UT Southwestern O'Donnell Brain Institute

Registration is open for the UT System Brain Research Summit: Focus on Dementia and Related Neurodegenerative Diseases. OBI Director, Dr. William Dauer, and UTSW faculty Drs. Pedro Rosa-Neto, Marc Diamond, Tarek Rajji, and Jiang He are among the speakers. bit.ly/4yqTI0Y

Department Chair Dr. Heakyung Kim was the keynote speaker at an event celebrating the 36th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act this. Dr. Kim discussed the transition from pediatric to adult healthcare systems for individuals with childhood-onset disabilities.

Congratulations to Dr. Naghmeh Kasbi and Dr. Thandiwe Chavula who were awarded O'Donnell Brain Institute travel grants. They presented their original research at scientific conferences last month. The awards support travel for trainees working with OBI Investigators.

What an accomplishment!

Team building at Netflix House Dallas! We survived the trials of Squid Game! 🔴⬜🛆☂️🟢 @UTSWMedCenter @UTSWBrain #Neurosurgery

OBI Investigators, Joseph Takahashi, Ph.D., and Carla Green, Ph.D., found that limiting food intake to a consistent daily eating window significantly improved health span in mice. The findings suggest meal timing could be part of a healthy aging strategy. bit.ly/4gr5qlJ

Munro Cullum, Ph.D., received the 2026 Karen Postal Outstanding Mentorship Award from @TheAACN and @APADivision40. The award recognizes Dr. Cullum's exceptional mentorship and contributions to the field of #neuropsychology. He has mentored more than 100 trainees over his career.

Stereotactic radiosurgery #SRS with PD-1 inhibitor #immunotherapy for malignant #gliomas - what's the optimal order of treatment to improve outcomes? Dr. Ankur Patel & @MatthewSunMD investigate @TheJNS. thejns.org/view/journals/… @UTSWMedCenter @UTSWBrain #Neurosurgery

Paul Bossé, B.S.N., RN, CNML, CRRN, was named Inpatient Nursing Leader of the Year at the 2026 UT Southwestern Nursing Excellence Awards. Paul is Nursing Manager for Inpatient Rehabilitation. He also won a Patient Safety Star Award at this year's Celebration of Excellence.

Postdoctoral Researcher, Klaudia Jaczynska, Ph.D., was awarded a 2026 O'Donnell Brain Institute Sprouts Grant. Dr. Jaczynska is a member of the Joachimiak Lab. The OBI Sprouts Grant program supports trainees pursuing novel research directions.

Many thanks to @UTSWMedCenter Newsroom for highlighting our recent @PNASNews paper. "Why eating in the middle of the night can be a gut punch" utsouthwestern.edu/newsroom/artic… @CircadianClocks @UTSWScience @UTSWBrain

Congratulations to OBI Investigator, Yuuki Obata, Ph.D., on his lab's first publication! Dr. Obata joined UT Southwestern in 2021 as an Endowed Scholar. His lab studies how environmental factors like gut microbiota and diet shape neural circuits of the gut and brain.

Kexin Yu, Ph.D., LMSW, is leading research on the impact of loneliness and social isolation, both risk factors for dementia in older adults. Dr. Yu says data suggest that combatting isolation with community and connection can make a real difference. bit.ly/3PhLC9f

Congratulations @drpouratian, who received an @NIH #R01 grant from @NINDS for "Dissecting the Network Physiology of Pallidal Burst Stimulation", transforming discoveries in mouse models into human therapies! @UTSWMedCenter @UTSWBrain #Neurosurgery

Yogesh Tak, Ph.D., was awarded a 2026 O'Donnell Brain Institute Sprouts Grant for his research on tau amyloid toxicity. Dr. Tak is a postdoc in the Center for Alzheimer's & Neurodegenerative Diseases and in the Sanders Lab. Learn more about Sprouts Grants: bit.ly/42ko8UE

Congrats to UTSW medical student @GillianWitten, who was awarded the UTSW Dean’s Research Scholar Fellowship Program to spend a year studying the pathophysiology of depression with @drpouratian! @UTSWMedCenter @UTSWBrain #Neurosurgery

16th Annual @HeadfortheCure 5K! Thank you to our @UTSWBrain team for raising hope, awareness, and funds to support brain tumor patients and their families on May 2nd. impact.headforthecure.org/team/797672 @MatthewSunMD @Lucas_Mitre_ @UTSWMedCenter @UTSWBrain #Neurosurgery

Congratulations to Neurosurgery Resident, Dr. Rebeka Langston, who was awarded a 2026 O'Donnell Brain Institute Sprouts Grant. The award supports Dr. Langston's research project: "Spatial-genomic mapping of human arachnoid granulations to uncover novel CSF absorption pathways."

O'Donnell Brain Institute Investigator, Dr. Maria Chahrour, led two studies that shed new light on genes associated with #autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The findings could lead to improved diagnostics and therapies that can treat ASD at its genetic roots. bit.ly/3PkU0og

Team @UTSWBrain at Head for the Cure 5K Honored to stand alongside patients, families, & advocates committed to advancing brain tumor research and support. Our team of 84 members raised more than $5,700 as part of our mission to remove barriers between discover and care.