Berkeley scientists focus on optimizing brain health

August 5, 2026

A new article from UC Berkeley News highlights HWNI member Mark D’Esposito’s efforts to optimize brain health by studying how to scientifically measure and improve it. D’Esposito, a neurologist and professor of psychology, has used MRI scans to study brain function for the past 35 years. Five years ago, he helped launch a longitudinal study at the Center for BrainHealth at the University of Texas-Dallas, which is assessing measures of brain health in individuals over the long term and investigating the effectiveness of interventions to improve it.

Some of D’Esposito’s collaborators in this project are former HWNI member Matthew Walker and current HWNI member Kevin Weiner, associate professor of neuroscience and psychology. Weiner studies human brain anatomy, how it changes with age, and how it could be used as a measure of brain health, building in part on his collaborations with HWNI members Silvia Bunge, professor of psychology, and William Jagust, professor of neuroscience.

Read more about this project and D’Esposito’s other efforts to improve brain health from UC Berkeley News.

Mark D’Esposito and Kevin Weiner talking with each other in an office, in front of a computer screen and an art piece with brains on them.

HWNI members Mark D’Esposito (left) and Kevin Weiner discussing Weiner’s research on grooves and folds in the human brain and how they relate to cognitive function and a healthy brain. Credit: Brandon Sanchez Mejia for UC Berkeley