and encouraged my interest in studying the aging brain.”
– Ravi Nath, a member of the inaugural Brain Resilience Postdoctoral Scholar cohort
Application
This program is open to current Stanford postdocs. Our next postdoc applications will open in Winter Quarter 2024.
Contact Zulema Garibo with questions.
Our Model
Program Tracks
Brain Resilience Postdoctoral Scholar Award
The Brain Resilience Postdoctoral Scholars award of the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience supports trainees generating paradigm-shifting insights on the mechanisms of neurodegeneration and how to maintain brain resilience into old age.
Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Scholar Award
Wu Tsai Neuro's Interdisciplinary Scholars supports innovative young researchers with backgrounds in basic and clinical neurosciences, biomedical sciences, physical sciences, social sciences, engineering, education, law, business and humanities who are engaged in cutting edge interdisciplinary research across the neurosciences.
Funding
This program awards two years of fellowship funding and is pleased to provide parental leave. Postdoctoral scholars also receive $5,000 of discretionary research funds annually.
Mentorship
All scholars meet monthly with their cohort and program faculty mentors Miriam Goodman and Liqun Luo to share ideas and discuss approaches to scientific and career challenges, visit each other’s labs to learn about different research techniques and areas of study, and practice communicating their research to scientific and general audiences.
In addition, Brain Resilience Scholars attend Knight Initiative events and seminars and are stewarded by Knight Initiative Associate Director Natasha Hussain and faculty mentor Elizabeth Mormino to learn from one another and build community around the topic of neurodegeneration and brain resilience.
Diversity
Our programs bring together cohorts of postdocs representing the broad range of demographic, experiential and scientific diversity. Women and postdocs from groups underrepresented in the neurosciences are strongly encouraged to apply.
Learn more
Application and Eligibility Details
Carefully review the detailed information below if you are interested in applying to the Brain Resilience Postdoctoral Scholars track or Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Scholars track of the program.
Meet our scholars
Get to know the young researchers advancing our understanding of neurodegeneration, brain aging, and neurological resilience.
Funded Brain Resilience Scholar projects
Sleep and neuronal energy management in neurodegeneration
Sleep is critical for brain function in many animals, and chronic disruptions in sleep patterns are strongly linked to the emergence of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. When animals sleep, neural
activity and brain metabolism change dramatically; however, we do not know what the molecular functions of
sleep are in the brain, nor do we know how these processes are linked to brain health.
Neural mechanisms of episodic memory resilience in longitudinal aging brains
Maintaining the health and function of the aging brain is crucial to improving the quality of older people’s lives and reducing societal burden. Aging is often accompanied by a decline in memory for life events (episodic memory), especially in those at risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Yet some at-risk individual’s manage to maintain memory function, which raises important questions about the brain mechanisms that underly memory resilience.
Evaluating the immunomodulatory role of circular RNAs in microglia
Neuroinflammation is common in several neurodegenerative diseases, with brain immune cells, specifically
microglia, being a main driver of the inflammatory process. Understanding what triggers microglial activation and its pathways will lead to a better knowledge of inflammatory mechanisms involved in neurodegenerative disease pathology. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been studied extensively in the peripheral immune system due to their ability to induce innate immune responses.
TREM1 in peripheral myeloid cells exacerbates cognitive decline in aging and Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and there is a tremendous need for improved therapeutic strategies to treat this prevalent neurodegenerative disease. A devastating symptom of AD is progressive memory loss; this particular disease feature has proven difficult to treat. However, research has begun to unravel novel drivers of AD, including the important role the body’s immune system plays in promoting memory loss.