Four postdoctoral fellows in Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute (HWNI) member labs have won 2026 Translational Scientist Awards from the Weill Neurohub. The awards recognize outstanding early-career investigators who have shown extraordinary potential for careers in nervous system research, and who are working to translate scientific discoveries into advances for patients with brain and nervous system disorders.
The awards provide funding, mentorship, and a collaborative community across the Weill Neurohub, which brings together world-class researchers and clinicians at UC Berkeley, UC San Francisco, the University of Washington, and the Allen Institute to speed the development of new treatments for neurological and psychiatric diseases. At UC Berkeley, the Weill Neurohub is housed within HWNI.
The awardees are:
Christopher Arp, Bautista lab
Research focus: Investigating the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the neurological complications of cancer immunotherapies to guide the development of therapeutics that limit patient pain and disability.
Zilong Du, Lammel lab
Research focus: Studying the interplay between dopamine and acetylcholine in the striatum, which mediate region-selective reinforcement and reward rules whose disruption are associated with schizophrenia, drug addiction, and Parkinson's disease.
Woohyun Kim, Khanna lab
Research focus: Studying how the brain uses touch to guide movement, with the goal of developing targeted brain stimulation therapies for stroke and related movement disorders.
Sandra Muroy, Kaufer lab
Research focus: Combining detailed behavioral tracking/machine learning with brain and physiological measurements to understand why some individuals are more resilient to stress and trauma, and to identify mechanisms and early biological factors that shape trajectories toward resilience.
Read more about the Weill Neurohub’s Translational Scientist Awards, as well as their Clinician-Scientist Awards.