Brandon Levy

Brandon Levy is a Health Communications Specialist for the NIH’s Intramural Research Program, where he works to increase the IRP’s public profile and ensure IRP scientists get the recognition they deserve. He particularly enjoys writing about the cutting-edge research performed at NIH but also produces videos and content for social media. Before joining the IRP, he worked as a science writer in NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and as a postbaccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA) fellow in NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), spending his days putting people inside giant magnets and sending magnetic waves into their brains to shed light on the mysteries of learning and memory. When he’s not hunched over a computer keyboard, Brandon enjoys singing in his acapella group, reading, honing his skills as an amateur chef, and over-obsessing about college basketball.

Posts By This Author

Robot-Assisted Experiments Point to Treatments for Rare Cancer

Study Identifies Drugs That Exploit the Disease’s Weak Spots

drug-screening robots performing automated experiments

The best way to destroy a cancer cell is to target its weak points, but that’s obviously easier said than done, especially when you want to kill those diseased cells while sparing healthy ones. That’s where robots come in, allowing scientists to quickly evaluate the effects of thousands of drugs on cancer to see what works and what doesn’t. IRP researchers recently used that approach to identify potential treatments for a rare skin cancer, including a strategy that appears to be particularly good at hitting the disease where it’s most vulnerable.

Tracking the Neuronal Response to Head Injury

New IRP Study Identifies Vulnerable and Resilient Brain Cells

man being treated for a head injury

Even with our thick skulls to protect our fragile brains, a hard enough blow to the head will still send our neurons into a tizzy. However, not all neurons are affected in the same way by a ‘traumatic brain injury,’ or TBI for short. By developing a way to see which neurons turn on a distress signal after a mild TBI, IRP researchers recently identified differences between neurons that die afterwards and those that are shaken up by the injury but manage to recover over time.

Experimental Psoriasis Drug Comes With An ‘On-Off’ Switch

IRP Research Could Lead to Light-Activated Treatments for Numerous Diseases

light bulb

Many helpful contraptions we use every day would be problematic if we couldn’t turn them off when we didn't need them. After all, you wouldn’t want to leave your oven on when you’re out of town, and most people wouldn’t sleep well with their bedside lamp on all night. Many medical treatments would benefit from the same flexibility, but creating such treatments is no easy task. IRP researchers recently took a significant step forward in this area by creating an experimental treatment for an irritating skin condition that can be activated and inactivated using different colors of light.

Get a Glimpse of NIH’s Graduate Student Science

Aspiring Scientists Show off Research Findings at Annual Event

IRP graduate student Angel Delgado

The NIH IRP provides not only a world-class environment for skilled scientists to make groundbreaking discoveries, but also an exhilarating training ground for the next generation of researchers. Among the many budding scientists working on NIH’s campuses are graduate students conducting part of their dissertation research in IRP labs. 

Of course, these ambitious trainees aren’t waiting until they receive their degrees to contribute to scientific breakthroughs. At this year’s Graduate Student Research Symposium, more than 100 of them presented research on topics ranging from the skin condition psoriasis to the role of immune cells in Alzheimer’s disease. Read on to learn more about some of the ways current IRP graduate students have expanded our understanding of the human body.

A Fight With The Flu Could Help Control COVID-19

IRP Mouse Study Reveals Factors That Influence Pandemic Virus’ Replication in the Lungs

a person's lungs surrounded by virus particles

Tuberculosis, the flu, a staph infection, asthma — you’d think all these ailments could only be bad news for the lungs. However, if they don’t get out of control, they might actually turn out to have an unexpected benefit. A new IRP mouse study suggests that a recent bout with these illnesses might prime the lungs to keep a lid on a COVID-19 infection.

One of the most perplexing aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic was the huge variation in individual experiences with the disease. Despite the incredibly infectious nature of the virus that causes it, SARS-CoV-2, many people never got sick at all, or at least never showed symptoms. For those who showed symptoms, they ranged wildly, mild for some and life-threatening for others.

A Step Towards Precision Medicine for Lupus

IRP Research Hints at Potential of Genomic Technologies to Predict Patient Outcomes

blood vial and diagram showing DNA methylation markers on DNA molecules

Our genes certainly have a huge influence over our risk for disease, but they don’t operate in a vacuum. Rather, they’re decorated with numerous molecular tags like a bejeweled bracelet, and these ‘epigenetic’ markers affect how genes behave. A recent IRP study revealed differences in certain epigenetic markers that may one day help doctors more effectively treat patients with the autoimmune disease known as lupus.

Heavy Drinking Linked to Smell and Taste Alterations

IRP Research Utilizes National Study’s Data to Explore Under-Examined Phenomenon

woman tasting soup

From the spicy Bloody Mary and sweet piña colada to salty margaritas and bitter cheap beers, alcoholic drinks span the entire spectrum of tastes. It’s not a far leap, then, to think that the sense of taste can influence alcohol consumption habits, and vice-versa. A recent IRP study dove into this question, ultimately discovering a number of ways that smell and taste perception differ in people with high-risk drinking habits.

Tracking Sickle Cell Symptoms With Infrared Light

New IRP Study Supports Non-Invasive Way to Gauge Blood Vessel Health

infrared lamp

Nobody likes being jabbed with a needle for blood tests, but for people with sickle cell disease, it’s a necessary and frequent annoyance to make sure their condition is under control. However, blood tests may become less needed in the future for those patients thanks to new IRP research that has identified ways to measure certain health metrics using non-invasive, light-based technologies.

Antiviral Drug Stems the Spread of Parkinson’s-Promoting Protein

Study Shows Promise of New Treatment Approach in 3D Brain ‘Organoid’ Model

older man having difficulty eating soup

Our cells’ survival depends on their ability to take in the nutrients and other substances that they require. Unfortunately, this capacity is a double-edged sword, as cells can bring in both valuable resources and ticking time bombs. However, IRP researchers recently identified an existing drug that may be able to combat Parkinson’s disease by reducing cells’ penchant for snatching up the toxic proteins involved in Parkinson’s disease.

Welcoming NIH’s Four Newest Lasker Scholars

IRP Program Boosts Careers of Promising Physician-Scientists

clockwise from top-left: Dr. Lisa McReynolds, Dr. Chris Grunseich, Dr. Samira Sadowski, and Dr. Andrea Lisco

Many scientists have a seemingly single-minded focus on their research, but there are considerable benefits to having one foot in the lab and the other in the clinic. Working with patients gives researchers a daily reminder of the people they are working so hard to help and allows them to investigate the effects of promising but still experimental treatments in willing volunteers. That’s one of the main reasons why the IRP’s Lasker Clinical Research Scholars Program is designed to accelerate the careers of promising early-career physician-scientists. 

This year, four NIH researchers began receiving support from the Lasker program, allowing them to dramatically expand their cutting-edge research. From investigating the roots of muscle-weakening genetic conditions to probing the mysteries of rare, hormone-producing tumors, these individuals will use the leg up provided by the Lasker Program to make new discoveries that could one day improve their patients’ lives. Read on to learn more about the exciting research the latest crop of Lasker Scholars is pursuing.

This page was last updated on Wednesday, March 15, 2023