Past Seminars
Fall 2019 Schedule
Dr. Barbara Sorg
Professor & R.S. Dow Chair of Neurobiology
Washington State University, Vancouver
Host: Deidre O’Dell
Monday, October 29, 2019
“Plasticity, parvalbumin, and perineuronal nets in addiction memories”
Synopsis: My lab focuses on models of cocaine addiction in rats and how to reduce the memories that drive relapse to cocaine. We are interested in how perineuronal nets, which wrap around mainly parvalbumin interneurons in the brain, control brain plasticity in addiction memories. We found that by removing these nets, addiction memories are diminished and relapse is reduced in rats. Another area of focus is on how perineuronal nets and parvalbumin cells change during the day and night. These changes are
intriguing because understanding how they alter plasticity may help us to understand how memories are consolidated during sleep and therefore how cocaine memories may be more easily disrupted.
Dr. Michael Fox
Director, FBRI Center for Neurobiology Research; Professor, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC; Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
Virginia Tech University
Host: Dr. Eric Tucker
Monday, November 11, 2019
“Novel mechanisms underlying interneuron recruitment and incorporation into neural circuits”
Synopsis: Despite representing only about twenty percent of the total synapses in the mammalian brain, inhibitory synapses play essential roles in controlling the flow and timing of neural activity. In fact, perturbation of these inhibitory synapses is associated with a number of complex brain disorders, including schizophrenia and epilepsy. For this reason, my lab investigates the mechanisms controlling the recruitment and incorporation of inhibitory interneurons into neural circuits. In the rst part of this talk, I will describe how novel neuron-glial interactions contribute to the recruitment of interneurons into visual thalamus. In the second part of the talk, I will describe a paracrine
mechanism underlying the formation of inhibitory peri-somatic synapses in the developing cerebral cortex.
Dr. Reza Shadmehr
Professor, Biomedical Engineering & Neuroscience
Johns Hopkins University
Host: Dr. Valeriya Gritsenko
Monday, November 18, 2019
“Movement and postural control of the arm”
Synopsis: Every movement ends in a period of postural stillness. A fundamental assumption is that the commands that hold the arm at a target location do not depend on the commands that moved the limb to that location. Here, we uncovered a surprising relationship between movement and posture in humans and macaques: on a within trial basis, the commands that held the arm at a target location depended on the precise nature of the commands that transported the limb to that location. This relationship as a form of mathematical integration at the level of muscles. To understand the neural basis of this putative integration, we examined the deficits that accompanied reaching and holding following damage to the corticospinal tract. We found that as expected, the motor commands during the reach period were impaired, but remarkably, the dependence of the postural commands upon the now imperfect reach commands remained intact. Thus, contrary to predictions of current models, control of posture and movement are not independent. Rather, the motor commands during posture appear to be generated via a form of integration of the preceding movement commands, potentially through a subcortical structure.
Dr. Julie Andersen
Professor, 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”
Synopsis: Cellular senescence is a cellular growth arrest state characterized by the secretion of pre-inflammatory senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) actors. Recent publications have suggested that this process may play an important role in age-related neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Development of senolytics, small molecules that selectively induce senescent cell death, may represent a paradigm change for the treatment of these disorders.
Dr. Chris Olsen
Associate Professor, Pharmacology and Toxicology
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”
Synopsis: Traumatic brain injury and substance abuse are highly comorbid disorders. Despite extensive evidence of increased substance abuse disorder following mild and moderate TBI, little is known regarding the extent to which the neurological effects of injury contribute to subsequent drug use, seeking, and relapse. We use i.v. opioid self-administration combined with other methods to examine the behavioral and neurological effects of TBI and opioid exposure.
Dr. Eric Prager
Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Neuroscience Research; Senior Editor, Neuroscience Next
Host: Tiffany Petrisko
Monday, December 16, 2019
“Designing and conducting transparent and rigorous scientific studies: An editor’s perspective”
Synopsis: The most important skill a scientist needs, after the skills needed to execute a study, is the ability to report their scientific endeavors in the written form. The aim of this seminar is to inform on what happens to a paper once the ‘submit’ button is pressed. I will discuss what editors consider when deciding whether to review a paper, including our focus on transparency, rigor and the appropriate use of statistics. I will also discuss our expectations from reviewers and briefly describe the peer review process and how peer review is evolving.
Spring 2019 Schedule
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”
**Seminar will be held on Tuesday at 12:00 PM
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”
**Seminar will be held on Tuesday at 12:00 PM
Dr. Rafiq Huda
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
*Thursday, January 31, 2019
“Cortical and subcortical circuits for decisions and choices”
*Seminar will be held on Thursday at 12:00 PM
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”
*Seminar will be held on Thursday at 12:00 PM
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 Schedule
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 Schedule
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 Schedule
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 Schedule
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 Schedule
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?"