Many congratulations to Unit postdoctoral researcher Dr Shenghong He on being awarded a prestigious Senior Research Fellowship by Parkinson’s UK.

Parkinson’s UK is a charity that aims to drive better care, treatments and quality of life for people with Parkinson’s. The Senior Research Fellowships are designed to recognise future leaders of Parkinson’s research and to provide them with funds to set up their own project teams as they develop their careers.

Shenghong will start his Senior Research Fellowship in October 2025. His Fellowship research will be focused on gaining a better understanding of the brain functions that contribute to tremor and gait disturbances in Parkinson’s, with a view to using this knowledge to improve brain stimulation techniques for better clinical outcomes in treating Parkinson’s.

Shenghong commented: “I am delighted to be awarded this Fellowship. I look forward to working closely with colleagues in the Unit and at Parkinson’s UK to advance my research on Parkinson’s.”

Unit Director Professor Peter Magill commented: “We are thrilled for Shenghong. This new Fellowship is richly deserved. Shenghong is an outstanding researcher, and a valued colleague and collaborator. His scientific vision is in excellent alignment with the Unit’s discovery and translational research portfolios, and we look forward to working with him during his Fellowship. Shenghong’s achievement provides another sterling endorsement of the Unit’s commitment to excellence in the training and career development of its membership.”

Congratulations to Unit postdoctoral researcher Dr Vitor Lopes dos Santos on winning the Director’s Award for Open Research for 2024.

The Award is given annually, on the basis of nominations made by Unit members, to recognise and celebrate the exemplary contributions of an individual or small collective to the Unit’s Open Research activities. The Award reflects diverse contributions to Open Research, from the sharing of data, code, experimental protocols and materials, to the promotion of best practice and the provision of enabling infrastructure.

Professor Peter Magill announced Vitor’s Award at the Unit’s recent Science Day. Professor Magill commented “It is a great pleasure to recognise and reward Vitor in this way. He has demonstrated outstanding leadership in disseminating best practice in Open Research. He has not only made important contributions to the Unit’s Data Sharing Platform but has also worked with and empowered external researchers to curate data and share code to enhance their reuse and reproducibility. The Award Committee was also impressed by Vitor’s sustained commitment to supporting his early-career researcher colleagues in their own Open Research activities.”

Our congratulations go to Unit D.Phil. student Demi Brizee for successfully defending her doctoral thesis, entitled “On superficial interneurons of dorsal hippocampal CA1”, in her viva voce examination on 11th February 2025.

Demi’s viva examiners were Assistant Professor Tristan Geiller (Yale School of Medicine, USA) and Professor Colin Akerman (University of Oxford).

Demi was supervised in the Unit by Professor David Dupret, Dr Vitor Lopes dos Santos, and Professor Peter Magill.

The Unit held its nineteenth Science Day on Friday 7th February 2025. Unpublished work and future research projects were the centre of conversation, and Unit members and visitors eagerly took the chance to give the informal feedback that is essential for fostering collaborative working across S.T.E.M.M. disciplines.

There were 8 short talks delivered by the Unit’s early-career researchers. Attendees were also treated to special lectures from Unit alumni Dr Paul Dodson (University of Bristol), Dr Stéphanie Trouche (University of Montpellier, France), Dr Hayriye Cagnan (Imperial College London), and Dr Abbey Holt Becker (Medtronic, USA).

Unit Director Professor Peter Magill commented: “It was exciting to see how the work of the Unit’s early-career researchers continues to deliver critical new insights into brain function and dysfunction. As the Unit approaches its 10th anniversary, this Science Day provided a great opportunity to reflect on our collective achievements since the Unit was created. Markers of the Unit’s success are many and varied, straddling scientific discoveries, translational innovation, research culture, and cross-sector capacity building. Our alumni and current membership are well positioned to ensure the Unit has a lasting legacy of excellence.”

Many congratulations to Unit postdoctoral researcher Dr Xenia Grande on being awarded a Walter Benjamin Postdoctoral Fellowship by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

This highly competitive Fellowship will enable Xenia to pursue an innovative research project, enhancing her technical skills, advancing thematic development, and increasing her scientific independence. Xenia will conduct her Fellowship research as part of the Barron Group in the Unit and will also collaborate with Professor Jill O’Reilly and team at the Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford.

Xenia’s research project aims to provide new insights into the physiological and anatomical mechanisms in the human brain that support the construction of coherent narratives from distinct events. Xenia will focus her work on entorhinal-hippocampal circuits in the brain, investigating them using a cross-scale approach that integrates data from non-invasive 7T functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging with data from intracranial electrophysiological recordings made in epilepsy patients. Xenia anticipates her research will advance understanding of how humans extract structure and comprehension from the external world and that it will lay the groundwork for assessing complex human cognition from a mechanistic perspective in both health and disease.

We are delighted to announce that the MRC Brain Network Dynamics Unit has received competitive supplementary funding from the Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) initiative to continue a substantial multi-year research collaboration that aims to advance the understanding of brain cell and circuit dysfunction in Parkinson’s.

The extended international collaboration builds on the MRC Unit’s fruitful interactions with colleagues at the University of Oxford, the University of Boston, USA, the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, the University of Peking, China, and Stanford University, USA, as well as with other members of ASAP’s Collaborative Research Network. To support this collaboration, which started in 2021, the MRC Unit will leverage its leading expertise in high-resolution in vivo phenotyping of rodent models of Parkinson’s.

ASAP is a coordinated research initiative to advance targeted basic research for Parkinson’s disease. Its mission is to accelerate the pace of discovery and inform the path to a cure through collaboration, research-enabling resources, and data sharing. The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research is ASAP’s implementation partner and issued the supplemental grant.

Professor Peter Magill, who will continue to lead the Unit’s contribution to the collaboration, commented, “This presents another exciting opportunity to enhance the Unit’s strong portfolio of discovery and translational neuroscience research. We look forward to progressing our collaborative effort to define why, how and when brain network dynamics go awry in Parkinson’s.”

Unit researchers recently brought cutting-edge neuroscience to the public through interactive exhibits and live demonstrations at this year’s New Scientist Live event, held in London from 12th to 14th October. New Scientist Live is a huge festival of ideas and discoveries, showcasing the latest in science and technology, with an attendance of over 25,000 people. Visitors to the MRC BNDU stand were invited to immerse themselves in the latest advances in neuroscience, exploring how researchers can decode brain signals to understand movement, memory, and early indicators of neurological disorders.

The Unit stand was a hub of hands-on activities, offering visitors a chance to see a brain-machine interface (BMI) in action and to witness how these innovative technologies may transform communication and interaction. Visitors were talked through each activity by some of the Unit’s early-career researchers. Postdoctoral researcher Shenghong He demonstrated the potential of BMI by spelling words on a screen using signals from his brain, recorded by an electroencephalogram (EEG) cap. This demonstration captivated audiences and led to discussions about how we can utilise brain waves in the future.

Another popular activity at the Unit stand was the chance to look through a fluorescence microscope and observe dopamine cells in the brain. This special experience allowed visitors to see firsthand the cellular structures that play a crucial role in the brain’s movement and reward circuits, sparking insightful conversations about how studying these cells is essential to understanding complex brain functions and changes in brain conditions such as Parkinson’s.

Visitors were also introduced to other innovative research methods, including transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a non-invasive technique that enables scientists to stimulate nerve cells and cause responses like muscle twitches. Young attendees were especially delighted to use the TMS machine to stimulate the researchers’ muscles!

Visitor feedback from the event reflected the enthusiasm and curiosity sparked by the MRC BNDU stand. When asked to describe their visit in one word, feedback was overwhelmingly positive: attendees called the experience “informative,” “fascinating,” “awe-inspiring,” and “super interesting.” The Unit team’s interactions with attendees further solidified the experience as a highlight, with one visitor remarking on the “amazing experience” and “wonderful presenters.”

The third day of New Scientist Live is a dedicated Schools’ Day with an attendance of 7,500 students. Pupils visiting the MRC BNDU stand were able to discuss not only the research carried out at the Unit, but also talk with postdoctoral staff and students about careers in STEM. Following this, 77% of respondents said that they “would be more likely to consider a career as a brain researcher.”

Natalie Doig, Co-Chair of the BNDU Public Engagement Committee, reflected, “This event offered a valuable opportunity for Unit researchers to connect with the public, engaging a diverse audience in meaningful discussions about brain research and future treatments. Ultimately, we hope to inspire the next generation of neuroscientists! A massive thank you to all Unit members involved.”

Come and explore the brain’s hidden symphony! Set-up of the MRC BNDU Stand at New Scientist Live 2024.

Unit researcher Polytimi Frangou and student Lauryn Foster demonstrate how you can use transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to stimulate the motor cortex get a resulting twitch in the hand. 

Unit researcher Shenghong He uses his own brain waves, as recorded with EEG, to show how the signals can change dramatically when he closes his eyes.

Visitors to the stand were invited to watch the Unit’s latest documentary about brain research produced in partnership with Oxford Sparks.

Members of the Sharott group recently travelled to Berlin to participate in the International Electrophysiology Skills Days Meeting supported by Professor Andrew Sharott's Einstein Fellowship. The meeting brought together researchers from the Einstein Berlin-Oxford Fellowship, ReTune, and AdaptPD consortia across the field of electrophysiology.

Andrew delivered a keynote lecture on translational development of closed-loop brain stimulation approaches which explored the group’s pioneering research in brain circuit mechanisms and deep brain stimulation interventions. Several members of the Sharott group delivered talks on clinical and pre-clinical electrophysiology techniques and data analysis methods and participated in a vibrant poster session.

Sharott group members commented that the meeting ‘provided a dynamic platform for sharing knowledge on key electrophysiology techniques’ and that it ‘facilitated discussions on the latest developments in the field of electrophysiology’.

Overall, the meeting promoted international collaboration and strongly showcased the cutting-edge electrophysiology research being undertaken within the Sharott group at the BNDU.

Our congratulations go to Unit D.Phil. student Jessica Myatt for successfully defending her doctoral thesis, entitled “Enhancing motor cortical theta and gamma oscillations using closed-loop phase-dependent optogenetic stimulation”, in her viva voce examination on 17th September 2024.

Jessica’s viva examiners were Dr. Ines Violante (King’s College London) and Associate Professor Helen Barron (University of Oxford).

Jessica was supervised in the Unit by Professor Andrew Sharott and Professor Charlotte Stagg.

Many congratulations to Unit Group Leader Professor Tim Denison on the announcement today of his election to the Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

The Royal Academy of Engineering is an independent body in the UK, seeking to harness the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone. Fellowship of the Academy is based on exceptional contributions to the field of engineering and technology. A small number of new Fellows are elected each year.

Tim commented “This recognition reflects the efforts of a multidisciplinary team of engineers, scientists, clinicians and entrepreneurs. I would particularly like to thank the research participants who have volunteered over the years, without whom the new frontiers of treatments could not be explored.”

Unit Director Professor Peter Magill commented “We are all thrilled for Tim. This honour is richly deserved. Tim is a true pioneer of biomedical engineering. His state-of-the-art tools have not only advanced neuroscience discovery research but also led to tangible benefits to human health and wellbeing.”