By Michael Blanding听
For centuries, the human brain has intrigued scientists and philosophers alike. It stores our memories and shapes our behavior鈥攖he center of learning,听emotion听and identity. Yet even after decades of research, much about how the brain works听remains听a mystery. 鈥淧eople have been fascinated with questions of how you learn and who you are鈥攑hilosophical questions that all come back to processes in the brain,鈥� says Lisa听Monteggia,听Lee E.听Limbird听Professor in Pharmacology听and the Barlow Family Director of the Vanderbilt Brain Institute. Now neuroscience is at a watershed moment, with new tools poised to dramatically expand understanding of the central nervous system.听听
Over the past several years, the VBI has expanded to meet that challenge. Under听Monteggia鈥檚听leadership, the institute has recruited more than a dozen faculty members, strengthened connections among more than 120 brain researchers in 23 departments across campus, and created new opportunities for collaboration鈥攁ll aimed at advancing the frontiers of neuroscience research. The implications reach far beyond the lab to address neurological and mental health disorders affecting billions鈥攁n estimated one in three people worldwide. 鈥淧eople are concerned about Alzheimer鈥檚 and Parkinson鈥檚. More than that, everyone knows someone who suffers from depression,鈥澨齅onteggia听says. 鈥淎nd what about neurodevelopment disorders? Why is autism on the rise?鈥�听
Founded in 1999, the VBI occupies an unusual place within the university. Because Vanderbilt has no neuroscience department, the institute serves as a hub connecting researchers鈥攁cross the College of Arts and Science, School of Medicine Basic Sciences, School of Engineering, and Peabody College of education and human development鈥攚ith the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. When听Monteggia听arrived in fall 2018, she quickly realized how extensive that network already was. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 until I interviewed that I really understood the footprint of neuroscience on campus,鈥� she says. But she also saw an opportunity. Much of the institute鈥檚 early focus had been on training graduate students while researchers remained scattered across campus. 鈥淭he institute was very siloed,鈥� she says.听
Central to its transformation was recruiting new faculty and creating space for them to work together. With support from the deans of the involved colleges and schools,听Monteggia听has helped bring 14 neuroscientists to Vanderbilt who study topics from molecular processes in neurons to learning and cognition. 鈥淚n the last five years, VBI has become a major resource on campus,鈥� says Ege听Kavalali, professor and chair of pharmacology. 鈥淣euroscience plays into everything, from how you educate your kids to how you treat diseases. There are so many elements that affect the way we live.鈥� By strategically hiring new faculty鈥攎any with prestigious fellowships and awards鈥攖he institute has helped fill gaps and create synergies between departments, he says.听
Kavalali鈥檚听own research focuses on synapses, the tiny junctions where neurons communicate. Using techniques such as fluorescent tagging and cryo-electron microscopy, which freezes tissue to preserve cellular structure, his lab can examine synapses in three dimensions at the nanoscale, offering new insight into how drugs interact with brain circuits. Through the VBI,听Kavalali鈥檚听Department of Pharmacology has hired five researchers in recent years. They include Shan Meltzer, who searches for better alternatives to treat pain by studying the formation of neural circuits that underlie pain, and Valentina听Cigliola, who works with zebrafish鈥攁n animal uniquely able to regenerate its spinal cord, a phenomenon that could someday inspire treatments for spinal cord injury in humans.听
Across campus, other recruits are tackling听different aspects听of brain science.听听
Structural cell biologist听Qiangjun听Zhou uses听cutting-edge听cryo-electron microscopy to study how synaptic dysfunction leads to brain disorders. Psychologist Andre Bastos uses neural recording technologies to track the activity of thousands of neurons simultaneously, revealing how neural circuits generate predictions about the environment. In the School of Engineering, VBI associate director Christos听Constantinidis听uses similar techniques in nonhuman primates to investigate how networks of neurons in the cerebral cortex produce higher cognitive functions. At Peabody College, Eric Wilkey uses brain scanning with children to study how the neural pathways underlying mathematical learning differ from those used for language and other skills.听
Beyond recruiting new faculty,听Monteggia听has also worked to strengthen collaboration across Vanderbilt鈥檚 network of neuroscientists. Faculty lunches allow researchers to present their work across disciplines, while symposia bring Vanderbilt scientists together with outside experts to explore emerging areas of inquiry. The institute also offers seed grants to spark interdisciplinary projects, including a collaboration between听Kavalali听and a听neuroengineering听colleague exploring cancer neuroscience鈥攁 growing field examining how tumors interact with neural circuits.听
For David Miller, research professor of cell and developmental biology, the institute鈥檚 growth has created a richer environment for studying brain development. 鈥淭he faculty Lisa has recruited have greatly enhanced neuroscience at Vanderbilt, particularly developmental neuroscience,鈥� says Miller, whose work uses the tiny roundworm C. elegans to understand the genetic mechanisms that guide brain formation. 鈥淗aving so many colleagues with overlapping interests has really added to the intellectual atmosphere.鈥�听
Understanding the brain听ultimately requires听collaboration across many levels鈥攆rom molecules to neural circuits to psychological behavior. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a gap between molecular neuroscience and cognitive systems neuroscience,鈥澨齂avalali听says. 鈥淚ntellectually we all have our comfort zone; we need places like VBI that support us in stepping outside those comfort zones and into areas where we can have new perspective and make an impact.鈥澨�听
That interdisciplinary spirit is crucial, says听Monteggia, for tackling one of science鈥檚 greatest current challenges. 鈥淲e鈥檙e really looking at everything, from brain development in the earliest stages of life to neurodegenerative diseases associated with aging, to provide complementary and synergistic ways to advance our understanding.鈥� Only by bringing those perspectives together, she says, will scientists begin to unravel how the brain gives rise to the thoughts and behaviors that听ultimately make听us who we are.听
