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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.

An image of dendritic spines on neurons in the mouse cortex, produced using new microscopy technology developed by HWNI member Eric Betzig.   

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.

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PhD Program
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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

Innovative design achieves tenfold better resolution for functional MRI brain imaging

Innovative design achieves tenfold better resolution for functional MRI brain imaging

HWNI member David Feinberg led the development of the new scanner, located on our campus.
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Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience researchers win awards, publish new research

Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience researchers win awards, publish new research

Congratulations to HWNI faculty members Fritz Sommer, Bruno Olshausen, and members of their labs!
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Austin Roorda awarded Rank Prize for Optoelectronics

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

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

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

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

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

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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Recent Faculty Publications

08 Dec 2023
PLoS Biol. 2023 Dec 8;21(12):e3002410. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002410. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTPerception is known to cycle through periods of enhanced and reduced sensitivity to external information. Here, we asked whether such...
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06 Dec 2023
Nat Protoc. 2023 Dec 6. doi: 10.1038/s41596-023-00928-2. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTEstablishing reliable intravenous catheterization in mice with optical implants allows the combination of neural manipulations and recordings with rapid, time-locked...
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05 Dec 2023
Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol. 2023 Dec 5:a041512. doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a041512. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTVision begins in the retina, which extracts salient features from the environment and encodes them in the...
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04 Dec 2023
Neurosci Lett. 2023 Dec 2:137578. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2023.137578. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTPersistent post-ischemic alterations to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis occur following global cerebral ischemia (GCI) in rodents. However, similar effects on...
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01 Dec 2023
Sci Rep. 2023 Dec 1;13(1):21200. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-48054-z.ABSTRACTTraumatic brain injury (TBI) affects how the brain functions in the short and long term. Resulting patient outcomes across physical, cognitive, and psychological domains...
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