{"690269":{"#nid":"690269","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Nathan McDonald and Farzaneh Najafi Awarded Curci Foundation Grants","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ETwo\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;School of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E assistant professors,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/nathan%20mcdonald\u0022\u003ENathan McDonald\u003C\/a\u003E and\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/farzaneh-najafi\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;Farzaneh Najafi\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;have received Curci Foundation grants to support new research in their fields.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/curcifoundation.org\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EShurl and Kay Curci Foundation\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E funds science-based projects with an emphasis on advancing a healthy and sustainable future for humans, focusing on early-stage research with\u0026nbsp;far-reaching and lasting implications.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cThis is a special program that supports junior faculty with particular creativity,\u201d says School of Biological Sciences Chair\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003ETodd Streelman\u003C\/strong\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u201cThe best part for me is that representatives from the Curci Foundation visit our campus and conduct in-person interviews, showing they value both the projects and the young scientists.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENathan McDonald: Understanding Synapses and Engineering their Repair\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.mcdonald-lab.org\/\u0022\u003EMcDonald Lab\u003C\/a\u003E studies the fundamental biology of synapses, the tiny structures that allow neurons to communicate. Their research focuses on understanding how the nervous system and brain develop, specifically how hundreds of billions of neurons form and connect through trillions of synapses \u2013 and how they continue to change throughout adult life.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cWhat\u2019s exciting about the grant is that it allows us to apply that knowledge and explore whether and how we might control synapse formation,\u201d explains McDonald.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe McDonald Lab will examine whether the molecular processes neurons use to build synapses during early development can be reactivated later in life.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EIf successful, the new research could have implications for aging and neurodegenerative conditions in which synapses are lost, potentially revealing ways to repair specific synapses and restore their function.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cMany researchers are interested in repairing or regenerating synapses. Most approaches so far have focused on pharmaceuticals \u2013 using drugs to influence synaptic strength.\u0026nbsp;What makes our approach unique is that we are trying to leverage the developmental machinery that neurons already have,\u201d he explains.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EMcDonald and his team are working with\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003ECaenorhabditis elegans\u003C\/em\u003E, a microscopic roundworm widely used in neuroscience research. The organism offers a simplified, tractable system for examining how synapses are built, dismantled, and potentially rebuilt.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cIf we can demonstrate proof of concept in a simple nervous system, that opens the door to scaling these approaches to more complex models,\u201d explains McDonald.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EHe plans to use the Curci funds to support students and staff as they explore these new methods for engineering synapse formation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cThe work has the potential to be developed into something more translational and applicable to disease,\u201d says McDonald. \u201cThese sources of funding are incredibly important for launching new research directions.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFarzaneh Najafi: Exploring Sleep and the Cerebellum\u2019s Role in Cognitive Health\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThe\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.najafilab.org\/\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;Farzaneh Najafi Lab\u003C\/a\u003E examines predictive processing, how the brain makes and learns predictions about the world. Najafi\u2019s research focuses on deepening understanding of how sleep supports learning and cognitive health across the lifespan.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ENajafi\u2019s Curci-funded research will examine how the brain uses sleep to reorganize itself after learning, with a particular focus on the cerebellum, a region that contains nearly 80 percent of the brain\u2019s neurons. By identifying changes in cerebellar activity during sleep, her work has the potential to improve early detection of neurological disorders.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cWe know that sleep stabilizes memories in areas like the cortex and hippocampus, but we know very little about what sleep does in the cerebellum,\u201d says Najafi. \u201cThis grant allows us to bring sleep, cerebellar circuitry, and learning together.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ENajafi and her team will combine behavioral experiments with high-resolution imaging to study how cerebellar circuits and synapses change across wake and sleep.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re looking at cerebellar activity during sleep at the circuit and synapse level to see how learning-related changes unfold,\u201d explains Najafi.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EIn some cerebellar disorders, sleep disturbances can appear five to 10 years before motor symptoms begin. By identifying early changes in cerebellar activity during sleep, Najafi\u2019s research could help pinpoint neurological disease at a stage when intervention may still be possible.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003ECurci funding will allow Najafi\u2019s lab to collect foundational data needed to establish the first mechanistic links between sleep, cerebellar activity, and long-term brain health.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cMany traditional funding mechanisms are hesitant to support these kinds of higher\u2011risk directions, especially early on, but this award makes it possible to pursue a new and promising line of inquiry,\u201d says Najafi.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003EBy funding two distinct early-stage projects, the Curci Foundation will help advance research focused on improving neurological health.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":" By funding two distinct early-stage projects, the Curci Foundation will help advance research focused on improving neurological health."}],"uid":"36607","created_gmt":"2026-05-13 16:52:38","changed_gmt":"2026-05-13 17:32:03","author":"ls67","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-05-13T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-05-13T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680269":{"id":"680269","type":"image","title":"Nathan McDonald","body":"\u003Cp\u003ENathan McDonald\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1778691207","gmt_created":"2026-05-13 16:53:27","changed":"1778691207","gmt_changed":"2026-05-13 16:53:27","alt":"Male headshot","file":{"fid":"264515","name":"Nathan-McDonald-headshot_new.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/13\/Nathan-McDonald-headshot_new.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/13\/Nathan-McDonald-headshot_new.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":268203,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/05\/13\/Nathan-McDonald-headshot_new.jpg?itok=w7k-LGCd"}},"680270":{"id":"680270","type":"image","title":"Farzaneh Najafi","body":"\u003Cp\u003EFarzaneh Najafi\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1778691268","gmt_created":"2026-05-13 16:54:28","changed":"1778691268","gmt_changed":"2026-05-13 16:54:28","alt":"Headshot of a young woman","file":{"fid":"264516","name":"farzaneh1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/13\/farzaneh1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/13\/farzaneh1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":626473,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/05\/13\/farzaneh1.jpg?itok=KdVImNcw"}}},"media_ids":["680269","680270"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/neuro.gatech.edu\/molecules-mind-farzaneh-najafi-receives-multiple-awards-cognitive-research","title":"From Molecules to Mind: Farzaneh Najafi Receives Multiple Awards for Cognitive Research"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"192249","name":"cos-community"},{"id":"5775","name":"Bioscience Research"},{"id":"762","name":"Bioscience"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELaura S. Smith, writer\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["laura.smith@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}