Ruilin Tian, a Biophysics PhD student in the Kampmann lab, was awarded the Tau consortium fellowship. The Tau Consortium is an international group of clinical and basic scientists who work together to understand, treat, and cure tau-related neurodegenerative diseases (tauopathies). In the Kampmann lab, Ruilin has developed a CRISPR-based technology platform (CRISPRa) to manipulate gene expression in cultured human neurons, and he is applying this technology to understand the mechanisms by which disease-associated mutations in tau cause neurodegeneration, and to uncover potential therapeutic targets.