Because MSU has become known as a top university for research, Stephen Hsu, MSU’s vice president for research and graduate studies, said it has become increasingly important for MSU to get where the world is going.

“It’s getting to the point where all sorts of people are emerging to make investigations in the brain, to make things possible that weren’t possible 30 to 40 years ago that are going to happen in the next 10, 20 or 30 years,” Hsu said. “At Michigan State, we have to really work to stay at the forefront of that technology.”

When it comes to Alzheimer’s, Chan said the problem comes not from the fat, but from ceramide, a compound that is made during the breakdown of the fat.

“It wasn’t so much the fats itself, it’s one of its intermediates when it’s metabolized,” Chan said. “The effects are coming from ceramide. (We) inhibited production of ceramide … (we) injected the inhibitor that inhibits the conversion, and the pathology goes down.”

Another big discovery comes from professor Karim Oweiss, whose previous research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. After studying the interaction between neurons in the brain, he has helped to develop a device that can be placed in the brain to help control an outer limb, similar to a prosthetic.

Oweiss said the device combination will help improve the lives of those with brain injuries, such as the aftermath of a stroke, who often feel a disconnect between their brain and their body.

“(The devices) are made out of silicon, and we can stick them into motor areas of the brain and monitor activity from many neurons,” Oweiss said. “The premise here is to define the patient and assess how they can impact daily life. There is a direct pathway between the brain and the man-made machine.”

Although the devices have yet to be approved, Oweiss has high hopes for their potential.

“In the short term we want to ensure that these devices are safe to implant and that they last for the lifetime of the patient and provide utility of upper and lower limb function,” he said.

MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon said Oweiss’s research, as well as the research of many others, is moving in the right direction.

“This is clearly extraordinary work, and it’s representative of Bolder by Design in the idea of the brain initiative,” Simon said at the Board of Trustees’ June meeting. “It’s built on the existing strength of those that are probably working without headlines, making dramatic contributions, and it’s also indicative of science moving forward where you see collaborators from across the country around the world working together.”