Neurobiology and Changing Ecosystems

Exploring mechanisms underlying resilience of neural systems in the face of accelerated environmental change

Neural systems evolved over hundreds of millions of years to allow organisms to sense and respond to their environments – to be receptive and responsive, yet flexible. Recent rapid, human-generated environmental changes are testing the limits of the adaptive capacity of neural systems. This presents an opportunity and a need for interdisciplinary and transformative research to understand responses induced by pollution, habitat depletion, climate change, and other environmental perturbations.

The Kavli Foundation's Neurobiology and Changing Ecosystems program supports research investigating how neural processes – including molecular, cellular, and circuit-level mechanisms – are impacted by or resilient to changing environments. We believe this emerging scientific area is of great societal and scientific importance and will provide a unique opportunity to re-examine our understanding of neural adaptation and the mechanisms underlying neural resilience.

Learn more about projects the foundation has funded.

Scientific Landscape

Kavli staff published a review in Frontiers in Neural Circuits outlining several areas that merit further inquiry to answer fundamental questions about the resiliency of neural systems.

Learn more

Kavli-Grass Fellowships

In partnership with The Grass Foundation, The Kavli Foundation supports early career scientists’ research related to neurobiology and changing ecosystems.
Learn more

Kavli Exploration Awards

Seven international researchers received the inaugural Neurobiology and Changing Ecosystems Kavli Exploration Awards.

Learn more

Explore the latest news, events, and discoveries from our Neurobiology and Changing Ecosystems program.

See all news