News & Events
Harvard College News shares some exciting news: “The rising senior on the Harvard men’s swimming and diving team found the perfect outlet two years ago in reviving Project Swim, which invites children with Down’s syndrome, Rett syndrome, and autism spectrum disorder to enjoy Harvard’s world-class pool facilities. Hensch now acts as co-president of the volunteer organization.”
We are so proud of Nicola Hensch to not only take part in this amazing program but to now act as the co-president and continue to share his story. Way to go!!
The newest paper in PNAS from Drs. Gabard-Dunham and Hensch, et al, “General Anesthesia in Early Infancy Accelerates Visual Cortical Development” has arrived!
Read the whole article from the MCB news to gain the background of how it all came together.
Congratulations to Gao Ham, PhD for winning the IRCN 2025 neuro-inspired computation course poster award!
We are so excited to have three PRISE winners from the Hensch Lab this year! Aiden J. Bowers (2026), Kevin Cho (2026), and Olivia Pan (2027).
The Program for Research in Science and Engineering (PRISE) is a summer program that aims to build community and stimulate creativity among Harvard undergraduate researchers in the life, physical/natural, engineering and applied sciences.
We warmly congratulate Professor Takao K. Hensch on receiving the most prestigious Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon.
This award is one of Japan’s highest civilian honors, given by the Japanese Imperial Office.
“On 3rd November 2024, the Government of Japan announced that Professor Takao Hensch, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University will receive the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon.
Professor Hensch has served at Harvard University since 2006 and was also lab head and Critical Period Mechanisms Research Group Director at RIKEN Brain Science Institute from 1996 to 2010, making significant contributions to research on critical periods in brain development.
As a member of the Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies at Harvard University, Professor Hensch has contributed to promoting the exchanges of international science students and interns in collaboration with various Japanese universities and research institutions. He has also continued to lead an active collaboration between the University of Tokyo and Boston Children’s Hospital, where he is also Professor of Neurology (Harvard Medical School).” (Consulate-General of Japan in Boston)
The Science Translational Medicine journal has published our “Early Life Stress Shapes Attention Deficits in Male (But Not Female) Mice” findings! Congratulations to Yuichi Makino, Nathaniel Hodgson, et al. MCB Departmental News: Early Life Stress Shapes Attention Deficits in Male (But Not Female) Mice [Hensch Lab] – Harvard University – Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology
The Brain – Gut connection is consistently being researched, and with the focus from Doctors Katz, Tomczak, and Hensch, we now have a connection in children; Probing the microbiome in OCD and tic disorders – Boston Children’s Answers (childrenshospital.org)
The 2024 Dowling Thesis Prize for Undergraduate Neuroscience Research is awarded to our own Jess Leff (Neuro ’24) ! Read more about her story and reaction at MCB News. Congratulations Jess!
We are proud to share that our own Rebecca Reh, PhD, has been awarded the prestigious Brain and Behavior Research Foundation’s Young Investigator Grant (2023)!
She has done amazing work analyzing neuroimaging data, elucidating EEG biomarkers of developmental plasticity in human language acquisition, and much more. Take a moment to read the article in the Cohen Veterans Bioscience.
Mohammed Abuelem, recent graduate of the Hensch Lab and winner of the Thomas T Hoopes Prize for his Harvard senior thesis work, presented at SfN 2023 in Washington DC. He now resides at University of Oxford, in the Molnár Lab. (Picture L to R; Dr. Takao K Hensch, Dr. Michela Fagiolini, and Mohammed Abuelem
World Science Festival Highlights Takao Hensch in New Video
MCB faculty Takao Hensch is being featured alongside neuroscientist John Krakauer of Johns Hopkins and neurotechnologist Brett Wingeier of Magnus Medical in a video about neuroplasticity on the World Science Festival’s YouTube channel. (photo credit: world science festival)
The video–titled “Rewiring the Brain: The Promise and Peril of Neuroplasticity”– is part of World Science Festival’s project of bringing together noted scientists and artists to create exhibits, live events, and multimedia that communicate scientific concepts to the public.
“The World Science Festival has attracted some of the world’s leading scientists and artists,” Hensch says. “It was an honor to share recent progress in the field of neuroplasticity to a much broader audience.”
“Researchers from the Hensch Lab—led by MCB faculty Takao Hensch, Curriculum and Pedagogy Manager Kathleen Quast (Ph.D. ‘13), and then graduate student Rebecca Reh (Ph.D. ‘15)—have identified biomarkers that herald neuronal plasticity in the cerebral cortex. Their results appeared in a recent issue of the journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences).”
The pursuit of Neurobiology, inspired by her siblings, Olympic Bronze Medalist, Gabby_Thomas, has direct ties with the Boston Children’s Hospital Hensch and Fagiolini Labs. The full story can be found here.
Congratulations to Rebecca Reh, Pietro Artoni and Henry Lee for their contributions to the PNAS journal with their articles and amazing cover shot!! PNAS Cover Photo/Articles
Cover image: Pictured is an immunofluorescence image of sensorimotor cortex from an adult male Long-Evans rat, showing perineuronal nets (yellow) wrapped around parvalbumin (PV)+ interneurons (green); the nets protect the interneurons from oxidative stress (blue). Such PV+ networks drive critical periods of brain development. The Biological Embedding Across Timescales Special Feature explores the role of time and timing in the gene–environment interplay that governs biological embedding of experience, a process by which early life experiences can exert lifelong effects on behavior and health. See the Introduction to the Special Feature by W. Thomas Boyce, Marla B. Sokolowski, and Gene E. Robinson on pages 23235–23241. Image credit: Takao K. Hensch and Hing Cheong Lee (Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA).
Have you ever wondered why some people hear in color? Here is a press release summarizing a study by CIFAR Child Brain Development co-Director Takao Hensch, Associate Fellow Janet Werker and colleagues. Their paper “Reduced Perceptual narrowing in synesthesia” explains it all.
Congratulations to Dr. Haneui Bae of the Molecules, Cells, Organisms (MCO) who defended her dissertation, “Modulation of Perineuronal Nets Regulating Parvalbumin Neuron Maturation in the Mouse Visual Cortex” on Jan. 15, 2020
We were honored, yet again, to host and participate, in conjunction with the Conte Center at Harvard, the 4th Annual Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Washington Office, “It’s a Nano World” on November 2, 2019.
“For the fourth year, the Science Forum brought the American and Japanese science communities together in Boston, providing scientists from both countries and elsewhere with the opportunity to exchange ideas and inspiration. Taking the theme of “It’s a nano world!” this year’s event featured keynote lectures by Drs. Kobayashi and Takeuchi, both of whom are globally renowned for their groundbreaking discoveries involving nano-scale matters. Prof. Cathleen Crudden of Queen’s University of Ontario, who was scheduled to give a lecture on nanoparticles’ implications in chemistry and biology, could not attend the forum due to the flooding in her region.”.
The whole world is talking about us! “C’est parti pour le lifting cérébral“, Science & Vie, June 2019, Elsa Abdoun writes about our exciting research over the summer.
The Hensch lab has the distinct honor to grace both the front/back cover of the 2019 MCB brochure. We constantly strive for diversity; both in research interests and the people conducting it. Be sure to check out the list of MCB head tutors, advisors, contact info for outreach programs, and more here: MCB_undergraduates_brochure_2019.
“NMDA 2A receptors in parvalbumin cells mediate sex-specific rapid ketamine response on cortical activity” has just been published by Drs. T. Hensch, N. Picard, A. Takesian, and M. Fagiolini in this month’s edition of Molecular Psychiatry. Read about it in Harvard MCB Department news along with the article. (photo credit: MCB graphics)
The Hensch lab, in conjunction with the Conte Center at Harvard, hosted and participated in the 2nd Annual Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Washington Office, “Food Science for the Future: Health, Supply, and Culture” on November 18, 2018.
“The forum was opened by Dr. Kohji Hirata, Director, JSPS Washington Office; followed by Mr. Rokuichiro Michii, Consul General of Japan in Boston. Porf. Takao K. Hensch, Harvard University; and Porf. Mark C. Elliott, Vice Provost, Harvard University mentioned the relationships between Japan and themselves, and explained the importance of this forum.
Following the Welcome Address, Prof. Kenneth Oye, MIT Political Science, the moderator for the forum, opened the oral sessions by giving an overview of the topics. The Keynote lectures were given from a variety of research fields including, agricultural technology, chemical contamination, diet and obesity, and the culture of “Washoku”. Throughout the event, the speakers delivered compelling talks, which triggered many questions and a lively Q&A discussion”
We were honored, yet again, to host and participate, in conjunction with the Conte Center at Harvard, the 3rd Annual Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Washington Office, “The Science of Sleep” on November 10, 2018.
“Sleep deprivation is a serious societal problem, said Harvard University professor Takao Hensch, who moderated the forum. The race to decode the science behind sleep is heating up, and some major breakthroughs are coming out of Japan, thanks to collaborations among such prominent neuroscientists as Drs. Yanagisawa and Ueda and their counterparts in the U.S. and elsewhere.“
The Conte Center at Harvard, which includes the Hensch Lab, was excited to join MIT on Girls Day, Nov. 3, 12:00 – 4:00 pm. Every November and March, the MIT Museum celebrates women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. Visitors explored, created, and investigated with scientists from many local universities. The community enjoyed hands-on activities, informal talks, and demonstrations. We had a day full of young women (and others!) who were very curious to see how the brain works. Click here to see Girls Day at the MIT Museum. The MCB also wrote an article found here: MCB Professor Inspire Next Generation of Neuroscientists
A perineuronal nets image and explaining their role in learning, memory, plasticity, and more can be found in the October PNAS, Core Concepts article titled, ‘Perineuronal nets gain prominence for their role in learning, memory, and plasticity‘, written by Helen H. Shen.
Congratulations to Dr. Erin Diel of the Molecules, Cells, Organisms (MCO), who defended her dissertation, “Structural and Molecular Correlates of Auditory Plasticity” on Sept. 10, 2018
Curious about people who speak dozens of languages and if brain plasticity is involved? Check out the September 2018 edition of The New Yorker where Professor Takao K. Hensch has some input. (Judith Thurman The New Yorker staff writer)
“Seizures may damage learning capacity of rodent brains”, by Jessica Wright in the July 2018 edition of Spectrumnews.org features and highlights the latest publication by Sun H, et al. Cell Rep. 23, 2533-2540 (2018)
Takao K. Hensch who spoke at the AAAS in Austin, Texas meeting, lends critical research thinking to The Guardian article, “Scientists seek drug to ‘rewire’ adult brain after stroke” (Nicola Davis, Feb. 2018). Professor Hensch is quoted as saying, “The baseline of the brain is plastic, to rewire itself. Through evolution it is necessary to layer on brake-like factors to prevent too much rewiring from happening after a certain point. This offers novel therapeutic possibilities. If we could judiciously lift the brakes later in life perhaps we could reopen this window.” Click on the link above for more insightful research.
We are proud to announce that Professor Takao K Hensch was awarded the 2016 Mortimer D. Sackler, M.D. Prize for Distinguished Achievement in Developmental Psychobiology; “How Early Life Experience Shapes Brain Function” The Columbia University online news did a wonderful piece on the award itself as well as Dr. Hensch’s achievements, stating “Dr. Hensch’s selection as this year’s Sackler Prize recipient is in recognition not only of his pioneering achievements in the understanding of early brain development, but also of his interdisciplinary leadership in research at the interface of neuroscience and cell biology”. (photo credit; Columbia U. News)
Congratulations to Dr. Zhanlei Ye of the Program in Neuroscience, who defended her dissertation, ” Extrinsic and Intrinsic Factors Impacting Local Circuit Inhibition in the Neocortex” on Dec. 2, 2016
“New Treatment for Rett Syndrome Targets Cerebrospinal Fluid”, by Nicholette Zeliadt, Nov. 15, 2016 SpectrumNews.org features Professor Hensch and his lab while at the 2016 Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in San Diego. (photo courtesy of the Transmitter)
Congratulations to Dr. Ryoma Hattori of the Molecules, Cells, Organisms (MCO) Program, who defended his dissertation, “Neural Mechanisms Underlying the Establishment of Unimodality in Mouse Primary Visual Cortex,” on November 20, 2016!
The Hensch lab, in conjunction with the Conte Center at Harvard, hosted and participated in the 1st Annual Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Washington Office, Changing the World through Japan’s Scientific Endeavors on November 12, 2016.
“Themed “Japan’s Rapidly Aging Society,” the forum started with opening remarks by Dr. Mitsuaki Nozaki, Director, JSPS Washington Office and Mr. Rokuichiro Michii, Consul-General, Consulate General of Japan in Boston. The lectures were given by Japanese researchers who are active in the US. Throughout the event, the speakers gave excellent talks and received questions during lively Q&A time.”.
by Richard Freidman October 8, 2016Photo courtesy: The NYTimes, Harry Campbell 10/08/16
Congratulations to Dr. Rebecca Reh of the Program in Neuroscience, who defended her dissertation, “A rapid peak in gamma power signals critical period plasticity in the developing mouse visual cortex,” on July 16, 2016!
Scientific American features an article by Professor Hensch:
“THE POWER OF THE INFANT BRAIN”
An understanding of formative periods of intense learning during childhood suggests strategies for correcting neurological and psychiatric disorders later in life.
Related Medscape Story:
Harnessing the Childhood Brain to Treat Alzheimer Disease, Autism, and Mental Illness
“Remodeling of retrotransposon elements during epigenetic induction of adult visual cortical plasticity by HDAC inhibitors”
Lennartsson, A., Arner, E., Fagiolini, M. et al. Epigenetics & Chromatin 8, 55 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13072-015-0043-3
A new collaborative study highlighting the importance of chromatin regulation in adult visual cortical plasticity.
Featured in Active Motif January 2016 Epigenetics News. Originally published in Epigenetics & Chromatin, Dec 2015.
November 4, 2015. By B.D. Colen.
“Instructing Perisomatic Inhibition by Direct Lineage Reprogramming of Neocortical Projection Neurons” (Ye, Zhanlei et al. Neuron, Volume 88, Issue 3, 475 – 483)
A new collaborative study with the Arlotta Lab, Published in Neuron November 2015
Featured in Harvard Gazette Story, “Neurons reprogrammed in animals”
Congratulations to Dr. Luke Bogart of the Program in Neuroscience, who defended his dissertation, “Synaptic specificity and plasticity in parvalbumin-basket cell circuits,” on August 14, 2015!
Aired May 19th. “Bridget Kendall and guests consider plasticity from several viewpoints: Aurora Robson is an artist who works with plastic garbage, Sujata Kundu a nanochemist who analyses plasticity at the level of atoms and electrons, and Takao Hensch a neuroscientist investigating whether it’s possible to recreate youth-like plasticity in an adult brain.”
Circadian rhythms outside the brain’s central pacemaker may control the trajectory of brain plasticity
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