Bertarelli Program in Translational Neuroscience and Neuroengineering | Bertarelli Program in Translational Neuroscience and Neuroengineering

About

The Bertarelli Program is based at Harvard Medical School. Our goal is to begin to bridge the existing gap between basic and translational neuroscience, by supporting basic and clinical research oriented towards translational opportunities, and by training the next generation of leaders in the field.

Through the generosity of the Bertarelli Foundation in Switzerland, the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) annually selects five students to perform their master's research in Harvard Medical School (HMS) or HMS-affiliated labs over a twelve-month period. The students are funded throughout their stay and bring an additional $10,000 research allowance to the lab. The Bertarelli Fellows master's research program was conceived with neuro-engineering and translational neuroscience in mind (such as neural prosthetics), but can be construed to include broad areas of molecular, cellular, systems and computational neuroscience. The students will be engaged in research for at least 75% of their time while at Harvard Medical School, with the remaining time dedicated to other educational opportunities.

Riccardo Carpineto

John Assad, Ph.D., Department of Neurobiology, HMS

Project Title: Dynamics of Inititation of Voluntary Movement in the Superior Colliculus in the Mouse Model

Project Summary: Voluntary movements, which are actions initiated without direct external stimuli, remain a central question in motor neuroscience. Unlike reactive movements, the timing of self-initiated actions must emerge from internal neural dynamics...

Gabriele Dall'Aglio

Evan Macosko, Ph.D., Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT

Project Title: Spatial Resolution of Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Striatal Vulnerability in XD

Project Summary: X-linked dystonia–parkinsonism (XDP) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder found almost exclusively in the Philippines, caused by a mutation in the TAF1 gene. The disease devastates the striatum (particularly medium spiny neurons) leading...

Alexis Cogne

Conor J. Walsh, Ph.D., Biodesign Lab, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Project Title: Breaking the Cycle of Learned Non-Use: Wearable Digital Interventions for Upper-Limb Recovery After Stroke

Project Summary: Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability worldwide, with upper-limb motor impairments affecting a large proportion of survivors. As populations age and the prevalence of risk factors increases, the incidence of stroke is expected...

Gregor Dederichs

Paola Arlotta, Ph.D, Stem Cell & Regenerative Biology, HMS

Project Title: Network Dynamics in Human Cortical Organoid Models of Neuropsychiatric Disorders

Project Summary: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is prevalent and complex neurological disorder, characterised by a spectrum of cognitive, social, and communicative challenges first manifested in early childhood. Unique to every patient, ASD has a strong...

Penghui Du

Randy Buckner, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Harvard

Project Title: Evaluating Personalized and Standard Targeting Strategies for TMS in Depression

Project Summary: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a standard treatment for depression, with target location traditionally determined by empirical rules or group-level functional connectivity combined with individual structural MRI. However...