Retreat Program

2023 Annual Neuroscience Retreat

October 12-13

Eric P. Newman Educational Center (EPNEC) | Farrell Learning & Teaching Center (FLTC)

Dr. Catherine Hartley is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Neural Science at New York University. She received her B.S. in Symbolic Systems from Stanford University and her PhD in Psychology from New York University. She conducted her postdoctoral training at the Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Hartley’s research focuses on characterizing the learning, memory, and decision-making processes that support goal-directed behavior across development, and how dynamic changes in brain circuits give rise to these functions. A central goal of her research is to understand the adaptive benefits of how individuals learn and make decisions at different developmental stages, as well as how specific learning and decision-making biases contribute to psychological vulnerability or resilience.

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Dr. Debra Silver is currently an Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Cell Biology and Neurobiology at Duke University School of Medicine, where she has had her lab since 2010. Her lab aims to elucidate fundamental principles governing embryonic cerebral cortex development and contributing to neurodevelopmental pathologies and cortical evolution. Towards this her group uses mouse genetics, cortical organoids, imaging and omics approaches. She is also Program Director for the Duke Developmental and Stem Cell Biology PhD program.

Thursday, October 13

 8:00am     Light Breakfast | EPNEC Lobby

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 8:30am     Welcome | EPNEC Auditorium
Emcees: Martin Jarzyna, Elizaveta Mangutov (Graduate students, Neuroscience Program)

Session 1 – Short Talks and Lightning Talks
Moderator: Emma Danhash (Graduate student, Neuroscience Program)

Short Talks

• Wangchao Xu, PhD (Postdoc; Kipnis lab, WashU Pathology & Immunology), “A novel immune modulator IM33 mediates a glia-gut-neuronal axis that controls lifespan”
• Tassia Mangetti Goncalves, PhD (Postdoc; Zhao lab, WashU Genetics/Neurology), “Mammalian Whole Genome-Wide Cis-Regulatory Network Involved in Neurodevelopmental and Neurodegenerative Diseases”
• Hadas Nahman-Averbuch, PhD (Assistant Professor, WashU Anesthesiology), “Hormonal factors related to migraine development”
• Gabor Egervari, MD, PhD (Assistant Professor, WashU Genetics/Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics), “Establishing the unexpected role of drug metabolites in regulating the brain epigenome”

Lightning Talks

• Elizabeth Pollina, PhD (Assistant Professor, WashU Developmental Biology), “Activity-Dependent Genome Integrity in Neuronal Plasticity”
• Sayaka Inoue, PhD (Assistant Professor, WashU Psychiatry), “Neural basis underlying state changes in female behaviors”
• Sarah Ackerman, PhD (Assistant Professor, WashU Pathology & Immunology), “Astrocytes in developmental and pathological plasticity”
• Baron Chanda, PhD (Professor, WashU Anesthesiology), “A first principles approach to drugging membrane signaling complexes”
• Monica Sentmanat, PhD (Senior Scientist, WashU Genetics), “Building accurate research models with GESC@MGI”
• Young Ah Goo, PhD (Professor, WashU Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics), “Mass Spectrometry Technology Access Center”

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10:00am     Break

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10:15am     Keynote Session 1 and Lightning Talks  |  EPNEC Auditorium
Moderator: Elizaveta Mangutov  (Graduate student, Neuroscience Program)

Lightning Talks

• Muriah Wheelock, PhD (Assistant Professor, WashU Radiology), “Network Level Analysis software for connectome-wide association studies”
• Matthew Gaidica, PhD (Assistant Professor, WashU Neuroscience), “The Neurotech Hub”
• Erik Herzog, PhD (Professor, WashU Biology), “St. Louis Neuroscience Outreach opportunities”
• Alyssa Labonte (Graduate student, Neuroscience Program), “Young Scientist Program: Outreach Opportunities”

Keynote Speaker

Introduction: Elizaveta Mangutov

• Catherine Hartley, PhD (Associate Professor, New York University)
  “Developing behavioral flexibility”

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11:30am    Lunch including Table Topics | EPNEC Great Rooms A and B
Set up posters | FLTC Atrium

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1:00pm     Introduction of incoming students  |  EPNEC Auditorium
Emcees: Martin Jarzyna, Elizaveta Mangutov

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Session 2 – Short Talks and Lightning Talks
Moderator: Kayla Hannon (Graduate student, Neuroscience Program)

Short Talks

• Julia Pai (Graduate student, Neuroscience Program; Monosov lab, WashU Neuroscience), “Dermal laser stimulation to quantitatively study motivation and decision-making”
• Nischal Khanal (Graduate student, Imaging Science Program; Bauer lab, WashU Radiology), “Light-Based Motor Mapping of Multiple Limbs in Mice Using Deep Learning Reveals Coordinated and Behaviorally Relevant Movements”
• Ursula Tooley, PhD (Postdoc, Rogers and Smyser lab, WashU Psychiatry and Neurology), “Prenatal environment is associated with the pace of cortical network development over the first 3 years of life”
• Naoki Hiratani, PhD (Assistant Professor, WashU Neuroscience), “Shared and unique principles of the central learning circuits across species”

Lightning Talks

• Chad Sylvester, MD, PhD (Associate Professor, WashU Psychiatry), “Functional Brain Network Development in Children with and without Anxiety Disorders”
• Geoffrey Goodhill, PhD (Professor, WashU Developmental Biology/Neuroscience), “Computational Neuroscience, Zebrafish and Autism”
• Evan Gordon, PhD (Assistant Professor, WashU Radiology), “Precision Mapping of Individual Brains”
• Tom Franken, MD, PhD (Assistant Professor, WashU Neuroscience), “Perceptual inference of object lightness in visual scenes”
• Cheng Huang, PhD (Assistant Professor, WashU Neuroscience), “What flies can teach us about brain computation”
• Masatoshi Inoue, PhD (Assistant Professor, WashU Radiology), “Multimodal Optical Interrogation of Neural Circuits Regulating Social Interaction”

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2:30pm     Thursday Poster Session  |  FLTC Atrium

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Party at The Boathouse at Forest Park

Some transportation options…

4:30pm     Walk from the Med Campus to The Boathouse (1.5 miles; ~30 minutes) Meet outside FLTC (WUSM sign/Becker Library; 660 S. Euclid)

4:45pm    Trolley from Med Campus to Boathouse Scott Ave (near Couch Bldg), Food Truck Row

5:00pm     Party at The Boathouse at Forest Park

• A moment of thanks and appreciation from the Neuroscience Program
• Neuroscience Community Awards
• NeurOlympics including trivia

8:45pm     Trolley from The Boathouse to the Med Campus
9:15pm     Last Trolley from The Boathouse to the Med Campus

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Friday, October 13

 8:00am     Light Breakfast | EPNEC Lobby

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 8:30am     Welcome | EPNEC Auditorium
Emcees: Martin Jarzyna, Elizaveta Mangutov (Graduate students, Neuroscience Program)

Session 3 – Short Talks and Lightning Talks
Moderator: Elizaveta Mangutov  (Graduate student, Neuroscience Program)

Short Talks

• Maria Gonzalez (Graduate student, Neuroscience Program; Herzog lab, WashU Biology), “Sensitivity to the chemotherapy agent Temozolomide depends on circadian time of treatment in murine models of glioblastoma”
• Anupama Tiwari, PhD (Postdoc; Ashrafi lab, WashU Cell Biology & Physiology), “Sirtuin 3 sustains metabolic plasticity of neurotransmission during glucose deprivation through post-translational regulation of mitochondrial pyruvate carrier”
• JinChao Hou, PhD (Postdoc; Colonna lab, WashU Pathology & Immunology), “Antibody-mediated targeting of human microglial LILRB4 attenuates amyloid-dependent pathology”
• Jennifer Wang, PhD (Assistant Professor, WashU Biology), “Expanding our view of centrosomes and cilia”

Lightning Talks

• Mai Dang, MD, PhD (Assistant Professor, WashU Neurology), “Leveraging the immune system as adjunctive therapy for pediatric brain tumors”
• Maria Remedi, PhD (Associate Professor, WashU Medicine), “Cognitive issues in diabetes induced by KATP channel mutations-therapies”
• Joseph Corbo, MD, PhD (Professor, WashU Pathology & Immunology), “Genetic reprogramming of photoreceptors to prevent blindness”
• Yifan Dai, PhD (Assistant Professor, WashU Biomedical
  Engineering), “Lightning the Condensates: the Electrochemical Activity of Biomacromolecular Assembly”
• Tao Che, PhD (Assistant Professor, WashU Anesthesiology), “GPCR Drug Discovery: From Benchside to Bedside”
• Diane Bender, PhD (Senior Scientist, WashU Pathology & Immunology), “Immune Monitoring Services Offered Through the Bursky Center Immumonitoring Laboratory”

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10:00am     Break

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10:15a     Keynote Session 2 and Lightning Talks  |  EPNEC Audtiorium
Moderator: Emma Danhash (Graduate student, Neuroscience Program)

Lightning Talks

• Kathleen Schoch, PhD (Assistant Professor, WashU Neurology), “InPrint – A scientific communication network and resource”
• Joseph Dougherty, PhD (Professor, WashU Genetics), “IDDRC/ICTS resources that could be of use to you”
• Katie Lefton (Graduate student, Neuroscience Program), “STLNO Outreach Opportunities: Brain Discovery and the Amazing Brain Carnival”
• Takeshi Yoshimatsu, PhD (Assistant Professor, WashU Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences), “Capacity building in West Africa”

Keynote Speaker

Introduction: Emma Danhash

• Debra Silver, PhD (Associate Professor, Duke University)
  “Building our brains: Lessons from the RNA world”

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11:30am Lunch and Table Topics  |  EPNEC Great Rooms A and B
Set up posters | FLTC Atrium

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1:00pm     Introduction of new postdocs  |  EPNEC Auditorium
Emcees: Martin Jarzyna, Elizaveta Mangutov

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Session 4 – Short Talks and Lightning Talks
Moderator: Martin Jarzyna (Graduate student, Neuroscience Program)

Short Talks

• Ryan Bowen (Graduate student, Biomedical Engineering Program; Lee lab, WashU Neurology), “Optical Imaging Measures Predict Functional Recovery after Stroke”
• Lite Yang (Graduate student, Neuroscience Program; Gereau lab, WashU Anesthesiology), “A highly scalable retrograde AAV approach for multiplexed visualization and simultaneous single-cell profiling of neuronal projections”
• Eric Landsness, MD, PhD (Assistant Professor, WashU Neurology), “Why is a torpor-like state neuroprotective?”
• Aisling Chaney, PhD (Assistant Professor, WashU Radiology), “Molecular imaging of neuroimmune responses in neurodegeneration”

Lightning Talks

• Benjamin Philip, PhD (Assistant Professor, WashU Occupational Therapy), “Neural Mechanisms of Hand Dominance: Motor Task Neuroimaging at WU”
• Jarod Roland, MD (Assistant Professor, WashU Neurosurgery), “The Brain’s Structure Function Relationship in Development and Disease”
• Hysell Oviedo, PhD (Assistant Professor, WashU Neuroscience), “Interrogating circuits to decode speech”
• Mark Rutherford, PhD (Associate Professor, WashU Otolaryngology), “Measuring auditory function in your mice”
• Josh Morgan, PhD (Assistant Professor, WashU Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences), “Imaging visual circuits in the Morgan Lab”
• Bryan Copits, PhD (Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology), “Somatosensory circuit assembly and dynamics”

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2:15pm     Closing Remarks
Emcees: Martin Jarzyna, Elizaveta Mangutov

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2:30pm     Friday Poster Session  |  FLTC Atrium