Workshops
One of the most exciting areas of research in neuroscience in the past few years has been the use of brain-machine and brain-computer interfaces in expanding our knowledge of the functions of the normal nervous system, and as a therapy in the restoration of function for patients after a variety of debilitating nervous system diseases or injuries, including stroke, spinal cord injury, hearing loss, movement disorders, and others. Join us at our 11th Annual Neuroscience Symposium on October 26-27, as we hear from world-leading researchers about ground-breaking new discoveries exploring the use of brain-machine interfaces, as well as perspectives from patient users and therapists, and from corporate leaders involved in advancing neurotechnology.
For more information, please visit the 11th Annual Neuroscience Symposium webpage.
Associate Professor (tenured)
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience
Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute
Johns Hopkins University
Shreesh P. Mysore has a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering (IIT Madras), Master’s degrees in Industrial Engineering and in Mathematics (Penn State), and a PhD in Control and Dynamical Systems (Caltech). He received postdoctoral training in Neurobiology (at Stanford) before moving to Hopkins to start his research group. A common thread through his diverse scientific background is a long-standing research interest in intelligent systems – first in artificial intelligence and robotics (from his undergraduate days through the first half of his PhD), and then in biological intelligence (the rest of his PhD to date). His lab studies neural circuit, computational and coding principles underlying complex behaviors and cognitive functions such as attention, decision-making, sensorimotor processing, and collaboratively, affective function. He is particularly intrigued by a comparative perspective – how do brains of different species solve similar behavioral challenges? In addition to adding to the basic understanding of how brains work, a major goal of his lab’s research is to help develop novel, targeted therapeutics for the atypical operation of attention, decision-making and executive function. A (secret) wish is to port concrete insights from experimental neurobiology to robotics and computer science in order to help build novel classes of artificially intelligent systems. His work is supported by the NIH and the NSF.
Professor of Neuroscience and Chair Department of Biology in the College of Natural Sciences on the Rio Piedras Campus of the University of Puerto Rico
"Are the endovanilloid TRPV1 receptors within the mesolimbic system playing a role in anxiety and depression?”
Dr. Carmen S. Maldonado-Vlaar received her PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience from Northeastern University under the mentorship of Dr. Ann E. Kelley. She continued with post-doctoral training at the Department of Neuropharmacology at The Scripps Research Institute with Dr. George F. Koob. For the past 27 years, Dr. Maldonado-Vlaar has been a faculty member of the Department of Biology at the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras Campus (UPR-RP). During her research and academic career, she has successfully mentored dozens of undergraduate and graduate students from underrepresented minorities (URM) in the field of Neuroscience. Moreover, she has taught numerous Neuroscience courses in her institution at both levels. Dr. Maldonado-Vlaar’s scientific research is based on an ongoing interest to discover and characterize potential therapeutic cellular targets that are important in cocaine addiction treatment and other mental disorders. Her work has been published in premier scientific journals and she has served as Assisting Editor for Behavioral Neuroscience Journal. At the UPR-RP, she served as institutional coordinator for The Leadership Alliance and for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gilliam Fellowship. She has extensive administrative experience as Chair of the Department of Biology and as Dean of Graduate Studies and Research. In addition, she has devoted countless hours to mentoring neuroscientists at all career stages from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds at the local and national level.
In her laboratory, Dr. Maldonado-Vlaar has mentored more than 100 Hispanic undergraduate students of which more than 70 percent were women. She was Principal and Co-Investigator of many training programs aimed at promoting increased access of women and members of URMs to careers in the Neurosciences. These include programs at the Marine Biological Laboratory Summer Program in Neuroscience, Ethics, and Success (SPINES); the Training Advisory Committee (TAC) for Diversity Program in Neuroscience (DPN) from the American Psychological Association; the Neuroscience Graduate Resilience, Affirmation and Diversity Program (NeuroGRAD); and the Neuroscience Research Opportunities to Increase Diversity (NeuroID) Training grants for graduate and undergraduate students in the Neuroscience funded by the BP-ENDURE program from National Institute Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Dr. Maldonado-Vlaar established the first Center for Undergraduate Research and Learning (CRIIAS, by its Spanish acronym) at the UPR-RP and she is the Principal Investigator of various institutional grants with significant impact. In October 2020, Dr. Maldonado-Vlaar was the first Puerto Rican Latina neuroscientist to receive the Bernice Grafstein Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in Mentoring from the Society for Neuroscience. Since 2021, she serves as member of the SfN Professional Development Committee and is currently the Chair of the Neuroscience Scholar Program Subcommittee.
Assistant Professor at the Lerner Research Institute of The Cleveland Clinic
"Myelin – a favorable niche for Glioblastoma and Neuronal stem cells"
Professor and Plough Chair of Excellence, University of Memphis
Infant vocal development and the origin of language: The importance of developmental research in autism and congenital deafness
D. Kimbrough Oller (Ph.D., University of Texas, 1971), Professor/Plough Chair of Excellence, University of Memphis; Faculty Member, Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, Austria; member, Institute for Intelligent Systems, University of Memphis; member Scientific Advisory Board, LENA, Louisville, CO. In 2013 received ASHA Honors; in 2023 awarded Lifetime Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). With 250 articles/books his work addresses infant vocalizations, autism, multilingualism, and language evolution.
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology & Human Development, Vanderbilt University
The domain-specificity of domain-generality: Attention, executive function, and academic skills
Director, Krembil Research Institute (KRI)
Interim Director, Krembil Brain Institute
Senior Scientist, Krembil Brain Institute
University Health Network
My research uses multiple experimental approaches to reveal key features about neural circuits that regulate internal state are also purposed to control behavior and store information in response to challenges. Specifically, my lab uses in vitro slice electrophysiology, in vivo imaging, optogenetics, behavioral analysis tools and physiological assays to characterize neural circuits that decode stress, modify internal states and generate specific coping behaviors. One of my goals is to better understand the mechanisms that allow these circuits, or specific cell populations, to store information related to the modality, intensity and temporal features of stress. My graduate work in Professor Alastair Ferguson’s lab focused on the neural regulation of cardiovascular output and established a key role for nitric oxide as a retrograde transmitter at GABA synapses. I performed in vivo electrophysiology to interrogate long-range hypothalamic-spinal cord connections and whole-cell recordings in brain slices to examine retrograde signals and dendritic excitability. As a Human Frontiers Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Kevin Staley, I performed electrophysiology experiments to establish bi-directional links between synaptic strength and circuit output in the hippocampus.
In addition to my extensive experience in synaptic physiology and electrophysiology I have used circuit mapping approaches to link activity in specific cell populations to different behaviors. My work has linked brief stress exposure and enduring synaptic changes in the hypothalamus (reviewed in Bains et al, Nat Rev Nsci, 2015). We have provided clear evidence supporting a role for astrocytes in controlling the strength of excitatory synapses in the hypothalamus (Gordon et al, Nat Nsci, 2005, Neuron, 2009). More recently, we have shown new roles for hypothalamic CRH neurons as bottom-up controllers for complex behaviors associated with stress coping (Fuzesi et al, Nat Comm, 2016), the transmission and detection of affective states between mice (Sterley et al, Nat Nsci, 2018) and linking stress controllability and active behaviour strategies (Daviu et al, Nat Nsci, 2020).
Talk Title: Threat and urgency – a role for CRH neurons in tuning innate survival behavior
Location: Kent Campus, Integrated Sciences Building Lower-Level Lobby (069)
Get ready to heat up the dance floor and experience an unforgettable start to Hispanic Heritage Month! Join us for this celebration of Latin dance and music that will transport you to the vibrant streets of Havana. To keep you fueled and refreshed throughout the night, we’ll have a variety of food and beverages that will have you saying, “muy delicioso!” Whether you are a master of the merengue or just getting started, this event is open to all. Grab your dancing shoes, and get ready to salsa the night away! Register by Friday, Sept. 8.
Kent State University Inaugural Brockett Lecture
Veroni Memorial Lectures in Philosophy and the Humanities
Stephen Markley
Author of The Deluge
Wednesday, October 25, 2023, 7 p.m.
KIVA
Dessert Reception to Follow
Stephen Markley is the author of The Deluge: A Novel, which is forthcoming from Simon & Schuster in January of 2023. His previous books include the critically acclaimed bestseller Ohio: A Novel, as well as Publish This Book and Tales of Iceland. He has also written for the Hulu comedy "Only Murders in the Building." He is a graduate of the Iowa writers workshop.
This event is co-sponsored by the Departments of Anthropology, Earth Sciences, English, and History.
As new technology continues to emerge at a rapid pace, many educators are grappling with the opportunities and challenges that AI presents in higher education. In this interactive session, we will explore the ethical considerations and potential pitfalls of AI technologies, as well as opportunities to utilize these technologies to enhance teaching and learning experiences.
Click here to view the slides from this presentation.
Click here for the recording of this presentation.
