Craig Brown
@craigedbrown.bsky.social
Professor at University of Victoria. Interested in neuroscience, brain repair, stroke, diabetes, microcirculation, inflammation.
Lab website: https://www.brownlabatuvic.com
Lab website: https://www.brownlabatuvic.com
Pinned
Craig Brown
@craigedbrown.bsky.social
· Nov 16
A pathogenic role for IL-10 signalling in capillary stalling and cognitive impairment in type 1 diabetes - Nature Metabolism
Interleukin-10 promotes the formation of microcirculatory defects in the brain associated with cognitive impairment in a mouse model of type 1 diabetes.
www.nature.com
Re-sharing this for those that didn’t see this on X last week. More new stuff coming soon!
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
New finding from the lab. This surprised us since it went against the common assumption that increasing peri-infarct blood flow is best for stroke recovery. Congrats to Kamal and the team!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Knockdown of endothelial Serpine1 improves stroke recovery by attenuating peri-infarct blood flow and blood brain barrier disruption
Focal stroke leads to complex changes in the cerebral microcirculation in surviving brain tissues that strongly influence recovery. Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1; encoded by Serpine1) is hi...
www.biorxiv.org
October 16, 2025 at 6:03 PM
New finding from the lab. This surprised us since it went against the common assumption that increasing peri-infarct blood flow is best for stroke recovery. Congrats to Kamal and the team!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Craig Brown
MD, author & longevity researcher Peter Attia recently featured a #UVic Medical Sciences-led study published in Nature Metabolism about the link between diabetes and dementia. Read the story:
peterattiamd.com/link-between...
Or the paper: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39496927/#fu...
peterattiamd.com/link-between...
Or the paper: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39496927/#fu...
Inflammatory molecule found in the blood may underlie the link between diabetes and dementia
A study in mice identified the cytokine IL-10 as a key culprit in diabetes-associated vascular damage in the brain and cognitive deficits
peterattiamd.com
July 10, 2025 at 10:37 PM
MD, author & longevity researcher Peter Attia recently featured a #UVic Medical Sciences-led study published in Nature Metabolism about the link between diabetes and dementia. Read the story:
peterattiamd.com/link-between...
Or the paper: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39496927/#fu...
peterattiamd.com/link-between...
Or the paper: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39496927/#fu...
Was a pleasure to contribute a little to this new work from Tuan Trang and Yuta Kohro
molecularbrain.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
molecularbrain.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
Repeated naloxone-induced morphine withdrawal alters blood brain barrier and blood spinal cord barrier integrity in mice - Molecular Brain
Passage of molecules across the central nervous system is tightly regulated by the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB), which restrict entry of many substances, including op...
molecularbrain.biomedcentral.com
July 8, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Was a pleasure to contribute a little to this new work from Tuan Trang and Yuta Kohro
molecularbrain.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
molecularbrain.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
new paper from Boas group
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Capillaries susceptible to frequent stall dynamics revealed by comparing OCT and bessel-2PM measurements - Rockwell P Tang, Shannon Kelley, Gülce Küreli, Emily A Long, Piergiulio R Bressan, Shashwat S...
Transient stoppages of red blood cell (RBC) flow through capillaries—termed capillary stalls—occur persistently in neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s di...
journals.sagepub.com
June 27, 2025 at 2:12 AM
new paper from Boas group
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Nice little story here about my award winning student Kamal
www.uvic.ca/health/stori...
www.uvic.ca/health/stori...
Neuroscience grad makes stroke recovery discovery - Faculty of Health - University of Victoria
A neuroscience graduate whose research focuses on improving the recovery of stroke survivors has been awarded best master’s thesis at the University of Victoria. Kamal Narayana received the Lieutenant...
www.uvic.ca
June 13, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Nice little story here about my award winning student Kamal
www.uvic.ca/health/stori...
www.uvic.ca/health/stori...
Happy to share new paper from MSc grads Myrthe and Jenna. We asked the question, when part of the brain dies during stroke, what happens to local and distant cortical neurons that innervate the stroke site (in S1 cortex) or those that receive outputs? journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Retrograde and anterograde trans-synaptic viral tracing of neuronal connections reveals local and distant effects of ischemic stroke on dendritic spines - Myrthe Van Sprengel, Jenna Butterworth, Patri...
Focal stroke leads to complex neurological disturbances with variable recovery. One explanation for this variability is that stroke disrupts local and remote ne...
journals.sagepub.com
May 27, 2025 at 5:14 AM
Happy to share new paper from MSc grads Myrthe and Jenna. We asked the question, when part of the brain dies during stroke, what happens to local and distant cortical neurons that innervate the stroke site (in S1 cortex) or those that receive outputs? journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by Craig Brown
Excited to share our new study showing that perivascular macrophages promote vascular function in the brain. A greater collaboration with the great Melanie Greter. Huge congratulations to everyone involved! @UZH_en @ImmunityCP
Online now: Interleukin-34-dependent perivascular macrophages promote vascular function in the brain
Interleukin-34-dependent perivascular macrophages promote vascular function in the brain
The niche signals critical for the homeostasis and functions of the brain border-associated macrophages (BAMs) are not well understood. Van Hove et al. demonstrate that BAMs require IL-34 derived from mural cells and perivascular fibroblasts for their maintenance in adulthood. They show that BAMs are required to promote normal vascular function in the brain.
dlvr.it
May 2, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Excited to share our new study showing that perivascular macrophages promote vascular function in the brain. A greater collaboration with the great Melanie Greter. Huge congratulations to everyone involved! @UZH_en @ImmunityCP
Reposted by Craig Brown
If you are interested in glia, are in Canada (yes, Canadians have glia too), and coming to Toronto for @canacn.bsky.social, then you cannot miss our upcoming CANGlia satellite symposium! Please register and submit an abstract, we’ll see you there! 🥂
🇨🇦Registration for the CANGlia 2025 meeting is open 🇨🇦 Join us Tuesday May 20th in Toronto as a @canacn.bsky.social satellite event! 📡 🧠 Register early - space is limited and abstracts are due April 1st! Hope to see you there!
March 7, 2025 at 11:19 AM
If you are interested in glia, are in Canada (yes, Canadians have glia too), and coming to Toronto for @canacn.bsky.social, then you cannot miss our upcoming CANGlia satellite symposium! Please register and submit an abstract, we’ll see you there! 🥂
Reposted by Craig Brown
It’s pretty easy to “apply” for a PhD in Canada, and a little different from most US places, just send a cover letter, CV and undergrad transcript to a PI you’d like to work with. Put some effort into it, make sure you convey what you’re applying for and why.
Many US students don’t know how to seek opportunities outside the US. With some help from our colleagues in EU and Canada, we could put together a consolidated website of PhD opportunities and scholarships outside the US, organized by field. There might still be time for this year in some places.
I’m having similar conversations and sharing international opportunities a lot. I’m sure for a lot of US based trainees that feels overwhelming. I moved to Europe for my postdoc.Happy to chat with any trainees about my experience if it would be helpful.
March 1, 2025 at 2:33 PM
It’s pretty easy to “apply” for a PhD in Canada, and a little different from most US places, just send a cover letter, CV and undergrad transcript to a PI you’d like to work with. Put some effort into it, make sure you convey what you’re applying for and why.
Reposted by Craig Brown
Fantastic new work led by @milenevandal.bsky.social showing that loss of brain endothelial CD2AP in mice alters memory and cerebrovascular function. Interestingly, mutations in CD2AP are known to predispose to Alzheimer’s disease! #cerebrovascular
Loss of endothelial CD2AP causes sex-dependent cerebrovascular dysfunction
Vandal et al. performed a biological sex-based study on the role of the Alzheimer’s
disease (AD) genetic factor CD2AP in brain blood vessels. Using mouse models and human
AD samples, they identified a...
www.cell.com
February 1, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Fantastic new work led by @milenevandal.bsky.social showing that loss of brain endothelial CD2AP in mice alters memory and cerebrovascular function. Interestingly, mutations in CD2AP are known to predispose to Alzheimer’s disease! #cerebrovascular
Reposted by Craig Brown
New paper led by @silvia-anderle.bsky.social
Lifestyle matters for genetic Alzheimer’s disease risk: APOE4 reduces neurovascular function most in an already-stressed system, when neurons are active and mice do less exercise.
I'll tell you all about it! 🧪 #neuroscience #alzheimers
rdcu.be/d74uh
Lifestyle matters for genetic Alzheimer’s disease risk: APOE4 reduces neurovascular function most in an already-stressed system, when neurons are active and mice do less exercise.
I'll tell you all about it! 🧪 #neuroscience #alzheimers
rdcu.be/d74uh
APOE4 and sedentary lifestyle synergistically impair neurovascular function in the visual cortex of awake mice
Communications Biology - Lifestyle matters for genetic Alzheimer’s disease risk: In vivo imaging of mouse blood vessels and neurons shows that APOE4 reduces neurovascular function most in an...
rdcu.be
January 30, 2025 at 3:12 PM
New paper led by @silvia-anderle.bsky.social
Lifestyle matters for genetic Alzheimer’s disease risk: APOE4 reduces neurovascular function most in an already-stressed system, when neurons are active and mice do less exercise.
I'll tell you all about it! 🧪 #neuroscience #alzheimers
rdcu.be/d74uh
Lifestyle matters for genetic Alzheimer’s disease risk: APOE4 reduces neurovascular function most in an already-stressed system, when neurons are active and mice do less exercise.
I'll tell you all about it! 🧪 #neuroscience #alzheimers
rdcu.be/d74uh
Reposted by Craig Brown
This week, we submit abstracts to attend the Brain Barriers 2025 meeting at @cshlaboratory.bsky.social and you should too, submission deadline is January 24th ! meetings.cshl.edu/meetings.asp... This meeting, hosted at a prestigious Institution, is an absolute must for scientists in this field 😇
Brain Barriers
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Meetings & Courses -- a private, non-profit institution with research programs in cancer, neuroscience, plant biology, genomics, bioinformatics.
meetings.cshl.edu
January 14, 2025 at 5:36 PM
This week, we submit abstracts to attend the Brain Barriers 2025 meeting at @cshlaboratory.bsky.social and you should too, submission deadline is January 24th ! meetings.cshl.edu/meetings.asp... This meeting, hosted at a prestigious Institution, is an absolute must for scientists in this field 😇
Reposted by Craig Brown
Paper is out today @biophysj.bsky.social!
Amyloid beta Aβ1-40 activates Piezo1 channels in 🧠 capillary endothelial cells
Congratulations 🎉 to @xinruilimemily1.bsky.social and Luc Willemse. We enjoyed having Luc in the lab as a visiting student. So proud of Emily and Luc!
doi.org/10.1016/j.bp...
Amyloid beta Aβ1-40 activates Piezo1 channels in 🧠 capillary endothelial cells
Congratulations 🎉 to @xinruilimemily1.bsky.social and Luc Willemse. We enjoyed having Luc in the lab as a visiting student. So proud of Emily and Luc!
doi.org/10.1016/j.bp...
December 25, 2024 at 10:50 AM
Paper is out today @biophysj.bsky.social!
Amyloid beta Aβ1-40 activates Piezo1 channels in 🧠 capillary endothelial cells
Congratulations 🎉 to @xinruilimemily1.bsky.social and Luc Willemse. We enjoyed having Luc in the lab as a visiting student. So proud of Emily and Luc!
doi.org/10.1016/j.bp...
Amyloid beta Aβ1-40 activates Piezo1 channels in 🧠 capillary endothelial cells
Congratulations 🎉 to @xinruilimemily1.bsky.social and Luc Willemse. We enjoyed having Luc in the lab as a visiting student. So proud of Emily and Luc!
doi.org/10.1016/j.bp...
Reposted by Craig Brown
First, in rats (PMID: 22654062); then, in primates (PMID: 27830790); and now in humans (again) nature.com/articles/s41...
This is precisely why we need animal research!
Huge congratulations to the authors on this impressive work!
This is precisely why we need animal research!
Huge congratulations to the authors on this impressive work!
Hypothalamic deep brain stimulation augments walking after spinal cord injury - Nature Medicine
Whole-brain anatomical and activity surveys identify the lateral hypothalamus as a key driver of recovery from spinal cord injury, leading to a deep brain stimulation therapy that augments the recover...
nature.com
December 2, 2024 at 7:17 PM
First, in rats (PMID: 22654062); then, in primates (PMID: 27830790); and now in humans (again) nature.com/articles/s41...
This is precisely why we need animal research!
Huge congratulations to the authors on this impressive work!
This is precisely why we need animal research!
Huge congratulations to the authors on this impressive work!
Congrats to the team! Here we directly image and quantify cerebral #angiogenesis and pruning in vivo. Found interesting regional differences and dependence on #notch signalling. Where you look does matter!
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Angiogenesis in the mature mouse cortex is governed in a regional- and Notch1-dependent manner
The angiogenic capacity of the mature healthy brain and its underlying mechanisms
are unclear. Raudales et al. show that rates of cerebral angiogenesis follow regional
gradients and are regulated by e...
www.cell.com
November 28, 2024 at 10:12 PM
Congrats to the team! Here we directly image and quantify cerebral #angiogenesis and pruning in vivo. Found interesting regional differences and dependence on #notch signalling. Where you look does matter!
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Reposted by Craig Brown
Do you study 🧠 barriers & neurovasculature? We still have room in this starter pack, reply here if you are not added already.
Want to follow 🤩 scientists studying the BEST cell types & structures in the CNS (ok, besides neurons, glia, etc)? Click the 'Follow All' button in the top right corner. 😉
Want to follow 🤩 scientists studying the BEST cell types & structures in the CNS (ok, besides neurons, glia, etc)? Click the 'Follow All' button in the top right corner. 😉
🧠 barriers & neurovasculature starter pack - please reply here if you are not on it yet & would like to be added 😊 go.bsky.app/RB6RXKy
November 27, 2024 at 2:16 PM
Do you study 🧠 barriers & neurovasculature? We still have room in this starter pack, reply here if you are not added already.
Want to follow 🤩 scientists studying the BEST cell types & structures in the CNS (ok, besides neurons, glia, etc)? Click the 'Follow All' button in the top right corner. 😉
Want to follow 🤩 scientists studying the BEST cell types & structures in the CNS (ok, besides neurons, glia, etc)? Click the 'Follow All' button in the top right corner. 😉
Reposted by Craig Brown
lol. Proofs arrive at 11:24pm on Friday night. You have 48 hours!!
November 23, 2024 at 7:39 AM
lol. Proofs arrive at 11:24pm on Friday night. You have 48 hours!!
Re-sharing this for those that didn’t see this on X last week. More new stuff coming soon!
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
A pathogenic role for IL-10 signalling in capillary stalling and cognitive impairment in type 1 diabetes - Nature Metabolism
Interleukin-10 promotes the formation of microcirculatory defects in the brain associated with cognitive impairment in a mouse model of type 1 diabetes.
www.nature.com
November 16, 2024 at 2:54 AM
Re-sharing this for those that didn’t see this on X last week. More new stuff coming soon!
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
www.nature.com/articles/s42...