Thach Awards

In recognition of William Thomas (Tom) Thach, MD, a longstanding member of the Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology.

Thach

Tom was a pioneering researcher on the function of the cerebellum, a part of the brain responsible for coordination of movement.  He was recognized internationally for his scientific contributions.  He was a beloved mentor and friend.  Tom loved hiking, camping, canoeing, hunting, reading literature and poetry, hosting feasts of wild game, and playing music with family, friends, and post docs in his band Taum Sauk.  He is long-remembered for his contribution to the aesthetic of numerous Neuroscience Retreats, providing live vocals and strings.

Learn more about Tom

The Tom Thach Award was initiated in 2014 to honor Tom’s contribution to science and to the Neuroscience Retreat.  Grad students and postdocs are eligible to compete, and winners are chosen from short talks and poster presentations at the Retreat.  Presentations are evaluated by panels of faculty members who are selected to achieve broad representation of expertise and scientific approach.  These awards are made possible by support from the McDonnell Center for Systems Neuroscience, the McDonnell Center for Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology, and the Office of Neuroscience Research (ONR).

Congratulations to the

2024 Thach Awards Winners!

Short Talks

Chase Weinholtz

Graduate student, Neuroscience Program
Mokalled lab, Developmental Biology

“bach1 regulates progenitor cell activation during spinal cord regeneration”

Posters

Apoorva Arora

Graduate student, Neuroscience Program
Kepecs lab, Neuroscience

“TIME Bandit Reveals Dopamine’s Dual Role in Value-Based Decision-Making”

Previous winners of Thach Awards

2023

  • Short talks
    • Maria Gonzalez (Neuroscience Program; Herzog lab, Biology)
      “Sensitivity to the chemotherapy agent Temozolomide depends on circadian time of treatment in murine models of glioblastoma”
    • Ursula Tooley, PhD (Rogers and Smyser lab, Psychiatry and Neurology)
      “Prenatal environment is associated with the pace of cortical network development over the first 3 years of life”
  • Posters
    • Kia Barclay (Neuroscience Program; Li lab, Neuroscience)
      “An inducible genetic tool for tracking and manipulating specific microglial states in development and disease”
    • Lisa Gorham (Neuroscience Program; Rogers and Smyser lab, Psychiatry and Neurology)
      “Varied patterns of cortical expansion between very preterm infants and full term infants from birth to 9/10 years of age”

2022

  • Short talks: Zelun Wang (Neuroscience Program; Williams and Apte labs, Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences)
    “Energetic diversity of retinal ganglion cells and implications for neurodegeneration”
  • Posters: Keran Yang (Neuroscience Program; Kepecs lab, Neuroscience)
    “Context and location regulate the effects of optogenetic stimulation of the superior colliculus”

2021

  • Short talks: Ryan Raut (Neuroscience Program; Raichle lab, Radiology)
    “Brain state evolves along a spatiotemporal cycle”
  • Posters: Yifan Wu (Neuroscience Program; Papouin lab, Neuroscience)
    “Uncovering the role of astrocytic a7nAChR in cognitive behaviors”

2020

  • Kalyan Tripathy (Neuroscience Program; Culver lab, Radiology)
    “Brain mapping in preschool-age children with high-density diffuse optical tomography”
  • Yvan Vachez, PhD (Creed lab, Anesthesiology)
    “Ventral arkypallidal neurons inhibit accumbal firing to promote reward consumption”
  • Dana Klatt Shaw, PhD (Mokalled lab, Developmental Biology)
    “Localized EMT reprograms glial progenitors to promote spinal cord repair”

2019

  • Short Talks: Yang Shi, PhD (Holtzman lab, Neurology)
    “Microglia drive neurodegeneration and mediate APOE’s effect on neurodegeneration in a tauopathy mouse model”
  • Posters: Tamara Markovic (Neuroscience Program; Moron-Concepcion lab, Anesthesiology)
    “Dissecting the role of dorsal hippocampus in reinstatement of drug seeking behavior”

2018

  • Short Talks: Hailun Li (Neuroscience Program; DiAntonio lab, Developmental Biology)
    “A neuromodulatory circuit regulating the glial capacity to buffer K+”
  • Posters: Weikang Shi (Neuroscience Program; Padoa-Schioppa lab, Neuroscience)
    “Establishing Causal Links between Neural Activity in Orbitofrontal Cortex and Economic Choices”

2017

  • Short Talks: Alex Russo (Neuroscience Program; DiAntonio lab, Developmental Biology) 
    “Highwire promotes efficient synaptic transmission at the larval NMJ by targeting dNMNAT”
  • Posters: Kelly Hill (Neuroscience Program; Bonni lab, Neuroscience)
    “Influence of Neurogenesis Timing on Cerebellar Circuitry”

2016

  • Short Talks: Xitong Liang (Neuroscience Program; Taghert and Holy labs, Neuroscience)
    “Neural mechanisms transform synchronized circadian timing into multiple daily outputs”
  • Posters: Yang Shi (Neuroscience Program; Holtzman lab, Neurology)
    “Effect of ApoE on tau pathogenesis and tau-mediated neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease”

2015

  • Short Talks: Elinor Harrison (Movement Science Program; Earhart lab, Physical Therapy) 
    “Feasibility of Singing to Improve Gait Measures in Parkinson’s Disease”
  • Posters:  Andrew Kraft (Graduate student, Neuroscience Program; Lee lab, Neurology)
    “Sensory deprivation following cortical focal ischemia facilitates remapping and accelerates behavioral recovery”

2014

  • Short Talks: Matheus Victor (Graduate student, Neuroscience Program; Yoo lab, Developmental Biology) 
    “Generation of Human Striatal Neurons by MicroRNA-Dependent Direct Conversion of Fibroblasts”