Weill Neurohub Clinician & Translational-Scientists

The Clinician-Scientist Awards and Translational Scientist Awards recognize and support outstanding early-career investigators who have shown extraordinary potential for careers in nervous system research. Their work provides a crucial link between fundamental discovery and clinical impact, translating scientific discoveries into advances for patients with brain and nervous system disorders. By providing funding, mentorship, and a collaborative community across UC Berkeley, UCSF, and the University of Washington, the program helps cultivate the next generation of leaders in translational neuroscience.

The 2026 Clinician & Translational-Scientist Awardees

  • Headshot of John Andrews, MD

    John Andrews, MD

    UCSF

    Department of Neurological Surgery

    Research Focus: Studying human brain tissue obtained during neurosurgery to understand how changes in genes and brain cell activity can be used to treat epilepsy and other neurologic disorders.

  • Headshot of Christopher Arp

    Christopher Arp, PhD

    UC Berkeley

    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.

  • Headshot of Ellen Bradley, MD

    Ellen Bradley, MD

    UCSF

    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

    Research Focus: Investigating new treatments for early neuropsychiatric features of Parkinson's disease.

  • Headshot of Cathryn Cadwell, MD, PhD

    Cathryn Cadwell, MD, PhD

    UCSF

    Department of Neurological Surgery

    Research Focus: Investigating human brain function at the cell type and local circuit level to understand how circuits form during development and are altered in diseases such as epilepsy.

  • Headshot of Gregory Chinn, MD, PhD

    Gregory Chinn, MD, PhD

    UCSF

    Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care

    Research Focus: Understanding how drugs alter neural physiology to reveal mechanisms of brain vulnerability and inform strategies for resilience in disease and physiologic stress.

  • Headshot of Zilong Du

    Zilong Du, PhD

    UC Berkeley

    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.

  • Headshot of Francesca Galbiati, MD

    Francesca Galbiati, MD

    UCSF

    Department of Medicine

    Research Focus: Understanding neurobiological and neuroendocrine mechanisms regulating eating behavior and cognitive control in obesity and hyperphagia.

  • Headshot of Ben Grannan, MD

    Ben Grannan, MD

    University of Washington

    Department of Neurological Surgery

    Research Focus: Identifying the laminar origins of surface electrocorticography signals by using ultra-high density recording probes during awake neurosurgical procedures.

  • Headshot of Jessica Jimenez, MD, PhD

    Jessica Jimenez, MD, PhD

    UCSF

    Department of Neurology

    Research Focus: Investigating neural circuit mechanisms that facilitate sleep-dependent memory consolidation after learning and sleep deprivation.

  • Headshot of Woohyun Kim

    WooHyun Kim, PhD

    UC Berkeley

    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.

  • Headshot of Britta Lindquist, MD, PhD

    Britta Lindquist, MD, PhD

    UCSF

    Department of Neurology

    Research Focus: Understanding the influence of pulmonary ventilation and kidney function on brain waves involved in migraine, epilepsy, and acute brain injuries from stroke, hemorrhage, and trauma.

  • Headshot of Sandra Muroy

    Sandra Muroy, PhD

    UC Berkeley

    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.

  • Headshot of Chimno Nnadi, MD, PhD

    Chimno Nnadi, MD, PhD

    UCSF

    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

    Research Focus: Leveraging behavioral phenotyping and machine learning to advance neuropsychiatric drug discovery and elucidate mechanisms of neuroactive compounds.

  • Headshot of Alison Seitz, MD

    Alison Seitz, MD

    University of Washington

    Department of Neurology

    Research Focus: Investigate the prospective association between different plasma proteins from a premenopausal oophorectomy proteomic signature and incident ischemic stroke and coronary heart disease.

  • Headshot of Sarah Simmons, MD, PhD

    Sarah Simmons, MD, PhD

    University of Washington

    Department of Rehabilitation Medicine

    Research Focus: Investigate the association of physical activity variables and other potentially modifiable lifestyle factors with changes in myelin thickness throughout the central nervous system in adults with progressive multiple sclerosis.

  • Headshot of Anna Sunshine, MD, PhD

    Anna Sunshine, MD, PhD

    University of Washington

    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

    Research Focus: Identifying de novo mutations in patients with schizophrenia and characterizing the impact of prioritized mutations.