Complement proteins are known to mediate the pruning of synapses by microglia. In new work with implications for our understanding of schizophrenia, Krishna K. Narayanan, Matthew L Baum, Matthew Johnson, and Beth Stevens, and colleagues at Boston Children's Hospital, find that a neuronal protein called CSDM1 opposes the deposition of complement proteins on synapses, making them less vulnerable to engulfment by microglia.

HMS News article on new research from the lab of Beth Stevens, first author Dan Wilton, showing how the process of Huntington’s disease begins well before symptoms appear — and revealing that in mice, the process can be blocked to prevent cognitive problems thought to be relevant in Huntington’s disease, studied with visual discrimination learning and cognitive flexibility tasks.

BCH Discoveries article on new research from the lab of Zhigang He, joint first authors Yi Li, Xuelian He, and Riki Kawaguchi. They studied recovery from spinal cord injury in neonatal mice and found that microglia cells play a crucial role in the healing process.

Hopi Hoekstra was awarded the C. Hart Merriam Award by the American Society of Mammalogists.

HMS News article on new research from the lab of Rudolph Tanzi, first author Ana Griciuc, on how crosstalk between certain microglial receptors regulates neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s disease.

the Dean’s Community Service Award was established in 1999 to recognize individuals whose dedication and commitment to community service have made a positive impact on the local, national, or international community.

He is profiled in the June 2019 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Lucas is a postdoc in the lab of Anne Takesian at Mass Eye and Ear.

Jeffrey Moffitt and Alan Brown, faculty at HMS and Boston Children's Hospital, are among 22 earlier career researchers selected by Pew Charitable Trusts to join the Pew Scholars Program in Biomedical Sciences.

As dean for graduate education, Segal will be responsible for the strategy, oversight and coordination of graduate education at HMS,

HMS News article highlighting new research from the lab of Kip Connor (first author Yoko Okunuki), on how unraveling microglia’s role in neuroinflammation could improve treatment for visual disorders like uveitis.

BCH Vector Blog post on new research from the labs of Beth Stevens, Chinfei Chen, Hisashi Umemori and colleagues, identifying a “don’t eat me” signal which prevents microglia from pruning away useful synaptic connections

Has your research provided a breathtaking image of the nervous system that you’d love to share with the world? Send it to HBI! You could win a $200 cash prize and have your work displayed online and/or on the walls of Harvard’s science buildings.

Postdoctoral fellows Carolyn Elya (lab of Benjamin de Bivort) and Shan Meltzer (lab of David Ginty) were awarded 2018 HHMI Hanna Gray Fellowships.

A new study from the labs of Staci Bilbo and colleagues reveals role of microglia in adolescent development different for males, females.