Past Seminars
All neuroscience seminars are held on Mondays, at 12:00 PM, via Zoom, unless otherwise noted. Check the calendar for the most updated information.
Spring 2022
Dr. Katrina Adams
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Center for Neuroscience Research
Children's National Hospital
Monday, January 3, 2022
"Elucidating the molecular mechanisms of neural stem cell-derived gliogenesis"
Dr. Victor Luna
Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurobiology, Department of Psychiatry
Columbia University
Thursday, January 6, 2022
“Harnessing neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity to reverse cognitive decline due to aging”
Dr. Aminata Coulibaly
Research Associate, Center for Brain Immunology and Glia, Department of Neurology
University of Virginia
Monday, January 10, 2022
"Elucidating the role of neutrophils in the CNS”
Dr. Irene Lorenzo Llorente
Assistant Researcher, Department of Neurology
University of California, Los Angeles
Thursday, January 13, 2022
“Understanding brain repair through stem cell biology and cellular transplantation”
Dr. Jennifer Wong
Instructor, Department of Human Genetics
Emory University
Thursday, January 20, 2022
“Voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) and epilepsy”
Dr. Maged Mohamed Harraz
Instructor, The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Monday, January 24, 2022
"Molecular mechanisms of autophagy in drug abuse: Uncovering a novel cocaine receptor"
Dr. Ruifeng Cao
Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Department of Neuroscience
The University of Minnesota Medical School
Thursday, January 27, 2022
"The brain clock, translational control, and neurodevelopmental disorders"
Dr. Morgan Bridi
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Pharmacology
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Monday, February 14, 2022
"Deficits in inhibitory circuitry and visual processing in Cntnap2-/- autism-model mice"
Dr. Michelle Bridi
Assistant Research Scientist, Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute
Johns Hopkins University
Monday, February 14, 2022
"Synaptic weights and balances: How experience and sleep control cortical plasticity"
Dr. Lena Ting
Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine
Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology
Monday, February 28, 2022
"Cortical activity during reactive balance reflect balance function in health, aging, and disease."
Dr. Jed Barash
Medical Director
Chelsea Soldiers' Home
Monday, March 21, 2022
"In Pursuit of the Memory Thief: An Association Between Opioids and Acute Hippocampal Injury"
Dr. Anna Konova
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry & UBHC; Co-Director, Rutgers-Princeton Center for Computation Neuro-Psychiatry (CCNP)
Rutgers University - New Brunswick
Monday, March 28, 2022
"Addiction states as dynamic changes in valuation"
Dr. Staci Bilbo
Professor, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Neurobiology, and Cell Biology
Duke University
Monday, April 11, 2022
"Microglia, microglia, and development of the social brain"
Dr. Hiroyuki Kato
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Monday, April 18, 2022
Fall 2021 Schedule
Dr. James Mahoney III
Assistant Professor, Behavioral Medicine & Psychiatry; Neuroscience
West Virginia University
Monday, September 27, 2021
“Neuromodulation as an adjunctive treatment for substance use disorder”
Dr. Michael Krashes
Section Chief, Motivational Processes Underlying Appetite, Diabetes, Endocrinology, & Obesity Branch
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health
Monday, October 8, 2021
“Conflict feeding: foraging in the face of danger”
Dr. Tonisha Kearney-Ramos
Assistant Professor, Psychiatry
Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Monday, October 18, 2021
“Multimodal approaches to investigating the neural mechanisms and clinical efficacy of therapeutic neuromodulation for addiction”
Dr. Le Ma
Associate Professor, Neuroscience
Thomas Jefferson University
Monday, October 25, 2021
“Molecular and cellular mechanisms of axonal branch development”
Dr. Ketema Paul
Professor,Integrative Biology & Physiology
University of California, Los Angeles
Monday, November 8, 2021
“Bmal1 expression in skeletal muscle provides protection against behavioral deficits associated with sleep loss”
Spring 2021
Dr. Marie-Christine Miquel
Associate Professor, Center for Integrative Biology
Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatie
Monday, January 25, 2021
“InCogMito: mitochondria, cognition and adult-born neurons”
Dr. Robert C. Froemke
Professor, Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery; Neuroscience & Physiology
New York University Langone Health
Monday, February 8, 2021
“Social transmission of maternal behavior via oxytocin and synaptic plasticity”
Dr. Huda Akil
Co-Director and Research Professor, MBNI
Gardner C. Quarton Distinguished University Professor of Neurosciences, Department of Psychiatry
University of Michigan
Monday, February 15, 2021
“The neurobiology of stress vulnerability and resilience: animal models and human studies of depression”
Dr. Leslie Sombers
*Seminar co-hosted with the C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry
Professor, Chemistry, Comparative Medicine Institute
North Carolina State University
Monday, February 22, 2021
“Neurochemical characterization of striatal function: from new electroanalytical tools to new insight”
Dr. Carol A. Colton
Professor, Neurology
Duke University School of Medicine
Monday, March 8, 2021
“Immunity and re-programming of the brain’s metabolism in neurodegenerative diseases”
Dr. Ruifeng “Ray” Cao
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Sciences
University of Minnesota Medical School
Monday, March 15, 2021
“Translational control of circadian physiology and dysfunction in neurodevelopmental disorders”
Dr. Hal S. Greenwald
Program Ofcer, Cognitive & Computational Neuroscience
Air Force Ofce of Scientic Research (AFOSR/RTA)
Monday, March 22, 2021
“Cognitive & computational neuroscience at the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR)”
Dr. Ulrich Ettinger
Professor, Psychology
University of Bonn, Germany
Monday, March 29, 2021
“Effects of ketamine on oculomotor and neuroimaging biomarkers of schizophrenia”
Dr. Alfonso Apicella
Associate Professor, Biology
The University of Texas at San Antonio
Monday, April 12, 2021
“Cortical circuits organization of GABAergic neurons: local vs. long-range”
Dr. Martin Hruska
Assistant Professor, Neuroscience
West Virginia University
Monday, April 19, 2021
“Nanoscale rules of synaptic organization and spine structural plasticity: insights from super-resolution imaging”
Dr. Corey Harwell
Assistant Professor, Neurobiology
Harvard University Medical School
Monday, April 26, 2021
"Development and Diversity of Neural Cell Types in the Septum”
Fall 2020
Dr. Nabil Alkayed
Oregon Health & Science University, School of Medicine
Monday, September 28, 2020
“GPR39: receptor discovery, drug development, and clinical translation”
Dr. Luc Maroteaux
Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
*Monday, October 12, 2020
“Serotonin receptor 5-HT2B in the brain: contribution to inflammation, depression, and impulsivity”
Dr. Susan Fagan
University of Georgia, School of Pharmacy
Monday, October 19, 2020
“Reducing disability after stroke: new avenues”
Dr. Kathleen E. Morrison
West Virginia University
Monday, October 26, 2020
“Lifelong consequences of adversity during dynamic periods of brain development: a role for chromatin accessibility”
Dr. Shuo Wang
West Virginia University
Monday, November 9, 2020
“Feature-based encoding of face identity by single neurons in the human medial temporal lobe”
Dr. Gordon Shepherd
Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine
Monday, November 16, 2020
“Circuit organization of forelimb cortex in the mouse”
Dr. John Howland
University of Saskatchewan, College of Medicine, Saskatoon, Canada
Monday, November 23, 2020
“Cortical involvement in working memory: sub-regions, sensory modalities, and tasks in rats”
Dr. John Ngai
Director, BRAIN Initiative
National Institutes of Health
Monday, November 30, 2020
“BRAIN Initiative 2020: progress and promise”
Spring 2020
Dr. Muna Aryal
Stanford University
Thursday, January 16, 2020
“Noninvasive and targeted drug delivery using focused ultrasound for neurological disorders”
Dr. Mark S. Moehle
Vanderbilt University
Thursday, January 23, 2020
“M4 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor regulation of the basal ganglia”
Dr. Rebekah Evans
National Institutes of Health
Monday, January 27, 2020
“Inhibitory control of dopamine neurons”
Dr. Antonio Fernandez-Ruiz
New York University
Monday, February 3, 2020
“Role of hippocampal circuit dynamics in memory guided behavior”
Dr. Martin Hruska
Thomas Jefferson University
Monday, February 10, 2020
“Building a synapse: Cell-contact mediated assembly of excitatory synapses”
Dr. Ashley Ingiosi
Washington State University
Monday, February 17, 2020
“Defining a role for glial astrocytes in mammalian sleep”
Dr. Patrick L. Sheets
Indiana University School of Medicine
Monday, February 24, 2020
“Reverse engineering supraspinal circuit pathways involved in pain modulation”
Dr. He “Helen” Huang
North Carolina State University
Monday, March 9, 2020
“Neural control of robotic limb prostheses”
Fall 2019
Dr. Barbara Sorg
Washington State University, Vancouver
Host: Deidre O’Dell
Monday, October 29, 2019
“Plasticity, parvalbumin, and perineuronal nets in addiction memories”
Dr. Michael Fox
Virginia Tech University
Host: Dr. Eric Tucker
Monday, November 11, 2019
“Novel mechanisms underlying interneuron recruitment and incorporation into neural circuits”
Dr. Reza Shadmehr
Johns Hopkins University
Host: Dr. Valeriya Gritsenko
Monday, November 18, 2019
“Movement and postural control of the arm”
Dr. Julie Andersen
Buck Institute for Research on Aging
Host: Dr. Werner Geldenhuys
Monday, November 25, 2019
“The essence of senescence and its potential role in age-related neurodegenerative disorders”
Dr. Chris Olsen
Medical College of Wisconsin
Host: Dr. Cole Vonder Haar
Monday, December 9, 2019
“Neuroimaging outcomes in a rat model of comorbid mild traumatic brain injury and opioid abuse”
Dr. Eric Prager
Journal of Neuroscience Research; Neuroscience Next
Host: Tiffany Petrisko
Monday, December 16, 2019
“Designing and conducting transparent and rigorous scientific studies: An editor’s perspective”
Spring 2019
Dr. Zachary Weil
Ohio State University
Monday, January 7, 2019
“Lifelong consequences of traumatic brain injury”
Dr. Brooke Schmeichel
National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
“A multifunctional role for hypocretin in addiction”
Dr. Constanza Cortes
Duke University
**Tuesday, January 22, 2019
“Enhanced skeletal muscle proteostasis as a determinant of CNS protein quality control and neural function in the aging brain”
Dr. Rafiq Huda
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
*Thursday, January 31, 2019
“Cortical and subcortical circuits for decisions and choices”
Dr. Samie Haj-Dahmane
University of Buffalo
Monday, February 4, 2019
"Fatty acid binding protein and synaptic transport of endocannabinoid in the brain"
Virginia "Ginny" Thrasher
West Virginia University
Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute Feature Seminar
Wednesday, February 6th @ 1 PM
WVU Eye Institute Auditorium
"Gold standards for a gold medalist"
Dr. Meifan "Amy" Chen
UT Southwestern Medical Center
*Thursday, February 14, 2019
“Regulation of injury response in neurons and glia”
Dr. Florence Varodayan
The Scripps Research Institute
Monday, February 18, 2019
“Corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) at the intersection of alcohol dependence and stress”
Dr. Rudolph Castellani
West Virginia University
Monday, March 4, 2019
"Long-term consequences of neurotrauma"
Dr. HanTing "Hunter" Zhang
West Virginia University
Monday, March 18, 2019
"Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDEs), novel targets for treatment of alcoholism"
Dr. Steven Kinsey
West Virginia University
Monday, April 8, 2019
“Analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and dependence-inducing effects of cannabinoids”
Dr. Ravi Allada
Northwestern University
Host: Dr. HanTing "Hunter" Zhang
Monday, April 15, 2019
"Circadian clocks and sleep in Drosophila"
Fall 2018
Dr. Aryn Gittis
Carnegie Mellon University
Host: Dr. Aric Agmon
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
“Cell-specific pallidal interventions produce long-lasting motor recovery in a mouse model of Parkinson's Disease”
Dr. Kenneth Witwer
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Host: Ashley Russell and Dr. Jim Simpkins
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
“Extracellular vesicles in HIV and neurodegenerative disease: Whose team are they playing for?”
Dr. Gregory Bix
University of Kentucky
Host: Dr. Sophie Ren
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
“Therapeutic inflammation and other surprises in ischemic stroke and vascular dementia”
Dr. Colleen McClung
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Host: Dr. Randy Nelson
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
“Circadian genes, rhythms, and the biology of psychiatric disorders”
Dr. Ron Waclaw
Cincinnati Children's Hospital
Host: Dr. Eric Tucker
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
“Development of basal ganglia circuits – the long and short of it?”
Dr. William Walker
The Ohio State University
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
“Breast Cancer and the Brain: What’s the Link?”
Dr. Rudolph Castellani
West Virginia University
Wednesday, December 5, 2018
“Long-term consequences of neurotrauma”
Dr. Walter Koroshetz
Director, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
National Institutes of Health
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
“NINDS and the taxpayers investment in neuroscience research”
Fall 2017
Dr. Holly Brown-Borg
University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences
Host: Dr. Liz Engler-Chiurazzi
Wednesday, September 10, 2017
"Somatotropic signaling is linked to health and aging via metabolism and the epigenome"
Dr. Thomas Kash
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, School of Medicine
Host: Dr. David Siderovski and Josh Gross
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
"The ups and downs of the extended amygdala"
Dr. Nelson Spruston
Janelia Research Campus at Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Host: Dr. George Spirou
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Dr. Roger Clem
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Host: Dr. Albert Berrebi
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Dr. Theresa Jones
University of Texas at Austin
Host: Dr. Cole Vonder Haar
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Dr. Teng-Leong Chew
Janelia Research Campus at Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Host: Dr. George Spirou
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
Dr. Chengzin Gong
New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities
Host: Dr. Hunter Zhang
Wednesday, November 8, 2018
"Multifactorial hypothesis for Alzheimer’s Disease"
Spring 2017
Dr. Marco Gallio
Northwestern University
Host: Dr. Andrew Dacks
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
"Coding and representation of temperature in the Drosophila brain"
Dr. Thomas Eissenberg
Virginia Commonwealth University
Host: Dr. Melissa Blank
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
"Electronic cigarettes: What are they and what do they do?"
Dr. Parag Chitnis
George Mason University
Host: Dr. Valeriya Gritsenko
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
"Noninvasive and bi-directional neural interfaces using ultrasound"
Dr. Richard De La Garza
Baylor College of Medicine
Host: Dr. James Mahoney
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
"Medications testing for cocaine use disorder: Neurobiological substrates, experimental methods, and FDA requirements"
Dr. Bob Datta
Harvard Medical School
Host: Dr. Kevin Daly
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
"Transforming smells into action"
Fall 2016
Dr. Robert Gaunt
University of Pittsburgh
Host: Dr. Sergiy Yakovenko
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
"Invasive cortical neuroprosthetics for sensorimotor science and rehabilitation"
Dr. Michael Higley
Yale School of Medicine
Host: Dr. Aric Agmon
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
"GABAergic inhibition in neucortical dendrites"
Dr. Eva Anton
University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Host: Dr. Eric Tucker
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
"Development of interneuronal connectivity: Role of primary cilia"
Dr. Lynne Gauthier
The Ohio State University, College of Medicine
Host: Dr. Valeriya Gritsenko
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
"Mechanisms of neuroplasticity following Constraint Induced Movement therapy: Implications for rehabilitation planning"
Fall 2015
Dr. Paul Barnes
Oregon Health & Science University
Host: Dr. Eric Tucker
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
"Function of non-functional kinases in the developing brain"
Dr. Tzumin Lee
Howard Hughes Medical Institute - Janelia Farm
Host: Dr. George Spirou
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
"Lineage- and age-dependent neural stem-cell fate"
Dr. Robert Friedlander
University of Pittsburgh
Hosts: Kelly Smith and Dr. Charles Rosen
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
"Role of caspase pathways in neurological disease"
Dr. Justus Verhagen
Yale University
Host: Dr. Kevin Daly
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
"Time in olfactory coding and perception: Optogenetic, behavioral and electrophysiological studies"
Dr. Barry Stein
Wake Forest School of Medicine
Hosts: Paula Webster and Dr. Richard Dey
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
"How does the brain develop its ability to integrate information from different senses?"