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School of Neuroscience Innovators Seminar Series

Innovator Seminar Series

All seminars take place on Wednesday at 11:00AM.

Please direct any questions you have to Annika Schmierer (schmiera@vt.edu) or Michelle Olsen (molsen1@vt.edu).

*Click the hyperlinked names of the speakers for more details about the seminar as the date aproaches.*

Join the seminar Zoom here.

To see the lists of prior Innovator Seminar speakers, click here.

Spring 2023 Speaker List

Date

Speaker

Position/Affiliation

March1

Timothy Jarome, PhD

Assistant Professor, School of Animal Sciences, Virginia Tech

 

Research in the Jarome lab is focused on elucidating the cellular and molecular mechanisms of memory formation and storage, with an emphasis on understanding how stressful or traumatic events alters brain chemistry that drives future behavioral and physiological responses.

March 15

Keri Martinowich, PhD

Lead Investigator, Lieber Institute for Brain Development
Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

 

Research in the Martinowich lab 1) uses molecular profiling in postmortem human tissue across spatial gradients and within specific cell types; 2) aims to identify how unique cell types within key neural circuits impact network activity to drive cognitive and social behaviors in animal models; 3) and utilizes human-derived in vitro cell models to better understand the role of molecular variants on neural development.

March 29

Ivan de Araujo, PhD

Professor, Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai

 

Dr. Araujo’s research focuses on modern neurobiological tools to unveil the large-scale networks linking body parts to molecularly identified neurons in the brain.

April 12

Xinzhu Yu, PhD

Assistant Professor of  Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

 

The Yu lab 1)  how astrocytes orchestrate the changes of synaptic plasticity throughout life 2) motor skill learning paradigm to dissect the roles of astrocytes in the formation and maintenance of long-lasting memories and 3) maladaptive roles of astrocytes in neuropsychiatric disorders. 

April 26

Rebbeca Shanksy, PhD

Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Northeastern University

 

The Shanksy Lab focuses on the neural connections between the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the amygdala, and sex differences in how this circuit processes fear and responds to stress.