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2021 cohort of Postdoctoral Fellows for Academic Diversity named
a photograph of Penn's college hall framed by green leaves during the summer

The Office of the Vice Provost for Research announces the 2021 cohort of Penn’s Postdoctoral Fellows for Academic Diversity, the largest in the program’s history thus far. This fellowship program is designed to help postdocs advance their careers while enriching the community of scholars here at Penn. 

2021 cohort of Postdoctoral Fellows for Academic Diversity named

The competitive program, managed by Office of the Vice Provost for Research, is designed to support early career researchers and scholars while enriching the Penn community.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Scientists say active early learning shapes the adult brain
Person sitting at a table with blurry people in front and a screen hanging on the wall behind, which reads, "Experiential effects on brain development."

Martha J. Farah, the Annenberg Professor of Natural Sciences, is director of the Center for Neuroscience & Society at Penn. (Pre-pandemic image: Courtesy Martha Farah) 

Scientists say active early learning shapes the adult brain

Through the Abecedarian Project, an early education, randomized controlled trial that has followed children since 1971, Penn and Virginia Tech researchers reveal new discoveries about brain structure decades later.

Michele W. Berger

What happens in the brain when we imagine the future?
A composite image that supposed to be looking inside the mind of the person pictured. In the mind it shows blue and purple coloration, with specks of light breaking through.

What happens in the brain when we imagine the future?

Research from neuroscientist Joseph Kable finds that two sub-networks are at work, one focused on creating the new event, another on evaluating whether that event is positive or negative.

Michele W. Berger

A new theory for what’s happening in the brain when something looks familiar
A black-and-white illustration with many lines and circles and a person sitting in the middle.

How can the brain distinguish between something new and something familiar? Research from the Visual Memory Lab led by Nicole Rust has a new theory, replacing one long-held by the field. (Image: Julia Kuhl)

A new theory for what’s happening in the brain when something looks familiar

This novel concept from the lab of neuroscientist Nicole Rust brings the field one step closer to understanding how memory functions. Long-term, it could have implications for treating memory-impairing diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Michele W. Berger

The immune link between a leaky blood-brain barrier and schizophrenia
A microscopic image of a neuron labeled in fluorescent colorful markers

A genetic condition known as 22q.11.2 deletion syndrome is associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia. A Penn Vet-led team found that a leaky blood-brain barrier, allowing inappropriate immune involvement in the central nervous system, may contribute to this or perhaps other neuropsychiatric conditions. (Image: Courtesy of Jorge Iván Alvarez)

The immune link between a leaky blood-brain barrier and schizophrenia

Research from the School of Veterinary Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia points to the involvement of the immune system the brain as a contributor to mental disorders such as schizophrenia.

Katherine Unger Baillie

The immune link between a leaky blood-brain barrier and schizophrenia

The immune link between a leaky blood-brain barrier and schizophrenia

For people with schizophrenia and other mental disorders, a more permissive blood-brain barrier appears to allow the immune system to get improperly involved in the central nervous system. The inflammation that arises likely contributes to the clinical manifestations of neuropsychiatric conditions, according to new findings from a team led by researchers from the School of Veterinary Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). “Our hypothesis was that, if the immune function of the blood-brain barrier is compromised, the resulting inflammation will have an impact on the central nervous system,” says Jorge Iván Alvarez, an assistant professor at Penn Vet and senior author on the work, published in the journal Brain. 

Neuralink’s monkey can play Pong with its mind. Imagine what humans could do with the same technology

Neuralink’s monkey can play Pong with its mind. Imagine what humans could do with the same technology

Anna Wexler of the Perelman School of Medicine expressed skepticism about Neuralink, a company developing brain-machine interfaces. “Neuroscience is far from understanding how the mind works, much less having the ability to decode it,” she said.