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Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour

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Sainsbury Wellcome Centre
Established2016
Parent institution
University College London
DirectorTom Mrsic-Flogel
Location
London, United Kingdom
Websitesainsburywellcome.org

The Sainsbury Wellcome Centre (SWC) is a neuroscience research institute located in London, United Kingdom. The SWC is part of University College London (UCL), but sits outside of the faculty structure.[1] It is funded by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation[2] and Wellcome.[3]

Founded in 2016,[4] the Centre comprises 12 labs whose research feeds into the mission of understanding how the brain generates behaviour.[5] SWC is led by Director Professor Tom Mrsic-Flogel,[6] Associate Director Professor Troy Margrie, and Chief Scientific Officer Professor Tom Otis.

History and funding

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Conceptualised by Lord David Sainsbury in partnership with the Wellcome Trust, SWC was officially opened on 23 May 2016 by Nobel Laureate Professor Eric Kandel.[4] SWC was established by inaugural Director and Nobel Laureate John O’Keefe[7] with funding from the Gatsby Charitable Foundation[2] and Wellcome Trust.[3]

In October 2016, Professor Tom Mrsic-Flogel was appointed as the new Director of the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre.[6]

Building design

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The Sainsbury Wellcome Centre in London
The Sainsbury Wellcome Centre in London

The building was designed by Ian Ritchie of Ian Ritchie Architects.[8] The design of the labs and common areas was based on the feedback and observations from leading neuroscience research institutes around the world.[9][10] The core of the building houses the Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, a computational neuroscience research unit that collaborates closely with SWC.[11]

Research focus

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Research at SWC is focused on systems neuroscience. SWC’s mission is to understand how neural circuits produce flexible, complex behaviours.[5] The Centre comprises 14 research groups, made up of postdoctoral researchers, PhD students, research assistants, and some Master’s students. They are led by the following experimental neuroscientists:

  • Dr Athena Akrami
  • Professor Tim Behrens
  • Professor Tiago Branco
  • Dr Claudia Clopath (part-time)
  • Dr Chunyu Ann Duan
  • Dr Jeffrey Erlich
  • Dr Julia Harris
  • Professor Sonja Hofer
  • Dr Yoh Isogai
  • Professor Troy Margrie
  • Professor Tom Mrsic-Flogel
  • Professor John O’Keefe
  • Dr Andrew Saxe
  • Dr Marcus Stephenson-Jones

Researchers work closely with the Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit to bridge theoretical and experimental neuroscience.[11]

Scientific accomplishments

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In November 2017, a new device called Neuropixels was announced that records from hundreds of brain cells simultaneously.[12][13][14] SWC was involved in a collaboration to develop the Neuropixels probes with scientists at HHMI Janelia Research Campus, the Allen Institute for Brain Science and UCL, and engineers at imec.[15]

In September 2018, Professor John O’Keefe spoke at the Schrödinger at 75 conference about his lab’s work to develop simple tests of spatial awareness that could allow doctors to detect early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.[16][17]

In December 2020, SWC scientists developed a brain machine interface (BMI) that allowed mice to learn to guide a cursor using only their brain. This research could be applied to improve human BMIs in the future.[18]

In July 2021, SWC Group Leader Athena Akrami and the Patient Led Research Collaborative published the largest international study of Long COVID to date which identified over 200 symptoms across 10 organ systems.[19][20][21][22] The researchers called for a national screening programme for those with long Covid symptoms.[23][24][25]

Education

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The Sainsbury Wellcome Centre runs a four-year PhD programme taught by faculty at SWC, the Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, and affiliated institutions including UCL.[26][27]

Governing board

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SWC Governing Board is chaired by Professor Barry Everitt, other voting members are Professor Silvia Arber, Wendy Becker, Adrienne Fairhall, Peter Hesketh, Professor Tony Movshon, Professor Stephanie Schorge, Miranda Wolpert.[28]

References

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  1. ^ "Academic Units". UCL. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour | Neuroscience | Gatsby". www.gatsby.org.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Research Centres and Institutes". Wellcome. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  4. ^ a b UCL (14 June 2016). "Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour opens". UCL News. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Research Overview | Sainsbury Wellcome Centre". www.sainsburywellcome.org. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  6. ^ a b "New Director at Sainsbury Wellcome Centre". Wellcome. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  7. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2014". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Sainsbury Wellcome Centre * Ritchie Studio". Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  9. ^ Ferry, Georgina (2017). Neural Architects: The Sainsbury Wellcome Centre from Idea to Reality. Unicorn.
  10. ^ Morrison, Jonathan. "Social spaces, lots of light, saunas — how architecture makes us happy". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  11. ^ a b UCL (14 October 2019). "The Sainsbury Wellcome Centre". Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  12. ^ Jun, James J.; Steinmetz, Nicholas A.; Siegle, Joshua H.; Denman, Daniel J.; Bauza, Marius; Barbarits, Brian; Lee, Albert K.; Anastassiou, Costas A.; Andrei, Alexandru; Aydın, Çağatay; Barbic, Mladen (2017). "Fully integrated silicon probes for high-density recording of neural activity". Nature. 551 (7679): 232–236. Bibcode:2017Natur.551..232J. doi:10.1038/nature24636. ISSN 1476-4687. PMC 5955206. PMID 29120427.
  13. ^ UCL (8 November 2017). "Tiny silicon probes provide high definition recording of brain activity". UCL News. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  14. ^ "A new nerve-cell monitor will help those studying brains". The Economist. 9 November 2017. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  15. ^ "Neuropixels probes could revolutionise neuroscience | Sainsbury Wellcome Centre". www.sainsburywellcome.org. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  16. ^ King, Anthony. "Spatial tests could reveal early sign of Alzheimer's, says expert". The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  17. ^ John O'Keefe: The Future of Systems Neuroscience - Schrödinger at 75: The Future of Biology, retrieved 20 January 2022
  18. ^ staff, E&T editorial (23 December 2020). "Mice taught to guide computer mouse with brain activity". eandt.theiet.org. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  19. ^ "Long Covid has more than 200 symptoms, study finds". the Guardian. 15 July 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  20. ^ Hart, Robert. "Long Covid Has Over 200 Symptoms And Leaves 1 In 5 Unable To Work, Study Finds". Forbes. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  21. ^ Schuster-Bruce, Dr Catherine. "A survey of long-haulers found 66 symptoms that lasted more than 6 months. Tiredness and brain fog were most common". Business Insider. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  22. ^ Gibbons, Katie. "International study finds long Covid has more than 200 symptoms". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  23. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Six O'Clock News, 15/07/2021 Dozens killed in flooding in western Germany". BBC. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  24. ^ Neville, Sarah; Cookson, Clive; Asgari, Nikou; Kazmin, Amy (15 July 2021). "Long Covid defies understanding as sufferers despair". Financial Times. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  25. ^ "Long COVID patients report more than 200 symptoms with fatigue and brain fog most common, UCL study shows". Sky News. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  26. ^ "Neuroscience PhD Programme | Sainsbury Wellcome Centre". www.sainsburywellcome.org. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  27. ^ UCL (21 May 2019). "PhD Programme". Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  28. ^ "Funders & Governance | Sainsbury Wellcome Centre". www.sainsburywellcome.org. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
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