California's neuroscience program, Cal-BRAIN, designed to complement the Obama administration's federal BRAIN Initiative, announced its first wave of funding this week.
Two of the 16 researchers selected to receive grants of $120,000 each are based at UC San Diego.
Brenda Bloodgood hopes to develop tools for getting a closer look at molecules called inducible transcription factors. They're thought to help the brain turn split-second signals into retrievable memories by regulating genes within brain cells.
"The question is, how do these fleeting experiences become long-lasting representations in your brain?" Bloodgood said.
Better understanding memory formation could yield insights into conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder in the future, Bloodgood said.
Another Cal-BRAIN grant went to UC San Diego's Drew Hall, whose project will focus on building sensors that could record neural interactions in the brain without creating scar tissue over time.
Cal-BRAIN is co-directed by another UC San Diego neuroscientist, Ralph Greenspan.
Bloodgood said it's an exciting time to be studying the brain in San Diego.
"I feel quite lucky that as a new faculty member, I wound up in San Diego," she said. "Because there's so much momentum."
Bloodgood was hired into her first faculty position less than three years ago. As a relatively young scientist, she said securing a Cal-BRAIN grant is encouraging during a time when federal grants are increasingly going to older researchers.
