Media & Press

For media and press enquiries, please contact:
April Cashin-Garbutt
Head of Research Communications and Engagement
a.cashin-garbutt@ucl.ac.uk

To access our latest press releases:
Please visit our News Releases page.

To sign-up to receive our news releases:
Please join our Press Distribution Mailing List.

About the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre

The Sainsbury Wellcome Centre brings together world-leading neuroscientists to generate theories about how neural circuits in the brain give rise to the fundamental processes underpinning behaviour, including perception, memory, expectation, decisions, cognition, volition and action.

Funded by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and Wellcome, the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre is located within UCL and is closely associated with the Faculties of Life Sciences and Brain Sciences.

In the News

The Transmitter covered research led by Professor Tom Mrsic-Flogel on the dynamics of decision-making: Widely distributed brain areas sync to orchestrate decisions in rodents
Podcast The Brain and Brand Show spoke with Professor Sonja Hofer about her group's research into how the brain functions as a ‘prediction machine’. Listen to the podcast
IFLScience covered research led by SWC Senior Research Fellow Shohei Furutachi: Newly Discovered Brain Mechanism Helps Us Handle Surprises.
Public Sector Build Journal featured an article by Eve McLoughlin, Centre Lab Manager at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre and Tim Fry, Director at Arup: Urban Labs: Fostering Innovation Through Collaborative Design (page 30-31).
Times Higher Education featured an article by April Cashin-Garbutt, SWC Head of Research Communications and Engagement, on 'Treading the tightrope: AI in education'
Neuroscience podcast Neuroverse spoke with SWC Group Leader Professor Tiago Branco about different approaches to understanding the neural basis of behaviour, how rodents respond instinctively to imminent threat, and neural computations across scales. Listen to the podcast
BBC Radio 6 Lauren Laverne spoke live with SWC Group Leader Dr Julia Harris on her research on sleep and her involvement in the new, free Hello Brain! exhibition at The Francis Crick Institute. Listen to the interview (from 08:34)
New Scientist featured research by SWC Resident Scholar Professor Linda Wilbrecht: The hidden evolutionary advantages of the teenage brain
Neuroscience podcast Neuroverse featured a discussion with machine learning PhD student, Pierre Glaser from the Gatsby Computationsal Neuroscience Unit on designing generative models. Listen to the podcast
Technology Networks covered research by SWC Group Leader Jeff Erlich's lab: Lottery-Loving Rats Reveal How the Brain Handles Uncertainty
Quanta Magazine featured Joint SWC-GCNU Group Leader Professor Andrew Saxe and colleagues at Howard Hughes Medical Institute Janelia Research Campus on their work using artificial neural networks to explore how the brain stores memories for both predictable and unusual events. Read the article
Neuroverse podcast featured Professor Sonja Hofer in a discussion around sense-perception, prediction error and control of flexible behaviours. Listen to the podcast
The British Neuroscience Association (BNA) featured April Cashin-Garbutt, Head of Research Communications and Engagement at SWC in their Face of the Fortnight initiative. Read more
Neuroverse podcast hosted a discussion on challenges with collaborative neuroscience and how generative AI language models are impacting the world, featuring SWC PhD student Jai Bhagat. Listen to the podcast
Nature published a feature on research in the Branco lab: 'Lab mice go wild: making experiments more natural in order to decode the brain'
Neuroscience podcast Neuroverse featured a discussion with Clémentine Domine, a PhD student at the Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit working with Professor Andrew Saxe and Professor Caswell Barry: 'Neuro-Inspired AI'
Fitzrovia News featured The SWC Lecture 2023 by Professor Stephen Reicher: 'The Covid pandemic and government decision-making under stress'
SWC Group Leader Dr Ann Duan was interviewed on the Stories of Women in Neuroscience podcast about her career journey so far, including how it has been to start her own lab as well as be a parent in academia
Associate Professor Andrew Saxe was interviewed about his work on deep neural networks and representation learning in artificial and natural systems after being selected as a Blavatnik Finalist for Life Sciences 2023
Research by the Branco Lab on escape behaviour was featured in Knowable Magazine: 'How the brain calculates a quick escape' and republished in Smithsonian Magazine
Dr Sara Mederos was interviewed by Research Professional News following her Wellcome Early Career Award: 'My winning proposal: Reaching out'
Professor Tiago Branco was awarded the Francis Crick Medal and Lecture by the Royal Society
Dr Sara Mederos received a FENS Young Investigator Award for her outstanding contribution to neuroscience
Associate Professor Andrew Saxe was awarded a Schmidt Science Polymaths Award
Neuropixels were modified to be used for recording in human brains, as featured in Spectrum
Big Think chronicled Professor John O'Keefe's discovery of place cells in a piece about the book Dark and Magical Places: The Neuroscience of Navigation by molecular biologist Christopher Kemp
Professor Troy Margrie and Dr Adam Tyson were interviewed on News Medical about their stories in neuroscience and the role open-source platforms like BrainGlobe play in scientific advancements
Dr Grace Linday was featured on The Rewired Soul podcast, where she discusses her book and the direction the neuroscience field is taking
Dr Sonja Hofer was interviewed on the Hidden Figures: Brain Science through Diversity Podcast about her research background and view on mentorship, transcript here
Dr Athena Akrami and the Patient-Led Research Collaborative's long COVID research received worldwide media coverage reaching 27 countries in 12 different languages including coverage in The Guardian, Forbes, Sky News, Financial Times and BBC
The Brain Inspired Podcast interviews Dr Grace Lindsay about her new book, Models of the Mind
The Guardian covers research by a group of long Covid patients who are also researchers, including Dr Athena Akrami, to understand the real impact of Covid-19: 'Many 'long Covid' sufferers unable to fully work six months later'
E&T features the novel Neuron study by Dr Kelly Clancy and Professor Tom Mrsic-Flogel: 'Mice taught to guide computer mouse with brain activity'
10 News First visited the Murray Lab to find out about their work on COVID-19
Massive Science reported on the Branco Lab's discovery of shelter direction cells
BBC 5 Live Breakfast interviewed Dr Elena Dreosti about what her work on social isolation in zebrafish means for humans during COVID-19 lockdown, 'Will lockdown loneliness make us loners?' (From 57:00 mark)
Times Higher Education reported on the SWC and British Neuroscience Association event on REF and reproduciblity 'Managers who ‘fetishise’ certain journals warp incentive culture'
The Economist discusses Neuropixels in their Thought Experiments piece: 'How brains and machines can be made to work together'
Nature highlights the work of the Murray group: 'The cells that set the body straight'
Público interview Adam Kampff: 'Não precisamos de mais dados, precisamos de ideias melhores'
Massive Science publish a feature on work from the O'Keefe lab: 'New research suggests our brains update an internal ‘cognitive map’ when the environment changes'
Technology Networks highlights BrainCamp Kosovo: 'Refugee Returns to Raise Profile of Science in Kosovo'
Technology Networks covers research from the Hofer lab: 'Study Measures Activity of Multiple Cell Types During Learning'
Science et Vie features Tiago Branco's Nature paper: 'On sait comment le cerveau décide de fuir'
The Times discusses the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre building: 'Social spaces, lots of light, saunas — how architecture makes us happy'
BBC Radio 4 references work by Professor John O'Keefe in the Book of the Week podcast: 'On Mazes and Labyrinths'
The Irish Times covers Professor John O'Keefe's lecture at the Schrödinger at 75 conference: 'Spatial tests could reveal early sign of Alzheimer’s, says expert'
Engineering and Technology includes comments from Professor Tom Otis in their film review: 'Upgrade: technology for the human body 2.0'
Scientific American features an article from Andy Murray: 'Neuroscientists Use Rabies to Explore the Brain'