UF Graduate Biomedical Neuroscience Certificate and MSc

05/23/2026

The lab of Dr. Michelle Bedenbaugh studies neural circuits that drive eating, stress responses and other motivated behaviors, including how individuals choose between satisfying hunger and fulfilling other needs.

Learn more: www.bedenbaughlab.com

05/23/2026

Congratulations to MBI researchers Drs. Paramita Chakrabarty, Brian Hoh, Robert McKenna and Eric Porges on being named University of Florida Research Foundation (UFRF) Professors for 2026, a recognition of research excellence and meaningful contributions to their fields.

All 34 UFRF Professors for 2026 will be honored at a university-wide event later this year.

Read more: news.ufl.edu/2026/04/ufrf-professors/

02/04/2026

New research sheds light on how deep brain stimulation and levodopa uniquely, and powerfully, shape brain activity in Parkinson’s disease.

This study shows that finely tuned gamma (FTG) oscillations, not beta power alone, track motor improvement and may serve as a promising biomarker for future adaptive DBS systems. A meaningful step toward more personalized therapy for people living with PD.

🔗 Read more here! https://ow.ly/ibLb50Y1mKS

02/04/2026

https://www.facebook.com/100059459352979/posts/1263133139011986/?

Neurobiologists are targeting inflammation caused by revved up nerve cells to support healing in mice

02/01/2026

Researchers have applied serial biopsies to safely monitor glioblastoma progression and responses to immunotherapy in two patients, capturing details that are invisible to standard-of-care MRI.

Learn more in : https://scim.ag/4o7EwzB

02/01/2026

In a new Science study, researchers report an unexpected role for sensory nerves in bone healing, providing insights into communication between the nervous system and the cells responsible for bone repair.

Learn more in a new Science Perspective: https://scim.ag/4qis7u6

02/01/2026

"Looking back over my life, I am struck by the good fortune I have had to be a scientist. Very few in this world have the opportunity to do every day what they love to do, as I have," said Linda Buck.

Buck was fascinated by one seemingly simple question: how does our sense of smell work?

First, she had to figure out how the nose detects odours. She embarked on the search for odour receptors in 1988, and worked intensely for three years. In results published in 1991, Buck and her research partner Richard Axel pinpointed 1,000 types of olfactory receptors in mice, located in the back of the nose, on a spot called the olfactory epithelium. Humans have 350 of these olfactory receptors.

She continued to work on her research for another ten years and was able to map the organisation of the olfactory system from the nose to the brain.

In this system, each olfactory receptor detects more than one odorant and each odorant can be detected by more than one receptor. Working together, the receptors create a “combinatorial code” forming an “odorant pattern” to identify specific odours. This code underlies our ability to recognise more than 10,000 different odours.

Buck was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2004.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/3718u0Y

02/01/2026

A collaboration between UF & the Fixel Institute explored whether inspiratory muscle strength training (IMST) can help people with Parkinson’s disease improve vocal loudness and speech quality.

After a 5-week IMST program, participants showed:
✅ Increased vocal intensity during connected speech
✅ Longer phonation times
✅ Reduced vocal effort and improved respiratory support
✅ Better patient-reported voice outcomes

These promising results suggest IMST may be a valuable tool for addressing hypokinetic dysarthria in Parkinson’s disease. More research is needed, but the findings highlight how targeted respiratory training can enhance communication and quality of life.

Read the full study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0892199725005314 #:~:text=Conclusion,may%20indicate%20less%20severe%20dysphonia.

02/01/2026

I met Dr. Carlsson once, he was a very nice man.

A neurotransmitter transmits signals from one neuron (nerve cell) to another "target" neuron, muscle cell, or gland cell. Nobel Prize laureate Arvid Carlsson's research into neurotransmitters revealed, for the first time, how a brain disorder worked.

Carlsson discovered in the 1950s that dopamine is a transmitter in the mammalian brain and described its role in our ability to move. This led to the realisation that Parkinson's disease is caused by a lack of dopamine and his experiments became the scientific basis for the successful therapy against Parkinson's disease.

In 1963, he found that the medications which ease the symptoms of schizophrenia and other psychotic diseases take effect by reducing the influence of dopamine in the brain. Further, his work has had great importance for the treatment of depression, and he has contributed to a new generation of antidepressant drugs.

Image: Wellcome Collection, Arran Lewis

02/01/2026

Only 2 MEG scanners in Florida. One academic center. Hundreds of lives impacted.

At UF Health, magnetoencephalography (MEG) is reshaping how brain tumors are evaluated and treated. Located within the Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases, this rare technology helps guide safer, more personalized surgery while advancing neuroscience research.

🔗 https://ow.ly/FGWF50Y1pQT