University of Oregon researchers boost brain science

In the 1970s, biologist George Streisinger brought a popular aquarium fish to the University of Oregon — not as a pet, but as a tool for research. 

Over the following years, he and his colleagues led the popularization of the zebrafish as a study subject for understanding the way the brain and nervous system develop. That work helped make the UO an early leader in neuroscience research. 

Today, researchers continue to make discoveries about the brain that are helping to drive health and medicine research. And a neuroscience major, launched in 2020, is training the next generation. 

In honor of Brain Awareness Week, March 10-16, read more about the many ways UO scientists are moving neuroscience forward, in zebrafish and beyond.

Improving electrodes

Better brain implants

Felix Deku’s team in the Knight Campus is building high-quality, long-lasting brain implants that relieve symptoms of conditions like Parkinson’s, epilepsy, depression and dementia. 

These microelectrodes — thin, flexible structures a few millimeters long — are surgically placed into the brain, where they target specific neural circuits. The implant can be integrated with a tiny computer chip, also implanted into the brain. 

The devices send electrical signals that override or course-correct the faulty brain signaling that’s causing neurological problems.

Deku’s lab is addressing a major barrier to widespread adoption of this emerging technology: the relatively short lifespan of these devices.

Many legs up

An octopus devotes about 70 percent of its brain to vision. But until recently, scientists have only had a murky understanding of how these marine animals see their underwater world. 

University of Oregon neuroscientists are bringing the octopus’ view into focus.

Understanding what’s happening in other species that are very different from humans, can give us insight into what could be happening in our own brains, too, and the multitude of ways evolution can work.

Through octopus eyes

id not exist. One of her notable projects involves a sensor that attaches to the forehead and uses light to measure intracranial pressure.

“Health care is lacking a continuous bedside device for monitoring brain health. Intracranial pressure is a vital sign very much like blood pressure, temperature and heart rate. You can go to a local drug store and buy a blood pressure cuff to tell you how healthy your heart is, but the only way to measure intracranial pressure right now is to drill a hole and put a probe inside the brain,” she said.

Given CMU’s interdisciplinary nature, it wasn’t long before her work attracted the interest of the university’s Neuroscience Institute, asking if she could help measure the brain function of dolphins. She didn’t know if she could, but she was willing to give it a try.

“You can’t easily put a dolphin in an MRI machine, so how do you bring instruments to the bedside, to the patient, to the dolphin, or to skydivers or whatever extreme environment? Engineering-wise, it’s a very challenging situation,” she said.

A current trend in her field she’s excited about is the development of wearables to continuously monitor brain function and behavior. Through her moonshot project, she’s creating a brain fitness tracker to decode the intricate connection between the brain and body, which she hopes will unlock new ways to enhance cognition and behavior.

“The technology development of making wearables is extremely exciting and has broad applications, from athletic performance to whether a nap would be more beneficial than pushing yourself,” she said.

Despite her professional achievements, Kainerstorfer emphasizes the importance of maintaining work-life balance, noting that neglecting it can have negative consequences. She prioritizes sleep, exercise and quality time with friends to ensure her well-being.

And while she values her tenure and recent promotion to full professor, her greatest pride comes from seeing her students graduate and thrive in their own careers.

“My students are my proudest achievement,” she said. “I love staying in touch, rooting for them and seeing their successes.”

“He gave me projects that made me question things I’d already accepted. It made me realize, first of all, that I was capable of doing research, and second of all, that I had a passion for it,” she said.

Krause is a recipient of the NSF CAREER award and the George Tallman Ladd Research Award. Her groundbreaking work involves enhancing the mechanical and thermal properties of ceramics used in extreme environments.

“Material science is all about how we process materials to make them perform well. For example, how do we create a metal or ceramic with a particular strength so it doesn’t break in operation? In wood, you have grains that determine how it will break. Metals and ceramics have a similar grain structure,” she explained. “When you’re processing metal, whether you’re melting it down or casting it, you’re changing the grain size and ultimately changing the strength. My research is about understanding that relationship.”

Recently developed microscopes are enabling her to challenge old theories about grain growth.

“There are these old laws that have been around since the 1950s that dictate if you do this, you should get this grain size as a result. Now that we have the right microscopes, we’re testing those theories and finding they don’t apply,” she said. “We haven’t yet figured out what laws to write, but that’s the part that is really exciting for me. For the first time, we’re trying to figure out what determines the final grain size after processing.”

She’s also excited about new methods that reduce the time it takes to make materials by reaching a high temperature in seconds rather than hours. These are potentially transformative methods in terms of sustainability, reducing energy consumption for making parts that go into airplane engines, turbines for power generation or vehicles.

“If we can find effective ways to process materials to make them really strong, that’s going to impact a lot of different fields,” she said.

She’s thrilled to see her field trending toward how to make manufacturing processes better for the environment, but she gets the most satisfaction out of the impact she’s having on her students.

“Everything you teach them, they’ll go out and multiply,” she said. “It’s fun and rewarding to watch them develop into independent researchers.”

Collaborating with art teachers to integrate creativity into engineering education is also fun, she said. Through her outreach activities at Pittsburgh public schools and through the Leonard Gelfand Center(opens in new window), students learn the science of working with clay and how to make ceramics less likely to break.

“Most engineering students don’t think of themselves as creative people. They think of creativity as something for artists. They see it as a characteristic rather than a skill,” she said. “My goal as an instructor is to inspire people to think of creativity as a skill they can learn, practice and grow.” 

Bridging materials science and biomedical engineering: Wu’s device helps toddlers with cerebral palsy

Katherine Wu dreamed of having a career in STEM from an early age, but she wasn’t sure which field until engineers at Carnegie Mellon helped her envision her own path.

“I just had a strong interest in science, technology, engineering and math, and I was eager to develop that curiosity,” she said. “Hearing from people at CMU about what they were able to do with their engineering degrees allowed me to envision myself on that same path. To this day, I still maintain those connections. They are my role models. Continuing to foster that mentorship is important to me.” 

Information sessions during Orientation Week(opens in new window) ultimately inspired her to study materials science and engineering with an additional major in biomedical engineering(opens in new window).

Wu is most proud of her role as the president of the Society of Women Engineers, where she leads an executive board of 20 members and oversees a general body of over 300 members. She has successfully increased member engagement by 50% through activities and events from making friendship bracelets and gingerbread houses to bringing in alumni panels.

“We also put on many events that I feel are really empowering and allow us to connect with the community,” she said. 

Recently, she oversaw a biomedical engineering workshop where middle school children were designing prosthetics for dogs that had developed a degenerative disc disease.

“They were incredibly eager to participate and asked a lot of questions,” she said. “They brought in stuffed animals. They used a variety of materials to craft the prosthetics. It was both an arts and crafts project and a valuable learning experience, and it was so inspiring to watch them participate with so much enthusiasm.”

Her capstone project in biomedical engineering involves creating a device to help children with cerebral palsy regain motor function in their affected hand. The project considers the needs of the children, parents, hospitals and therapists, and is currently in the prototyping stage.

With such a busy schedule, maintaining work-life balance is important to Wu, who engages in group exercise classes on campus(opens in new window), such as yoga, to stay in touch with her overall health. Additionally, she is taking an acting class to explore a different side of herself, which has helped her build confidence and express herself in new ways.

“I figure if I can sing in front of people, I can pretty much do anything, right?” she said, laughing.

Wu will launch her career in an engineering role within the health care industry to gain technical experience. Then, she plans to get an MBA and eventually move into a managerial position.

“I think it would be really fulfilling to work toward a mission that’s about alleviating pain or bettering human lives and health,” she said. “That’s a pretty big motivator.”

This article was originally published on Carnegie Mellon University’s website and is featured on The HigherEd Effect with permission.