UMass Amherst researchers have developed a new app, called BIDSleep, that transforms an Apple Watch into a sophisticated sleep-stage monitoring tool using artificial intelligence. Led by Professor Joyita Dutta in the Biomedical Imaging and Data Science Lab, the app collects high-resolution heart-rate data from the watch and feeds it into an AI model capable of classifying sleep stages. This approach offers a cost-effective, less intrusive alternative to traditional lab-based sleep studies, enabling multi-night, real-world data collection at home. The technology is being integrated into ongoing research on links between sleep disruptions and Alzheimer’s disease, with the AI model and software made available to other researchers to advance sleep health research.

Jun Yao, Associate Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering, was featured on the CBS News podcast, ‘Quirks & Quarks’ on December 5. The weekly science podcast covers everything from astrophysics to biology. On last week’s episode, Professor Yao was interviewed about his breakthrough research creating artificial neurons that can interface with living cells.

Listen HERE.

Every year many UMass Amherst faculty, research staff, trainees, and undergrads attend the annual Society for Neuroscience conference to share, and learn about, current research, techniques, collaborations, and celebrate exciting neuroscience related discoveries. This year, the conference is being held in San Diego from November 15-19. Below you will find a current listing of abstracts registered for poster presentations. Click on the title to read the abstract and find the date and time of the presentation.

The featured researcher is Jun Yao, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Riccio College of Engineering. Jun and his team of researchers have developed the first artificial neurons capable of directly interfacing with living cells. These artificial neurons are built using protein nanowires derived from the bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens, combining low-power operation with biocompatibility. Unlike earlier designs that required much higher voltages (and thus much more power), these artificial neurons operate at about 0.1 volt—which is comparable to natural neurons—allowing potential direct electrical communication without amplifiers. The researchers envision applications ranging from ultra‑efficient, bio‑inspired computing to wearable or implantable devices that can talk directly with our bodies, eliminating many of the inefficiencies of today’s sensors and circuitry. You can read more about this discovery in the recently published paper in Nature Communications, “Constructing artificial neurons with functional parameters comprehensively matching biological values“. You can also read a UMass article about this work here.

Here’s what else is new for ‘ ”University of Massachusetts” AND Amherst AND neuroscience’ in PubMed. These publications appeared online in summer 2025. They are just a fraction of the neuroscience research that occurs on campus. You can click on the PubMed ID to find the publication.

The featured researcher is Dr. Courtney Babbitt, who is an Associate Professor in the Biology Department and the Commonwealth Honors College. Her lab studies evolutionary genomics. One of the things that they are looking at how changes in gene regulation played a role in the evolution of the human brain.They published several papers recently on this topic. One in Brain, Behavior, and Evolution is a review titled “Exploring the Expanded Role of Astrocytes in Primate Brain Evolution via Changes in Gene Expression“. Another, “Ecological Trait Differences Are Associated with Gene Expression in the Primary Visual Cortex of Primates” was published in the journal Genes. A preprint of a third paper, available on BioRxiv examines change in gene expression in regions of the cerebellum of primates, specifically related that to uniquely human behaviors.

Here’s what else is new for ‘ ”University of Massachusetts” AND Amherst AND neuroscience’ in PubMed. These publications appeared online in April 2025. They are just a fraction of the neuroscience research that occurs on campus. You can click on the PubMed ID to find the publication.

On April 9, the UMass Initiative on Neurosciences (IONs) sponsored a conference for the western MA chapter of the Society for Neuroscience bringing together about 130 students, faculty, and research staff from across central and western Massachusetts. Attendees included people from UMass Amherst, UMass Chan Medical School (both Worcester and Baystate campuses), Holy Cross, Smith College, Amherst College, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Mount Holyoke College, and Williams College. The Society for Neuroscience (SfN), a global organization of scientists and clinicians studying the brain and nervous system has more than 36,000 members in 95 countries. The Western MA chapter aims to foster unity and collaboration among students, faculty, and staff to advance neuroscience education, research, and dissemination. It was reestablished in 2015. Currently, David Weaver is at the helm, serving as the western MA chapter representative. For more information, and to volunteer or nominate someone for one of the open officer positions, please email chapters@sfn.org and specify your interest in the western MA chapter. You can also visit the Facebook page HERE.

This month’s featured researcher is Sarah Pallas. Sarah is a Professor in the Biology Department. Her lab studies the development of neural circuit properties in the visual system of a variety of mammals. Her most recent paper, which was published in the Journal of Neurophysiology, was performed in collaboration with neuroscientists in Chile. It examines the development of the visual system in a South American rodent, the Degu (Octodon degus). This animal differs from standardly used laboratory rodents in that it is active during the day and has a well-developed visual system. This paper shows that neurons in the superior colliculus of degus have more complex receptive field properties than nocturnal rodents, suggesting that they would be a better model for the human visual system.

Here’s what else is new for ‘ ”University of Massachusetts” AND Amherst AND neuroscience’ in PubMed. These publications appeared online in winter 2024/25. They are just a fraction of the neuroscience research that occurs on campus. You can click on the PubMed ID to find the publication.

This month’s featured researcher is Jeff Podos. His lab studies bird communication in the lab and in the field. Together with graduate student, Katie Schroeder, he recently published a paper in Science Magazine titled, “Ecological speciation in Darwin’s finches: Ghosts of finches future“. Darwin’s finches are famous for the adaptations of their beaks to different foraging niches. Podos and Schroeder present a model that supports the idea that the acoustic structure of their songs were affected by ecological factors such as droughts. The model predicts speciation based on acoustic recognition of songs.

Here’s what else is new for ‘ ”University of Massachusetts” AND Amherst AND neuroscience’ in PubMed. These publications appeared online in September and October. They are just a fraction of the neuroscience research that occurs on campus. You can click on the PubMed ID to find the publication.

The featured researcher this month is Dominique Alfandari. Dom is a Professor of Developmental Biology in the Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences. His lab studies the mechanisms underlying neural crest cell migration and differentiation. This has implications for facial development and cancer. This summer, he was an author on a paper published in the Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution, which reviews findings using the frog, Xenopus, to discover genes involved in congenital hearing loss syndromes such as branchio‐oto‐renal syndrome (BOR). Mutations that lead to this condition cause defects in features of the head and face as well as the kidney.

Here’s what else is new for ‘ ”University of Massachusetts” AND Amherst AND neuroscience’ in PubMed. These publications appeared online in May, June, July, and August. They are just a fraction of the neuroscience research that occurs on campus. You can click on the PubMed ID to find the publication.

Cana Park, who just joined the Biology Faculty, is the newest member of the neuroscience community at UMass. Cana (pronounced Kay-nuh) was a postdoc at UCSF, where she made a fundamental discovery about a factor secreted by platelets that slows cognitive decline associated with aging. She will be pursuing this line of research and ways to translate it into therapeutic treatments. Her lab is in the Life Sciences Laboratory and she is looking for students to join her.

The meetup scheduled for October 18, 2024 in the Marriott room at the Campus Center following the UMass Chan Medical School retreat is shaping up to be a lively event with trivia, 1 – minute data blitz, numerous networking opportunities, catering and refreshments, and an opportunity to share your research by presenting a poster. Registration is still open for poster presenting and we ask that you register in advance so that we can provide enough poster stands for all.

Below you’ll find some of the abstracts and/or titles of just some of the presenters already registered.

This month’s featured researcher is Luke Remage-Healey, who is a Professor in Psychological and Brain Sciences. His lab studies the behavior and neurophysiology underlying song learning in zebra finches. They recently published two papers. One in the journal Animal Behaviour, showed that viewing unfamiliar individuals of their own species, was a strong motivating stimulus for zebra finches. The other paper, which appeared in the journal eNeuro, showed the effects of intrinsic estrogrens on neurons in the bird’s brain that changed how the song was encoded.

Here’s what else is new for ‘ ”University of Massachusetts” AND Amherst AND neuroscience’ in PubMed. These publications appeared online in March. They are just a fraction of the neuroscience research that occurs on campus. You can click on the PubMed ID to find the publication.