Neuroscience Seminar Series Academic Year 2024-2025

11 a.m. in N315 Auditorium at Alkek.  Dr. Hillel Adesnik is an Associate Professor of Neurobiology at the University of California, Berkeley.  Dr. Adesnik’s lab focuses on understanding exactly how cortical microcircuits process sensory information to drive behavior.  
Seminar Title: Optically Probing the Neural Codes of Perception 
Faculty Host: Francois St-Pierre, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine and Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice University.

11 a.m. in N315 Auditorium at Alkek.  Dr. Xiaolong Jiang is an Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Ophthalmology at Baylor College of Medicine and Investigator at Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital.  Dr. Jiang’s lab focuses on dissecting cortical microcircuit in health and disease; connectopathies in epilepsy and autism spectrum disorders. 
Seminar Title: Decipher Cortical Circuit Mechanisms Underlying Absence Seizure
Faculty Host: Paul J. Pfaffinger, Ph.D., Wilhelmina Robertson Distinguished Chair in Neuroscience and Professor Neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine.   

11 a.m. in N315 Auditorium at Alkek.  Dr. Ashura Buckley is Director of the sleep disorders and Neurodevelopment Consult Service at National Institute of Mental Health.  Dr. Buckley’s research is to work collaboratively to elucidate underlying aberrant, sleep-mediated neurotransmission early during neurodevelopmental disorders that might offer potential therapeutic targets.  
Seminar Title: ESP: Electrophysiologic Sleep Phenotyping, from Disturbance & Disorders to Discovery
Faculty Host: Mirjana Maletic-Savatic, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Neurology at Baylor College of Medicine and Investigator in Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital.  

11 a.m. in Room M112 at DeBakey.  Dr. Wei Li is a Senior Investigator in the Retinal Neurophysiology Section at NIH.  Dr. Li’s research is to study the mammalian retina as a model for the central nervous system (CNS) – to understand how it functions in physiological conditions, how it is formed, how it breaks down in pathological conditions, and how it can be repaired.  
Seminar Title: Seeing in the Cold: Neurobiology of the Ground Squirrel Retina and Its Potential Applications
Faculty Host: Elizabeth Zungia-Sanchez, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at Baylor College of Medicine.  

11 a.m. in Room M112 at DeBakey.  Dr. Marc Freeman is Director and Senior Scientist at Oregon Health & Science University, Vollum Institute.  Dr. Freeman’s research is to understand how neurons and glia communicate during nervous system assembly, function, and maintenance, and how these processes go awry in disease.  
Seminar Title: Arousing Astrocytes Changes Neural Circuit Computations  
Faculty Host: Dr. Freeman’s seminar is hosted by graduate student, Alex Grace Larson.  

11 a.m. in Room M112 at DeBakey.  Dr. Yu Wang is an Associate Professor of Neurology at Michigan Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan.  Dr. Wang’s research focuses on the development of neural circuits in the cerebral cortex, and how the altered neurodevelopment leads to epilepsies and brain tumors.  
Seminar Title: mTOR-related Epilepsies: Models, Mechanisms, and Therapeutic Development  
Faculty Host: Xiaolong Jiang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Departments of Neuroscience and Ophthalmology at Baylor College of Medicine, and Investigator in the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital. 

11 a.m. in Room M112 at DeBakey.  Dr. Jeannie Chin, Associate Professor of Neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine.  Dr. Chin’s research explores to understand the cellular and network mechanisms underlying cognitive impairments in Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders, and to identify therapeutic entry points for the treatment of these devastating diseases.  
Seminar Title: Mechanisms of Cognitive and Sleep Deficits in Alzheimer's Disease  
Faculty Host: Paul J. Pfaffinger, Ph.D., Wilhelmina Robertson Distinguished Chair in Neuroscience and Professor Neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine.   

11 a.m. in Room M112 at DeBakey.  Dr. Manuel A. Castro-Alamancos, Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Connecticut.  Dr. Castro-Alamancos’s research focuses on the synaptic, cellular and network mechanisms involved in sensorimotor information transmission, coding, and storage during motivated behaviors.  
Seminar Title: Neural Mechanisms of Active Avoidance Behavior  
Faculty Host: Fabrizio Gabbiani, Ph.D., M.A., Professor of Neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine.   

11 a.m. in Room M112 at DeBakey.  Dr. Anusha Mishra, Associate Professor of Neurology, Medicine, and Anesthesiology and Perioperative at Oregon Health & Science University.  Dr. Mishra’s research aims to understand the mechanisms of neurovascular coupling in health and disease, with a focus on the role that astrocytes play in these processes.  
Seminar Title: Neurovascular Coupling in Health and Disease
Faculty Host: Dr. Mishra’s seminar is hosted by postdoc Mohamed Tawfik, who trains in Dr. Melanie Samuel’s lab at Baylor College of Medicine.   

11 a.m. in N315 Auditorium at Alkek.  Dr. Mayssa Mokalled, Assistant Professor of Developmental Biology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.  Dr. Mokalled’s research focuses on spinal cord injury and repair using zebrafish and mammalian model systems. 
Seminar Title: Out of the Tank Approaches to Promote Spinal Cord Repair
Faculty Host: Andy Groves, Ph.D., Professor of Neuroscience and Molecular and Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine.   

11 a.m. in N315 Auditorium at Alkek.  Dr. Baohua Liu, Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of Toronto.  Dr. Liu’s research focuses on identifying the neural circuits underpinning the interaction of visual and oculomotor functions, and to understand the computational principles governing this biological phenomenon.  
Seminar Title: Deciphering the Role of Brainstem Inhibitory Neurons in Vision
Faculty Host: Mingshan Xue, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the departments of Neuroscience, Molecular and Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine, and Caroline Deluca Scholar at the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital.  

11 a.m. in N315 Auditorium at Alkek.  Dr. Thomas Lloyd, Chair and Professor in the Department of Neurology at Baylor College of Medicine.  Dr. Lloyd’s research is understanding the fundamental molecular and cellular processes that underlie degenerative diseases of the neuromuscular system.  
Seminar Title: Dysfunction of the Nuclear Pore Complex in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia
Faculty Host: Paul J. Pfaffinger, Ph.D., Wilhelmina Robertson Distinguished Chair in Neuroscience and Professor Neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine.   

11 a.m. in Room M112 at DeBakey.  Dr. Laura DeNardo is the Department Vice Chair, Physiology; Assistant Professor of Physiology and Neurobiology at the University of California, Los Angeles.  Dr. DeNardo’s research is to understand the assembly, organization, and function of mPFC circuits that contribute to adaptive behaviors.  
Seminar Title: Neural Circuits Underlying Long Term Memory Across the Life Span
Dr. DeNardo’s seminar is hosted by postdoc Jeffrey Zhu, who trains in Dr. Melanie Samuel’s lab at Baylor College of Medicine.   

11 a.m. in Room M112 at DeBakey.  Dr. Brian Popko, Professor of Neurology at Northwestern University.  Dr. Popko’s research interests include studies designed to uncover fundamental aspects of myelinating glial cell development, the myelination process, as well as the detailed function of the myelin sheath.  
Seminar Title: Oligodendrocyte Response to Cytotoxic Stress  
Faculty Host: Hyun Kyoung Lee, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology at Baylor College of Medicine and Principal Investigator at Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital.  

11 a.m. in Room M112 at DeBakey.  Dr. Sandrine Thuret, Professor of Neuroscience at King’s College London.  Dr. Thuret’s research focuses on environmental and molecular regulatory mechanisms controlling hippocampal neurogenesis in health and disease.  
Seminar Title: Hippocampal Progenitor Cells as Biomarkers of Cognitive Ageing and Dementia  
Faculty Host: Mirjana Maletic-Savatic, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology at Baylor College of Medicine, and Investigator at Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital.  

11 a.m. in Room M112 at DeBakey.  Dr. Matthew Leonard, Associate Professor in Neurological Surgery at University of California, San Francisco, Weill Institute for Neuroscience.  Dr. Leonard’s works with the Chang Lab as he studies the neural basis of word representations using ECoG and stimulation techniques.  
Seminar Title: Speech and Language Computation in the Human Superior Temporal Gyrus  
Faculty Host: Matt McGinley, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine.   

11 a.m. in NRI - Blue Bird Circle Auditorium N.0750.00.  Dr. Larry F. Abbott, William Bloor Professor of Theoretical Neuroscience and Professor of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics (in Biological Sciences); Principal Investigator at Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute; Codirector of Columbia’s Kavli Institute for Brain Science.  He recently won a Prestigious Brain Prize, which is the largest in the world for brain science, for excellence in applying computational and theoretical methods to reveal principles underlying memory, movement, and other areas of neuroscience.  
Seminar Title: How Flies Navigate  
Faculty Host: Jeff Magee, Ph.D., Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine.    

11 a.m. in Room M112 at DeBakey.  Dr. Zachary Z. Freyberg, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Cell Biology at the University of Pittsburgh.  Dr. Freyberg’s lab focuses on investigating fundamental vesicular processes at cellular, molecular, and whole animal levels, focusing on the dopamine system both in the central nervous system as well as peripherally in pancreas.  
Seminar Title: Novel Mechanisms of VGLUT-Mediated Dopamine Neuron Resilience  
Faculty Host: Melanie Samuel, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Neuroscience, Huffington Center on Aging at Baylor College of Medicine.    

11 a.m. in Room M112 at DeBakey. Dr. Ritchie Chen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco.  Dr. Chen’s research aims to develop and apply new technologies to map brain-body pathways and to better understand how the nervous system maintains homeostasis and regulates adaptive behavior.  
Seminar Title: Heartfelt Emotions: How Cardiac Sensations Influence Affective Behavior  
Faculty Host: Shelly Buffington, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, Center of Precision Environmental Health at Baylor College of Medicine.    

11 a.m. in Room N315 Auditorium at Alkek. Robin Harwell, Dynamic Instructor at Education Resources Inc.  Robin specializes in consulting facilities on brain building programs.  Robin utilizes a theoretical framework that is based on neurogenesis, neuroplasticity and neurodevelopment for assessment and treatment of her patients.  Her workshops provide the latest in the neuroscientific research and its application rt rehabilitation and development. 
Seminar Title: GaitWay to the Brain  
Faculty Host: Shelly Buffington, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, Center of Precision Environmental Health at Baylor College of Medicine.   

11 a.m. in N315 Auditorium in Alkek.  Dr. Shane A. Liddelow is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Neuroscience and Physiology and Ophthalmology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.  Dr. Liddelow’s research focuses on the mechanisms that induce different forms of reactive astrocytes, and how these reactive cells interact with other cells in the CNS in a positive or negative way. 
Seminar Title: Are Astrocytes the Key to Understanding Neurodegenerative Disease?
Dr. Liddelow’s seminar is hosted by Neuroscience graduate student Sarah Donofrio (class of 2019) who trains in Dr. Roy Sillitoe’s lab.  

11 a.m. in Room M112 at DeBakey.  Dr. Nancy Padilla-Coreano, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Florida.  Dr. Padilla-Coreano’s research explores how the brain enables humans and animals to navigate complex social dynamics and how the ability is disrupted in disease states.  
Seminar Title: Prefrontal Mechanisms Underlying Social Competence in Mice  
Faculty Host: Kara Marshall, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine, and a member of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital. 

11 a.m. in N315 Auditorium in Alkek.  Dr. James Li, Professor of Genetics and Genome Sciences at University of Connecticut.  Dr. Li’s research focuses on the molecular and cellular processes that regulate the development of the cerebellum.  
Seminar Title: Studying the Role of Combinatorial Foxp Codes in Purkinje Cell Diversification and Cerebellar Development 
Faculty Host: Hsiao-Tuan Chao, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics-Division of Neurology and Developmental Neuroscience, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Department of Neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine, and Investigator at Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital. 

11 a.m. in N315 Auditorium at Alkek. Dr. Christopher Dulla, Professor and Interim Chair Neuroscience at Tufts University School of Medicine.  Dr. Dulla’s principal goal of research is to understand how neurotransmission contributes to the function of neuronal networks.  
Seminar Title: Astrocytes are "Excited" in the Seizing Brain  
Faculty Host: Barna Dudok, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Neurology at Baylor College of Medicine.

11 a.m. in N315 Auditorium in Alkek.  Dr. Scott J Russo, Endowed Chair, Professor in Affective Neuroscience at Mount Sinai.  Dr. Russo’s research focuses on the neural and immunological mechanisms of neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety.  
Seminar Title: Neural Circuit Mechanisms Shaping Social Encounters  
Faculty Host: Vaishnav Krishnan, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience, and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine. 

11 a.m. in N315 Auditorium in Alkek.  Dr. Ethan Goldberg, Pediatric Neurologist in the Division of Neurology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Director of the Epilepsy NeuroGenetics Initiative.  Dr. Goldberg’s research focuses on developing new treatments and work towards a cure for epilepsy and other neurodevelopmental disorders using a range of innovative approaches in experimental systems.  
Seminar Title: Dravet Syndrome: Cellular and Circuit Mechanisms Epilepsy, Cognitive Dysfunction, and Temperature Sensitivity 
Faculty Host: Xiaolong Jiang, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Departments of Neuroscience and Ophthalmology at Baylor College of Medicine and Investigator at Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital. 

11 a.m. in N315 Auditorium in Alkek.  Dr. Elise Savier, Assistant Professor in Molecular & Integrative Physiology, and Ophthalmology at the University of Michigan. Dr. Savier’s research focuses on understanding how visual information is filtered, routed, and shaped in the brain to help restore visual function in blindness.  
Seminar Title: Visual Responses Modulation in the Superior Colliculus  
Faculty Host: Jacob Reimer, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine. 

This seminar is canceled. 

11 a.m. in N315 Auditorium in Alkek.  Dr. Robin Haynes, Principal Associate in Pathology at Harvard Medical School.  Dr. Haynes’s research focuses on understanding the pathological basis of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and how biological vulnerabilities intersect with environmental risks factors, putting infants at risk for sudden and unexpected death.  
Seminar Title: Towards an Understanding of SIDS Pathogenesis: New Insights on SIDS in the Premature Infant  
Faculty Host: Russell Ray, Ph.D., associate professor in Neuroscience and Molecular Physiology & Biophysics at Baylor College of Medicine. 

This seminar has been canceled.    

11 a.m. in N315 Auditorium in Alkek.  Dr. Katrin Andreasson, Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences at Stanford University.  Dr. Andreasson’s research is investigating the role that innate immune responses play in the initiation and progression of neurological diseases.  
Seminar Title: Fueling the Mind: Cellular Metabolism and Healthy Brain Aging  
Faculty Host: Yingbin Fu, Ph.D., associate professor of Ophthalmology at Baylor College of Medicine.