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Showing content with the highest reputation since 12/02/2020 in all areas

  1. Diego Rolando Hernández Espinosa

    Meet the 2024 Community Leaders!

    Hey there! My name is Diego, and I'm a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Neurobiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. I'm passionate about understanding how our nervous system responds to inflammation and finding ways to improve neuronal survival after injury. I received my MD degree from the National Autonomous University of Mexico School of Medicine in 2012, and then pursued a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences with a focus on neuropathology from the same institution. Apart from my research, I love sharing knowledge with people from all walks of life, and I'm particularly interested in promoting scientific awareness for the betterment of society. As a mentor, I strive to create an environment that fosters personal and academic growth, as well as overall well-being, for young scientists who are eager to learn and make a positive impact on the world.
    5 points
  2. Hugo Sanchez-Castillo

    Meet the 2024 Community Leaders!

    Greetings fellow scientists!! My name is Hugo Sanchez-Castillo, I'm from Mexico and its wonderful to be a Community Leader for this year!!!... I'm a Scientist from Mexico, my bachelor was in Experimental Psychology at the National University of Mexico. At that time I encountered myself with the behavioral pharmacology and I decided to follow the effects of drugs on the behavior. After that I did my PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience looking for the pharmacological basis of Timing Behavior. In that exciting years I knew the Timing gang from New York and I decided to follow they in the University of Columbia for my Postdoctoral formation. During this time I shared thoughts, science, meals, music and more with excelent researchers of NY. After that, I returned to Mexico and founded the Neuropsychopharmacology and Timing Laboratory. Actually we are working in the neurobiology of stress and PTSD related affections, and obviously The pharmacology of timing behavior. Besides the research Im professor of Psychopharmacology and Biological Basis of Behavior. Personally, I love science, music, movies, science fiction, BBQ the Mexican food (yes, Im from Mexico and I love our food!!!) and I LOVE THE SFN MEETING!... I hope to engage nice chats and conversations about diversity, science, movies and more!!!....
    5 points
  3. Brandon Coventry

    Meet the 2024 Community Leaders!

    Hello! My name is Dr. Brandon Coventry, and I'm very excited to be a member of the Neuronline community leaders! Before beginning my journey into neuroscience and neuroengineering, I was a touring musician, playing music across the United States with a wide variety of pop, funk, punk, and jazz professionals. During this time, I was also studying music at the University of Illinois which allowed for both study and a professional musician lifestyle. However, medical science and engineering was a persistent itch I knew I needed to scratch. I moved to St. Louis and received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Saint Louis University, doing research in biomedical signal processing. I then received my master's degree in electrical and computer engineering and a Ph.D. in Neural Engineering from Purdue University (go Boilers!) in 2021 where I studied novel optical deep brain stimulation technologies and artificially intelligent responsive neuromodulation. I am currently a postdoctoral research associate at the Wisconsin Institute for Transnational Neuroengineering (WITNe) housed in the Departments of Neurosurgery and Surgery at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. At WITNe, I am keenly interested in the neuroscience underlying neuromodulation and developing next-generation tools to facilitate more intricate insights into neural circuit function. I would love to continue in the academic world and am hoping to obtain an assistant professorship in the relatively near future. In my (increasingly decreasing) free time, I am still a freelance session musician and film composer with many of my works shown in venues across the world. I also have a keen interest in good coffee and am in constant search for the next best latte.
    5 points
  4. Kristen Ashley Horner

    Meet your 2023 Community Leaders!

    Hey y'all! Greetings from Nashville! My name is Ashley Horner, and I'm a Professor of Neuroscience at Frist College of Medicine at Belmont University in Nashville, TN. I received my PhD in Neuroscience from Tulane University in 2002 and spent almost 20 years studying basal ganglia pathways involved in methamphetamine-induced repetitive behaviors, as well as striatal circuits responsible for habitual methamphetamine self-administration. However, I have just recently transitioned from research to medical education. Frist College of Medicine is a new medical school, and we plan on opening our doors in the Fall 2024. So, now my days are filled with designing our neuroscience curriculum. It is very challenging, but also very exciting! I'm delighted to have the chance to discuss anything from addiction to curriculum design to major career transitions .
    5 points
  5. Daisy Gallardo

    Meet the 2024 Community Leaders!

    Hello SfN community! I am thrilled to be a Neuronline Community Leader. My name is Daisy Gallardo, and I'm a third year PhD Candidate in the Anatomy and Neurobiology department at the University of California, Irvine. My research focuses on neurodegeneration in an Alzheimer’s disease model, exploring how neuronal death could be delayed or reduced. I'm interested in mechanistic changes that occur as neurons age and how this could inform our approach to treating Alzheimer’s disease. My research interests align with my lifestyle interests, including topics like aging and non-pharmacological approaches to disease prevention, such as exercise. I’m an avid runner and participate in strength/running races, marathons and obstacle course races. I’m excited to engage with all of you in critical discussions and learn from diverse perspectives.
    4 points
  6. valeria muoio

    Meet the 2024 Community Leaders!

    Hello everybody! My name is Valeria Muoio and I am a neurosurgeon at the University of Sao Paulo, in Brazil. I have always been a person who is unhappy with the outcome of some neurological diseases, especially in children, and for that reason, I got involved in research. I obtained my doctorate at the University of São Paulo with a period at Johns Hopkins University. Afterwards, I worked as a researcher at Charite University in Berlin. Currently, I work as a neurosurgeon and researcher at the University of São Paulo. I am fascinated by people, in their incredible richness and diversity. I believe I take this passion to my medical students, and try to show how vital neuroscience is - it not only explains our ailments but also explains who we are. Last year, I had the honor of participating as SFN's Community Leader, and I can say that being part of such a group changed many aspects of my career. For this year, I am excitedly preparing my department's Brain Awareness Week, where hundreds of students in different states of Brazil will participate. And of course, I intend to serve and participate in SFN with all the excellent opportunities and people it brings together. Cheers to all!
    4 points
  7. Katrina Armstrong

    Meet your 2023 Community Leaders!

    Hello everyone! My name is Katrina Armstrong and I am currently a PhD Candidate at the University of Manitoba (Winnipeg, Canada). I completed my MSc also at the University of Manitoba under the guidance of Drs. Katinka Stecina and Larry Jordan. My research is dedicated to understanding the descending neural circuits for movement, specifically the role that serotonin may play either in initiating or facilitating movement. I have always been passionate about sports, and I have recently begun participating in programs that bring sport to underrepresented communities. This January, I had the opportunity to play ice hockey with the Kenya Ice Lions in Nairobi. In combination with The Friendship League and The Urban Hockey Foundation, we were able to provide a large equipment donation to fuel the growth of hockey in Kenya. I look forward to our further discussions on the Neuronline platform!
    4 points
  8. Bin Yin

    Meet your 2023 Community Leaders!

    Greetings from China! My name is Bin Yin and I got my PhD from Duke in 2016, studying neurobiological mechanisms of timing and time perception in animal models. Now I have my own research team in China, although a very small one with limited resources available. But this does not prevent me from pursuing high-quality research elucidating developmental (both psych & neuro) mechanisms underlying learning and behavior. I am excited to have this chance to discuss with you all the intriguing questions in relation to learning and behavior!
    4 points
  9. Julia Araujo

    Meet your 2023 Community Leaders!

    Greetings from Brazil! My name is Julia Araujo. I'm an undergraduate student at a medical school program in my country. I have been researching since High School and Neuroscience has been a passion of mine for even longer. I'm so excited that I got to join SfN's Community Leaders group! I hope to meet you all as much as I will be presenting more about myself in further posts.
    4 points
  10. valeria muoio

    What are you Researching?

    As a neurosurgeon, I feel deeply dissatisfied with the treatment available to treat our patients. We certainly need to increase our therapeutic arsenal. I believe that this dissatisfaction is the driving force behind my work (I believe that many colleagues share this feeling) I currently have 3 lines of work and research 1. neurooncology: we look for therapeutic targets for childhood tumors that are more prevalent in pediatrics, such as medulloblastoma and ependymoma 2. cerebral palsy and movement disorders (especially in children). Children with cerebral palsy have many problems with locomotion and motility (especially spasticity and dystonia). The most commonly used treatments today (drugs and surgeries such as DBS (deep brain stimulation) still need to be greatly improved. My team is researching new interventions in the connectome of these children, such as new targets, microfocused ultrasound and different brain stimulation techniques. 3.Education: training new generations is a fundamental factor for the development of neuroscience, as well as ensuring a healthy environment where minds can offer their best. My passion is to help new neurosurgeons and healthcare students embrace neuroscience in a happy and responsible way
    3 points
  11. Jayalakshmi Viswanathan

    Meet the 2024 Community Leaders!

    Hello Neuonliners! I am honored by the opportunity to contribute to this wonderful community and am looking forward to serving as a community leader for this year. I’m Jaya Viswanathan, a neuroscientist, engineer, author, and artist born and raised in India. I earned a Master’s in neuroscience and a Doctorate in cognitive neuroscience before working as a post-doctoral fellow. I am currently a KGS Contractor Program Analyst in the Division of Neuroscience at the National Institute on Aging where I support program development to achieve the research goals of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. This includes efforts to improve the rigor and reproducibility in published research through the Alzheimer’s disease Preclinical Efficacy Database (AlzPED), as well as using open science and big data approaches to address the big neuroscience questions. Apart from my scientific pursuits, or rather, in parallel to them, I have been passionate about communicating science and making scientific concepts more accessible to a lay audience. In service to that goal, I authored and illustrated an award-winning neuroscience and neuroart book for children, Baby Senses: A Sensory Neuroscience Primer for All Ages (https://babysensesbook.com/). I also wrote a neuronline article about neuroscience education (https://neuronline.sfn.org/outreach/inspiring-young-scientists-through-art-science-and-poetry), and have been a guest on numerous educational video /audio podcast episodes in the service of the same goal (https://babysensesbook.com/brains-art-and-more/). As a Neuronline community leader I hope to contribute to generating resources for neuroscience communication, supporting career development for diverse neuroscientists, developing resources for conducting rigorous and reproducible science, and enhancing the dialogue between neuroscience and society on various issues.
    3 points
  12. Hugo Sanchez-Castillo

    "We Are Still Alive As Scientists": A Ukrainian Scientist’s Story of Perseverance

    First, I want to say to all scientists that science matters, that even in these complicated conditions, science matters. When I saw the video I felt sadness for all situations, but at the same time, I felt that there is hope whereas we stand for science. In the same way that the Ukranian Fellows stand and resist for science. In Mexico, we don't have this kind of problem, but we have different adversities that change society and science (drug cartels, natural disasters, social movements, strikes, etc.). In my case, we faced a huge strike in the 2000 year, I was a student and I was researching with rats and drug discrimination. In the beginning, everybody thought that the strike would be only a few days. However, after two months things changed, the strike did not show possibilities of change and all the researchers and academics started to worry about the future. I remember that we went to talk with the heads of the movement and we explained why we should continue with the science. At this moment we were so nervous because in the past, one social clamor released all the experimental subjects and that was a possible choice for the heads of the strike. After a few days, the heads of the strike told us that we were allowed to continue with the experimental work, but there would be no external resources or participation of any person or entity. We accepted those terms and we did everything (the experiments, the training, the cleaning, the maintenance of the building, the baths, etc!!). The strike was for one year, in that year we stood and resisted for science, It was hard but at the end, we didn't stop science. Finally, I would like to add that science is part of society, if something happens in society of course it's going to impact science. We should be prepared and ready to stand for science and the changes in our society.
    3 points
  13. Diego Rolando Hernández Espinosa

    What are you Researching?

    I gained significant knowledge in characterizing microglial activation and polarization in vivo and in vitro central nervous system injury models. As a postdoctoral researcher, I have continued to enhance my skills in examining microglia activation and neurotoxicity in different models of neuronal damage by utilizing molecular biology, biochemistry, and confocal microscopy techniques. I aim to unravel the molecular mechanisms governing microglia activation and how immunoregulatory processes influence their behavior. By identifying signals regulating their activation, we hope to develop targeted immunomodulatory strategies to mitigate neuroinflammation and its detrimental effects, ultimately enhancing brain resilience.
    3 points
  14. Brandon Coventry

    What are you Researching?

    Neurological disorders involving dysfunction or deregulation of neural circuits such as Parkinson's disease, Epilepsy, and others are chronic and progressive diseases that severely impact quality of life. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has emerged as an effective and efficacious treatment paradigm for these "circuitopathies" as well as a powerful tool for exploring basic functionality of neural circuits. Despite DBS' clinical and scientific successes, it is fraught with off target stimulation and a lack of understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms of effective stimulation. My research centers around the development of new neural stimulation and recording tools to better understand and translate neuromodulation therapies. To this end, I have worked in the following areas: 1. Optical DBS to constrain stimulation only to local microcircuits implicated in disease. 2. Development of chronic small and large animal implantable pulse generators (IPGs) to better mimic clinical DBS practice in rodent and pig models. 3. Study of differential thalamocortical dynamics and thalamic contributions to traveling cortical waves 4. Development of awake behaving calcium imaging tools in DBS rat models to better understand thalamic entrainment of DBS stimuli. 5. AI-enabled closed-loop neuromodulation tools that learn subject neural dynamics in real time to provide target stimulation only when needed. My research is driven by a desire to serve those whose neurological conditions currently have no recourse to current medicine. I am equal parts engineer and neuroscientist and work to translate new neuromodulation tools which work with, and not against, the nervous system to provide safer and more efficacious medical tools.
    3 points
  15. Hugo Sanchez-Castillo

    Artificial Intelligence in Neuroscience

    The first law is that a robot shall not harm a human, or by inaction allow a human to come to harm. The second law is that a robot shall obey any instruction given to it by a human The third law is that a robot shall avoid actions or situations that could cause it to come to harm itself. Isaac Asimov´s laws
    3 points
  16. Wael Mohamed

    Share some Advice

    Hi all.....I think the best advice from my supervisor was try to FOCUS. Focus on what you are doing and move slowly towards your careers goals. Also he advised me to expand my network and collaborate with others. I apply these advices till now and I have a motto of : United We Concur.....so I am always eager to expand my professional network and keen to start new collaboration.
    3 points
  17. Julia Araujo

    Share some Advice

    Once more, I loved the topic brought for discussion! Though it's such a hard task choosing just a single piece of advice, I believe it has to do with something I've recently heard from one of our coordinators (here at my university): "Once you're in doubt between options to pursue research at, just write a piece of review." Here I justify that, although it has much to do with the situation I'm currently at - and I highlight it, just as I've said in my latest post, here at the Community Leader's forum - I'm truthfully in the opinion of having it applied to further circumstances in any scientific career. For an instance, it doesn't matter how much you already know about a certain subject (or its subdivisions) going back to the simplicity - just as a review article might look to be like - helps us figuring out better options and visualising the scenario from multiple perspectives. Certainly, from plenty of help I've received throughout High School and short time of undergraduation, so far, I've recently started to realise, whenever we're in doubt, advices start coming up as both a assurance (a relief, whenever it coincides with our personal choices) and as a new way of seeing things. Nonetheless, in this last case, it's impressive how much we got to learn, doesn't matter how old we are. Assuredly, anyone is able to teach and to learn. (Is that a second advice I've had already received? I guess so.) Back to the piece I've decided to emphasize, along with summing up, while picking up my path of research at college, the review article I prompt myself on writing can be published by the end! Which scientist doesn't like the feeling of publishing our works? Thank you, professor, for your advising!
    3 points
  18. Mathew Abrams

    Meet your 2023 Community Leaders!

    Hej! Greetings from Sweden. My name is Mathew Birdsall Abrams. I am the Director of Science and Training at the International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility (INCF), an organization dedicated to the development, evaluation, and endorsement of standards and best practices that embrace the principles of open, FAIR, and citable neuroscience. INCF also provides training on how standards and best practices facilitate reproducibility and enables the publishing the entirety of research outputs, including data and code. I am recovering experimental spinal cord injury researcher turned neuroinformatics enthusiast. I am passionate about open science, neurotechnology, and FAIR data management. I look forward to discussing with you all.
    3 points
  19. Hugo Sanchez-Castillo

    Meet your 2023 Community Leaders!

    Hola!!! My name is Hugo Sanchez-Castillo... Im from México and I'm Professor/researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. My research is focused to understand the neurobiology pf PTSD and the stress related disorders. However I love the behavioral pharmacology and timing behavior either. I like to discuss about science and I hope to contribute to this group and to build bridges with the different groups.
    3 points
  20. valeria muoio

    Meet your 2023 Community Leaders!

    Hey everyone! My name is Valéria Muoio , I am a neurosurgeon based in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I did my PhD at the University of São Paulo, with a sandwich period at Johns Hopkins University. I also worked as a scientist at the Charite University in Berlin- Germany. I split my time between the surgical center, the laboratory and teaching at the medical school in Sao Paulo. I believe that such activities are complementary and I think it's beautiful when we transmit this complementarity to the new generations. Exchanging experiences as human beings (not just our technical knowledge) improves our craft and our career perception. I hope I can contribute to the group and I can't wait to learn from everyone.
    3 points
  21. Daisy Gallardo

    "We Are Still Alive As Scientists": A Ukrainian Scientist’s Story of Perseverance

    Dr. Nana Voitenko and her lab were making an effort to continue their research, in any way possible, while fearing for their own and other family members' lives. The effort to save cell cultures, chemicals, and other research materials during the power outage while dealing with the immense mental stress brought on by the war emphasizes their dedication to science. This is truly inspiring as a PhD student when, currently, my only constraint for scientific progress is time. Their experiences put into perspective the ease with which I can continue doing research on a daily basis. The biggest takeaway from this, regarding how to navigate obstacles in research, regardless of how minor, is to adapt and pivot. Focus on areas that you can control or make progress on. One example is Dr. Voitenko's transition to developing a "European style" medical school to enhance the training of medical students. She also made use of SfN’s amazing community and led a meaningful change to the issue of male scientists needing funding but not being able to leave the country.
    2 points
  22. Sai Lavanya Patnala

    Meet the 2024 Community Leaders!

    Hello everyone! My name is Lavanya and I am a medical student from India. My budding interest in Neurology brought me here. I am excited to be a part of this amazing online community and to be a Neuronline community leader. As a Neuronline community leader, I hope to actively engage in conversations and learn from everyone's perspectives. During my first year at medical school, I had the most fun learning neuroanatomy. The dissection of the brain and its structures fascinated me. It was much later, during the COVID-19 pandemic that I first realized my interest in Neurology. What began as a casual exploration of online courses transformed into a genuine passion for Behavioral Neurology. I believe that there is a vast scope of research at the intersection of neuroscience and behavior. As I nurtured this interest, I became more curious and observant of my daily life. I was inspired to conduct a study to find the prevalence of migraine, its disability, and its impact on sleep quality among undergraduate medical students. I am currently an intern and have just begun my journey to residency. Although I am not actively involved with any ongoing neuroscience research right now, I am excited to learn from all the community leaders worldwide and understand the scope of research going on in the field. I am enthusiastic to interact with experienced scientists and learn their worldview, as well I am excited at the prospect of any collaboration. Apart from my curriculum, I enjoy cooking and baking. I also occasionally make short video content. I believe the food we eat not only affects our gut health but, also majorly affects our mood and energy levels. My goal for this year is to integrate my passion for cooking with my interest in Neuroscience. Looking forward to interacting with everyone throughout the year!
    2 points
  23. Jayalakshmi Viswanathan

    What are you Researching?

    Wow where to begin? My interest in neuroscience has always been conceptually broad – how does the brain perform the computations it does for everyday life functions, and how do these computations change with development, learning, and aging? Over the years of graduate school and post-doctoral fellowship, I’ve conducted research experiments using various behavioral, experimental, and computational techniques in humans and animals (ferrets). Using visual and auditory experimental paradigms, I investigated the mechanisms of perception, learning, memory, and how these change with aging using psychoacoustics, eye tracking, EEG, fMRI, and neurophysiology. As a program analyst contractor [KGS] supporting the achievement of the research goals of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s, I get to take a bird’s eye view of the entire neuroscientific research landscape. In my current role, I prioritize the development of the programs and infrastructure to achieve these goals. My activities range from development of targeted funding opportunities to address the gaps and opportunities in the research landscape, improving the rigor and reproducibility of funded and published research, participating in policy and program workgroups and more. I love this role; while I had no idea such roles existed for much of my own career, in this position I combine scientific expertise with communication and analytic skills to serve the public and the community I work with. Working on AlzPED, the Alzheimer’s Preclinical Efficacy Database (https://alzped.nia.nih.gov/) has been particularly fulfilling. In addition to being a curator, I also work with partner organizations to widely implement the adoption of rigorous experimental design as well as provide the research community with a platform to publish (as a preprint with a citable DOI) their negative findings which can be traditionally hard to publish.
    2 points
  24. Brandon Coventry

    What are you Researching?

    Hi Diego, I would love to chat with you more about your work. We have begun to investigate inflammatory and microglial responses in the context of implanted devices and deep brain stimulation. Mitigating neuroinflammation would be huge to the clinical landscape
    2 points
  25. Hugo Sanchez-Castillo

    What are you Researching?

    I really enjoy this question because I believe that our research is driven by our motivations, our encounters in life, and even our expectations and beliefs. In my case, I started to be involved in pharmacology because when I was young I saw many of my friends change after the consumption of alcohol. That amused me because it was something like Dr. Jeckill and Mr. Hide!!! How one calm person could be a totally different person after alcohol intake?... At that very moment, I realized that I really wanted to understand that... The other source of motivation was stress, at that crazy young age, one day I was in a car accident, I was with my friends, and the driver lost the vehicle control and we hit a wall. In the moment of the accident, I saw how time expanded itself... I saw everything in slow motion, for me it was several minutes, but after the accident the people said that everything happened in a few seconds!!!! I know that I should have had a different reaction, but I was so excited because the time was different, how my brain did that????... In this event, I incorporated time into my perspective of life. Finally, neuroscience was the last ingredient that took me on this Wonderful path... In my lab, we study: PTSD and related disorders in humans and rodents Timing behavior and its pharmacological basis Stress and addictions Learning and Memory on Cephalopods Best
    2 points
  26. Julia Araujo

    Enhancing Diversity in Neuroscience

    Firstly, I just want to emphasize how happy I am to discuss something related to diversity once more! Linking my emotions to an actual written content, I share the opportunity I'm having as a Community Leader. Just from the part of my context I'm happy to share - as a latina and undergraduate student - it's amazing to interact with such incredible researchers, doctors and all of you here at SfN! Yours experiences, kindness and engagement make it all amazing! After all, amidst the struggles - once there's no quick modification on the demographics of the scientific community as a whole - smaller steps might be the source to rely on. Surely, it's a scenario I'm gratefully finding at many science and academia groups but, specifically, extremely happy to see it happening here at SfN. Resources, such as content (incredible stories and articles) and the creation of programs - like the Community Leader opportunity for Early Career scientists - are mere exemples on how I gladly see change beginning to appear, though at my local and immediate surroundings. Engaging people from all backgrounds - degrees and life experiences included - might be just the beginning, but it has been done thoroughly. Doing our own bests it's not all that matters. Still, it represents the will and the courage for the changes we are going to see on the future.
    2 points
  27. valeria muoio

    Data Sharing and Reuse in Neuroscience

    I believe that the more capable minds that think and work on a given topic, the greater the chance of scientific benefit. When I say capable, I include responsibility and ethics. We are in a dangerous age of fake news, data distortion to suit diverse agendas and breaches of privacy, which can cause great harm to people, patients and institutions. As Hugo said, we have to interpret the past, the nature of things and share them, but in a responsible and ethical way.
    2 points
  28. Hugo Sanchez-Castillo

    Data Sharing and Reuse in Neuroscience

    Tough question my friends... I believe that we will be free of sharing our data, but not for whatever use. We should be aware of the interest conflicts, the bad use of the data, the appropriation of the data or even the burglary of the projects. All persons that wanted to see the data, they should have access, is the way to demonstrate that the data was obtained in the right way, however when we sharing for reuse we should be clear and make the statement that the data is from another experiment or is used to compare models or results from different experiments. Science it should be clear and directed to the understanding of all natural phenomena, we can't ignore the past, the old experiments, the old data because all of this are the founding of the actual science, that means that we are allowed of compare the data, but we are obligated to use it in the right way... Sharing data in neuroscience is good for many reasons, we can compare experiments, we can run different algorithms to find new perspectives, we can learn about the way in which the data were obtained, etc. However not always its will be in that way, sometimes somebody could use it in bad way, but if we are aware of that possibility and we are prepared to claim the rightness of the data, with back ups of the data, laboratory notes, video recordings, the original projects etc, we can be victorius in this hard, but honorable quest.
    2 points
  29. Mathew Abrams

    Data Sharing and Reuse in Neuroscience

    This is a topic that is very "near and dear" to my heart. As an ardent supporter of open and FAIR neuroscience, data sharing and reuse govern my work. Whether that is through volunteer efforts to develop standards or developing web applications and platforms to make data sharing and reuse more feasible. I believe that data reuse has the potential to democratise neuroscience; that is, enable individuals from under resourced institutions to conduct research beyond their institutional capacity. Moreover, the open data archives developed by the world's large-scale brain initiatives (e.g. BRAIN, Brain/MINDS, CONP, and HBP) are posed to provide the neuroscience research community with large volumes of FAIR data that can not only be reused to advance our understanding of the brain, but also to revolutionise how we teach and learn neuroscience (from high school to graduate school). I would love to hear about any of your experiences with data sharing and reuse whether you are pro or against it. My colleagues and I are in the process of collecting data about barriers to data sharing and reuse in neuroscience. I encourage you all to help us out and complete the survey.
    2 points
  30. Srikanth Ramaswamy

    Artificial Intelligence in Neuroscience

    I'm taking an optimistic outlook. In my opinion, AI has indeed had a significant impact on scientific work in neuroscience. I have summarised how AI has impacted scientific work in neuroscience: 1. Neuroimaging analysis: AI has played a crucial role in processing and analyzing neuroimaging data, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). AI-driven techniques can help with tasks like image segmentation, registration, and feature extraction, making it easier for researchers to study brain structures and connectivity. 2. Disease diagnosis and biomarker discovery: AI is being used to develop diagnostic tools for neurological disorders, like Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and epilepsy. By training AI models on large neuroimaging and clinical datasets, researchers can identify specific biomarkers or patterns indicative of these conditions. This can lead to earlier and more accurate diagnoses, potentially improving patient outcomes. 3. Drug Discovery and Development: AI has accelerated the drug discovery process in neuroscience by analyzing vast databases of molecular structures and simulating their interactions with neural receptors and pathways. This assists in identifying potential drug candidates and predicting their efficacy in treating neurological conditions. 4. Advancing theoretical models: AI has enabled researchers to test and refine theoretical models of brain function. Through simulations and computational models, AI aids in understanding complex neural networks and their underlying mechanisms. Overall, AI has significantly impacted scientific work in neuroscience by enhancing data analysis, understanding disease, and developing therapeutics. As AI continues to evolve, its integration into neuroscience research will likely lead to more groundbreaking discoveries and improved healthcare outcomes for neurological conditions.
    2 points
  31. Mathew Abrams

    Finding Work-Life Balance One Task at a Time

    As neuroscientists, we will drop/cancel/arrange life around experiments, grant proposals, manuscript submissions, etc... without hesitating; but we stop and think about the impact of participating in a passion outside of work will have on work. For me, working from home during covid helped me to see the imbalance and provided me with the time and opportunity to address the imbalance. I have given myself permission to pursue my passions outside of work with the same commitment and dedication that I have given to my career. It was not easy, and I felt a lot of guilt at first (almost like I was having an affair on work if I chose prioritise another passion).
    2 points
  32. Mathew Abrams

    Coping With Failure as a Grad Student and Beyond

    I have always subscribed to the notion that the word "fail" is an acronym for "first attempt in learning" which in my opinion sets a more positive tone and calibrates my expectations of myself (think about learning to ride a bike: it took several attempts and a few stumbles along the way to master the skill). Also, I believe that it is important to have something else in ones life that you are passionate about (family, cooking, sports, etc...) and that you try to create a balance between this passion and neuroscience; so that when the professional failures arise (which they will), you have the other passion to reaffirm your self worth. I hope this makes sense!
    2 points
  33. Hugo Sanchez-Castillo

    Finding Work-Life Balance One Task at a Time

    I learn from the COVID-19 pandemic that our hippocampus could be so confused... Let me explain it, it supposes that the hippocampus is related to the identification of the environment, we can distinguish the differences between a concert hall versus a restaurant, and as a consequence, we behave differentially in both places. But, what happened during the COVID-19 pandemic isolation?... suddenly the university and our home were the same places (the same as the work or elementary school, etc) at the same time in the same place we had to take our classes, in our bedroom, kitchen, study or whatever place in our house. That was the difficulty for our hippocampus, the main expectative was, "It's home, the place for rest, watching TV, playing video games, etc" However in the pandemic, we change that to; "Now is the office, the university, the seminar hall, etc", Huge change for processing!!. Consequently, our behavior started to change, and we tried to adapt, but sometimes our hippocampus failed. For example, the guy who was walking in underwear while somebody was having an interview; the guy who was having a meeting with a kitty filter; the students in pajamas in class. All these examples are a sample of hippocampus failures, at the beginning, we were having trouble in adaptation, concentration, in attention, because the context said it's a place to rest, but the reality said is your workplace now!!. Nowadays, we have to understand that the new forms of communication, interaction, and participation will be with us forever. In my case, I use the new technologies as a tool for better communication, and for a new form of interviews, but only as a tool. In my work, I'm learning to separate my private life, some times is easy to say: "We zoom on Sunday" "We zoom at night" etc, but it's not ok, we need our private spaces and our family deserves their spaces with us.
    2 points
  34. Hugo Sanchez-Castillo

    Artificial Intelligence in Neuroscience

    I love the movies: 2001 space odyssey; I robot; The matrix; etc. but in all of these movies the main premise was "What happens when the IA shows self-conscience?... My first thought in that sense will be: We are talking of the same?; Do we face an uncontrolled entity that eventually could destroy us? the answer is not. To avoid that, we must face the problem with ethics, courage, and a clear sense of direction. AI could be an amazing tool for exploring new fields, having a rapid answer to a difficult topic, etc. but I think that AI is a tool, not a substitution, AI can't substitute our thinking, our writing skills, our curiosity. Recently, one student shows to me an essay and said: look professor, I did it with AI and I think that is pretty good and I look smarter than everybody here. I look it up the essay and thought, really?... The student only put the topic, the machine did all the work, and the machine put all the references. The student never read it (but he did the work of writing the question and turning on the computer). We have to find out how to prevent the unethical use of IA and show the new generations the line between the advantages and the loss of creativity... As researchers, we have to recognize that scientific creation is a product of our knowledge, environment, social positions, etc. The IA does not have all these elements and because of that the results could be far away from us.
    2 points
  35. Julia Araujo

    Artificial Intelligence in Neuroscience

    From our most recent bi-monthly meeting, there are two things I'd like to comment on this statement above. First, for better or for worse, I rely mostly on this two main branches of the discussion just to synthesize something that can become so complex. Secondly, such a crucial subject - based on how multifactorial it is - can lead us to unprecedented contributions, emphasising these from our local Community. For an instance, I expect that the post I currently share will only motivate my other colleagues on sharing the brilliant contributions they had on the topic back on the meeting I had mentioned. Certainly, I'm not going to establish any conclusions, although, at least, I might get my own thoughts slightly organized on this world of possibilities in order to get it started. Back to the oath - just kidding - I'll start with the positive impacts AI promises Neuroscience research passionates like us. From assistance on medical diagnosis, analysing exams and figuring out patterns, all the way up to identifying authenticity on published papers, AI can compute information on unthinkable scales and proportions... After all, do things that are unlikely or uncharacteristic of the human abilities and do things that are impossible for organic chemistry based bodies, though I tend to avert from these types for thoughts, specially when we see kindness, honesty and other traits of humanity: things AI will never be able to do. Will it? Well…from this considerations, I go towards the other side. Negatively, behind the data shared and reused, the FAIR principles to be implemented and so many other AI possibilities, the same carbon-hydrogen-oxygen beings work at, not doing things as they’re supposed to, forgetting about the damaging - or worse, not forgetting and doing it the same way - that could be provoked whenever the AI (and the technologies in general) are implemented badly. Yes, the possibilities are not only by the speed of internet, not simply virtual, they’re also endless and, pretty much, concrete changes. It’s kind of funny to think how AI is not the problem by the end. But, of course, it could never be created if it wasn’t for the real intelligence - used for the best or for the worse - the human one. What else do you all have to share? (that's not data, LOL)
    2 points
  36. Kristen Ashley Horner

    Share some Advice

    “What is the best advice you have received from a professor/supervisor throughout your career?” This is a good question. Let me reach way back into my cortex for the answer..... So, this is a story about the advice that I didn't take. As a neared the end of my post-doctoral fellowship training, I started applying for faculty positions---some positions I applied for were at large, research institutions, others were at smaller liberal arts colleges that focused more on teaching, with less of an emphasis on big-time research. I ended up being offered a faculty position at a medical school that was part of a small liberal arts college in rural Georgia. I was going to be given my own lab space, and I was expected to support my lab with extramural funding, like at any other medical school, but I was also going to be required to carry a pretty hefty teaching load (roughly half my time was to be spent teaching first- and second-year medical students). I didn't have much exposure to or opportunities for teaching as a graduate student or post-doctoral fellow, but I knew that teaching was something that I really wanted to pursue. When my post-doctoral mentor found out that I had decided to take this position, she strongly advised me against going to an institution that wasn't primarily research focused and where I would be required to do a lot of teaching. She was worried that spending so much time in the classroom would potentially ruin my career as a researcher. Well, I thanked her for her concern and advice, and I took the position anyway. I spent 15 years at that small medical school that was part of a liberal arts college, and I don't regret it a minute of it. I was given the unique opportunity to have a thriving research program (albeit very small compared to other neuroscience research labs), while learning to teach and design medical school curriculum. Without that experience, I never would have ended up in my current position, where I'm now part of a team starting a new medical school. So, I guess the lesson here is that sometimes the best advice comes from yourself---trust your instincts, listen to your gut, and don't be afraid to take a chance.
    2 points
  37. Hugo Sanchez-Castillo

    Share some Advice

    Hi Everybody! Fortunately, I have been surrounded by valuable and pretty smart scientists during my professional formation. Because of that, is really hard to choose a single one!!. However, I will do my best in choosing two of them. The first one came from my postdoctoral adviser; one day we were discussing the results of one experiment, at that moment the data were unclear and without direction, I suggest to look the data and detecting subjects with bad performance to check out what is going on. The Dr looked at me and said: You can do that, you can look, but you can´t interact with the data. Our compromise like scientists is to explain the data, find the causes, explain the phenomena, and learn from that, but never, ever, modify, change, duplicate, or any other kind of interaction: THE DATA IS THE DATA. I think that sometimes we are so immersed in our research that we don't realize that if we changed something (for minimal that it appears). it could change our understanding of the nature and that could affect us for many years. The second one came from my bachelor's tutor. In those days I was lost in what does mean to be a scientist. I thought about the awards, the traveling, the excitement of finding things, and the understanding of nature. One day I was playing soccer and I didn't finish my experiment, when I was asked for that, I apologize for my behavior but I said that It does not matter because I can repeat the experiment and I was capable of doing everything again if it was necessary. My tutor turn back slowly and look at me with a surprised expression. He ask me to sit down and said: Hugo I want you to listen carefully; I know that you are capable of repeating the experiment, I know that you are smart enough to change the design and do so many other changes. However, that skill does not mean that you respect science. Science is knowledge, experimental data, publishing, interchange of ideas, etc. However, science is compromised with society, it understands our role and returned the trust that the society deposit in every scientist. They expect respect, honesty, and compromise. If you are not capable of compromising with your experiments, how you can compromise with society and behave ethically in science? Best
    2 points
  38. Hugo Sanchez-Castillo

    Octopus again!!! Learning and memory stuff...

    There was a very famous octopus that could predict the results of different soccer matches. The octopus (named Paul) choose the soccer team and that selection will be the winner of the match... Really Paul?? really?... Unfortunately, there is no such thing as future predictions. The phenomenon we observe is the decision-making related to the colors, the patterns, or even the familiarity of the stimuli. To study this kind of phenomenon we can use the Novel Object Recognition Task in which we expose the subjects to some objects to explore. In the next trials, we present to the subjects a previously shown object (familiar) and a new one. We measure the exploring time, the kind of interaction, etc. This task is normally used with rats, monkeys, and humans, but never with octopuses!!... In our lab, we used this kind of task adapted to the octopuses and we showed that the octopuses are pretty good doing that, that the performance is different at different ages, but is so similar to rats, monkeys, and humans... Vergara-Ovalle, F., Ayala-Guerrero, F., Rosas, C. & Sanchez-Castillo, H. Novel object recognition in Octopus maya. Anim Cogn 26, 1065–1072 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-023-01753-6 53-6
    2 points
  39. Sam Staples

    March Neuronline Recap

    Doing Well by Doing Good With Open Science In this new Neuronline article, Dr. Juan Pablo Alperin speaks on the incentivization of exclusivity in academia and how the broader shift towards open access to research will benefit the careers of researchers. Read this and more in the Foundations of Rigorous Neuroscience Research collection. A Collective Approach to Improving Scientific Rigor How do cognitive biases and the pressures of the incentive structures in academia undermine the quality of research produced? Dr. Marcus Munafo shares how community-centered action, collaboration, and open science improve scientific rigor, as a part of the Foundations of Rigorous Neuroscience Research collection. An Unhealthy Interest in What the Kids are Doing These Days Recreational drug use continues to harm health, as well as vocational and inter-personal success, for some individuals. In this on-demand webinar, Dr. Michael Taffe describes how models from non-human primate to rat to the crayfish have been used in his lab to determine effects of popular recreational drugs. Watch this and more in the Meet-the-Experts collection. New Biophotonic Nanotools for Photostimulation of Neurons Bio-photonic nanotools, including organic nanoparticles and photochromic compounds, represent a gene-free strategy for wireless neural photostimulation. Current studies in animal models are addressing their potential application in the cure of human neurodegenerative diseases. In a Meet-the-Experts webinar, Dr. Fabio Benfenati takes a deep dive into nanotools and their application in the cure of human neurodegenerative diseases. Influential Writing and Leading Change "An essential part of doing good science is getting the word out." Dr. Gundula Bosch shares how influential writing and increasing the visibility of your work through non-traditional forms of media can facilitate changes in education and build influence. Read the whole article, which includes a short video from the author, and explore the Foundations of Rigorous Neuroscience Research collection. Endogenous Circadian Clock Machinery in Cortical NG2-Glia Regulates Cellular Proliferation Circadian rhythm disturbances are commonly seen in neurologic disorders across the life span. The ramifications of these disturbances for the cellular healing capabilities of the brain are unknown. In this SfN Journals: In Conversation webinar, Dr. Terry Dean and Dr. Vittorio Gallo discuss their eNeuro paper with Editor-in-Chief Christophe Bernard.
    2 points
  40. Katrina Armstrong

    What are you Researching?

    Hello everyone! My work focuses on the interplay between the brainstem and spinal cord for movement. Specifically, I am interested in a subpopulation of serotonin neurons in the caudal ventral medulla and their role in initiating/facilitating movement. My research uses a variety of techniques, including traditional electrophysiology (in vivo fictive locomotion preparation) as well as new tools such as optogenetics and chemogenetics. So far, we have discovered that activation of a small subset of serotonin neurons is able to concomitantly activate both motor networks and autonomic networks. We are currently on the last edits of our paper and hope to submit soon for publication.
    2 points
  41. valeria muoio

    What are you Researching?

    Hi! I've been working with translational neuroscience. I am part of a multidisciplinary team (with neurosurgeons, neurologists, neuropediatricians, scientists in the basic area) and we work so that the research developed in our laboratories can reach our patients. I am directly involved on two main fronts: brain tumors and cerebral palsy. At the university, we are studying study optimization techniques and increased performance in our students.
    2 points
  42. Hugo Sanchez-Castillo

    What are you Researching?

    Hello!! I'm working with stress... and im studying stress (bad joke I know, sorry). We are interested in the Neurobiology of the stress and de dissociative disorders. We are looking for differentiate the participation of the glutamatergic system in males and females. Besides, we are looking how the social isolation produces an impact in stressed and non stressed animals and the participation of the amygdala-Hippocampus-prefrontal cortex axis. Finally, we are working with an endemic octopus from Mexico (Octopus Maya) to understand the cognitive process (learning and memory, stress, etc.) and how a neural network can do everything without a brain without specific structures, (hippocampus, nuclei accumbens, amygdala, etc.), can behave and perform in the same way as other species with another kind of brain.
    2 points
  43. Mathew Abrams

    What are you Researching?

    I am currently working on developing open access, multimedia resources (tutorials, courses, and guidelines) to help the neuroscience community implement FAIR data management practices in their research. The open neuroscience community is composed of an amazing group of dedicated "community servants". They volunteer their time and effort to develop open source and open access tools, standards, and infrastructure for the greater good of neuroscience as a discipline; and they are not deterred by the slow adoption of these practices of the neuroscience community-at-large; they keep plugging away to solve the issues related to data integration, sharing, management, and analysis. If you would like to check out my work, please visit: TrainingSpace and INCF FAIR Roadmap.
    2 points
  44. An initial project underneath the topic of childhood depression, powered by collaborations and which ought to inspire SfN’s members as it continues constantly (scientifically) improving: Dr. Luby’s Scientific Research Webinar - now on demand - was broadcasted on January 4th. Including an experienced personal guidance, questions of thoughtful participants, brilliant research prospects and a explanation of inspirational publications, my summary shall update and take us all to new discussions - as prompted by Dr. Joan L. Luby - or even present a new topic for those passionate about Neuroscience. Initially, it’s important to describe an initial collaboration among the brain and the behavior that, after all, besides naming after the research, emphasises the trust, the respect and one of the key aspects (highlighted by our presenter) that made the incredible work possible: the meeting of Psychology and Neuroimaging. This way, a public health objective of addressing children under the age of 6 with diagnosed clinical depression and developing early intervention for such group, became something even greater. After all, what still has a high potential for clinical translation based on design studies, structured itself on a collaboration. Due to the feasibility of imaging kids aged about 6, there was a skeptical professional view of a neuroimaging specialist. Nonetheless, intrigued by population studies and accumulated data on adults with schizophrenia and depression, the context of neuro data transformed into a follow up and the path for certain questions. Would the development of functional and social impairments be spontaneously remitted by school age? What about the chronicity endurance of the disorder for the later childhood and adolescence? Those aged from 3 to 6 years with depression characteristics - comparatively to those with called normative sadness and other disorders - already faced different health impairments and other different psychological conditions whose, relying on development, behavior and psychosocial variables, represented an interaction of emotion development and risks for psychopathologies. Yet, with much more that came through the webinar, it could only become clearer on how the direct collaboration of phenomenological studies and neuro data had just adjoined themselves for a path of Early Childhood Psychopathology’s Intervention discoveries, targeting control variables all the way to becoming central emerging ones. From Dr. Luby’s words: “Don't be so focused on what you initially proposed so you ignore what you did discover…” The hippocampi with varied volumes proved to be the Neuroimaging interaction from animal models and well-stablished Methylation Mechanism with the psychosocial ideas - by means, concepts - of the targets. The licking (and, therefore, psychosocial aspect), the DNA transformation, demethylation, glucorticord receptors impacted, the hippocampus volume: it had to do with the caregivers. In fact, those videotaped by blind coders based on maternal support (considering the volume variation of school aged hippocampi) were the poverty mediation and the stressful (or poor) parenting that had to do with the initial questions. Along the targeting for early intervention, it was possible to take notes on the optimal data on subcortical grey matter volumes up to the impact of biological systems. The Neuro-immune Network Hypothesis, after all, showed to us how adverse, abusive and depriving environments communicated with immune cells in materials which participate in responses, health behaviours and unrelated outcomes. Scientifically, the bridge between learning, education and interventions was stablished. Textually, the presentation ignites a whole group of topics still to be written about. For an instance, an opinion piece on basic Neuroscience research - parallel to Model researches on single neurons level (on other animals) and to circuit or structural (on humans) - the composition and the collaboration extended itself towards the impact on public health. Indeed, the cross-talking of a sensitive period of visual, language, emotional, cognitive and social for Early Interventions and Early Precautions symbolises the questions to construct an optimisation plan. When and which opportunities shall be increased by the influence of environmental factors? Following up, the Early Life Adversity Biological and Embedding Study (a collaboration between Preterm and Neuroscience) was the key to investigate the mechanisms and the risks - along with theirs respective increases and decreases - on the offspring of the uncertainties regarding pregnancy (preterm birth). Upon consideration of NMH (cytokines markers), the stool and blood samples (to do with inflammation) - as well as the caregiver-child relationship (considered was a protective and trajectory factor) - there were discoveries. In terms of the caregivers, poverty had a lot to do with a high Neuroplasticity in fetus development. Smaller grey and white volumes were functions to point out the disadvantageous experiences by the fetus as early as possible. Violent crime exposures, with impacts of neonatal frontal-limbic connectivity, added to the first statement of this paragraph. Lastly, mediated by a smaller cortical grey matter volume, what was thought to be a factor for preterm birth, actually represented sleep disfunction and chronodisruption, on the outcomes by mechanical aspects. By the end, poverty - rhythmically transmitted to the fetus - is an alteration in developing child brains with a higher risk for psychopathology and, therefore, the highlight of these fascinating collaborations. To elucidate, as following up the collection of samples, sleep and circadian rhythms (continuing as the offsprings) and the nonographies (with school age kids from initial study), EEGs performed on humans and animal research on circadian cycles (with Neuroimaging) gathers all of the work and the relationship that ought to be consolidated. In general, as learned through the content of the webinar, the literature on sleep (synaptic) functions, homeostasis and how socio-emotional aspects correlate to sleep formulate important prospects once sleep duration, timing and stages are analysed at a greater sleep/wake ratio on the course of Brain Development. As for the intervention itself, a Parent-Child Interaction Therapy Emotional Development (PCIT-ED) - for preschoolers with depression - relies on the effects of Reward Response (Erp), considering baseline and post intervention. By the end of this incredible scientific journey, Dr. Luby’s words resonate within personal factors, indispensable for us all to manage failure and rejection; question our own findings (what has to do with flexibility); keep goal focused (as being loyal to the truth); have fun (on the matter of not taking yourself too seriously while balancing your work); choose your collaborations (including trust, work habits and respect); keep an eye on health and science impacts: they are symbols of experience and wisdom we shall appreciate Dr. Luby for. Top 6 webinar questions answered: Who can be the primary caregiver? Response: Anyone who ought to offer the needed support. What about brain changes related to each psychopathology? R.: Some do have relations, others are still not clear. What about temperament reports and quizzes? R.: There was a moderating effect. What about cortisol dynamics and diet screen? R.: Yes, there is alteration considering that. What about the measure of Immune? R.: The activation or not of cytokines were the main measure, thought there was not a direct one, there is some looking to brain inflammation. Which would be the best interventions? R.: Focus on caregivers and the environment.
    2 points
  45. J. Alex Grizzell

    Meet your 2023 Community Leaders!

    Hello! My name is Alex Grizzell. I am an assistant teaching professor at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. Although research is no longer my primary responsibility, I continue to collaborate with labs at Emory and various other institutions, including The University of Colorado, Boulder and The University of Tennessee, where I completed my post-doc and PhD, respectively. My research broadly focuses on the neural circuitry and neuroendocrinology of stress resilience, particularly in response to social stress and in controllable/uncontrollable situations. I also conduct research on effective teaching/learning practices in neuroscience classrooms and laboratories. At Emory, I am a core professor in the Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology (NBB) program that services over 600 neuroscience (undergraduate) majors each year. I teach Behavioral Neuroscience and Advanced Topics in Neuroscience and I am currently developing a course on Neurodiversity as well as Responsible Communication in Neuroscience. Outside of the classroom, I also mentor student groups that focus broadly on awareness of neuroscience for students and general populations, via outreach and written media. As a neurodivergent, first-gen student myself, my interests are largely in support and mentorship of diverse students and making neuroscience learning spaces more accessible for all, including via communicating the science itself. I look forward to engaging with this group and beyond! This should be a lot of fun!
    2 points
  46. Srikanth Ramaswamy

    Meet your 2023 Community Leaders!

    Hi all, Bonjour tout le monde, Namaste, My name is Srikanth Ramaswamy. I am a Swiss-Indian computational neuroscientist. I recently started my laboratory as an Assistant Professor at Newcastle University in the northeast of England. I am currently a Fulbright Visiting Professor at MIT. My research seeks to generate mechanistic insights through which neuromodulators shape cognition in rodent, monkey and human brains and utilize this knowledge to build deep neural network models of adaptive learning and memory. I did my PhD with Henry Markram at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale De Lausanne (EPFL). After a brief postdoc at the Universite de Lausanne, I returned to the EPFL as a group leader in computational neuroscience before starting my own lab at Newcastle. I enjoy mentoring the next generation of scientists, science advocacy and outreach. As a neuroscientist of color, I am passionate about championing the cause of diversity, equity and inclusion in brain sciences as an active member of the ALBA network. As the Chair of the IBRO Early Career Committee, I am also committed to building a support framework for early career scientists. I am thrilled to be part of this group and would love to discuss anything ranging from cortical circuits, neuromodulators, computational neuroscience, deep learning, mentoring, publication practices, diversity, equity and inclusion.
    2 points
  47. Soaleha Shams

    Meet your 2023 Community Leaders!

    Hi all. My name is Soaleha Shams and I am a Canadian neuroscientist. I study neurobiology of zebrafish social behaviour and use it as a tool to model typical socialization, as well as atypical social behaviour that is part of human disorders such as depression, social anxiety, and autism. After a BSc in Biology and Psychology (University of Toronto in Mississauga) and a MSc in Neuroscience (Western University, London, Ontario), I did my doctoral work in Behavioural Neuroscience (University of Toronto) under supervision of Dr. Robert Gerlai, looking at effects of social isolation in zebrafish. I did my 1st postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Lars Westberg (Pharmacology dept, Gothenburg University, Sweden), where I investigated effects of genetic and pharmacological manipulation of oxytocin receptors on zebrafish social interaction. Last year, I moved to the Mayo Clinic (Minnesota, USA) to a Stress Biology lab with Dr. Karl Clark. I am currently learning about using CRISPR-Cas9 and other gene-editing technologies to study glucocorticoid receptors and their role in zebrafish social and stress behaviour. Outside the lab, I love teaching and science advocacy, and I hope to play a role in future of neuroscience policy-making in Canada and beyond.
    2 points
  48. Julie Moonga

    Meet your 2023 Community Leaders!

    Hello! I am Julie, based in London- UK. My neuroscience career started at the bench in molecular and cellular neuroscience- then took a shift from neurodegenerative disease to clinical neuropsychiatry and medical law. Currently, my research focuses on neurotechnology e.g., regulation and governance of brain computer interfaces. I have a particular interest in the social, ethical and legal implications of emerging health technologies. I am a lecturer in neuroscience, artificial intelligence, ethics, regulation and policy.
    2 points
  49. Kristen Ashley Horner

    From addiction to curriculum design to major career transitions 🐁

    Hey Guys! Apologies for a late reply---I've been out of the office, but now I'm back in the house . Julia---I love what you've said here and how you've put connected these topics! I think a three-dimensional interdisciplinary discussion, as you've described, is a great idea. The study of addiction most certainly involves chemistry---think neurochemical changes that might occur in the context of addiction (diminished tyrosine hydroxylase activity, alterations in receptors) and biology, where you see changes in the biological system as a result of addiction (for example, certain pathways, like the mesolimibic system might see more activity during the addictive process), and of course, sociology, as addiction rarely impacts just the individual experiencing it, but will end up affecting the entire community. And of course, all of these areas converge to produce the product that we see---a person that is suffering from a chronic disease. I think the more perspectives that we weave into the discussion--even from areas that we might not even think would be related, like Math (but think about computational neuroscience, which to me seems math-related and relies on computer modeling), the better equipped we are to find new answers. Now that I've transitioned into curriculum design, I feel a little like Dorothy in the movie The Wizard of Oz, when Toto the Dog pulls back the curtain at the Emerald Palace to reveal that the Wizard of Oz is actually some little man pulling the switches behind the scenes....in other words, I'm starting to see what really goes on behind the scenes in a medical school curriculum, especially when it's being built "from scratch". Speaking of which---I've got to run to a Curriculum design meeting right now (apparently building a new curriculum involves LOTS of meetings lol), but I'd love to continue to discuss this more! I'll catch y'all later on!
    2 points
  50. Julia Araujo

    Learning and behaviour

    It was really nice hearing more about your story, Dr. Bin Yin! I’ve also took the opportunity to read your research and now, I have some questions for us all to follow up the conversation topic, if you don't mind. I hope our colleagues join us, as well. Firstly, upon analysing how crucial it is to conceive the process within memory formation for your studies, I wonder if you could, kindly, endorse us on how - if somehow - conditioned fear memories would diverge from memories constructed amidst other circumstances in the context of your research? Secondly, as merging into a bit of controversy relating animal research into Neuroscience, which would be the subtopic (within your study) to become better suited with a virtual environment - therefore, last dependent with animals - to pursue new researches for the future? Lastly, considering the success of your publication, what would be the next steps in regards of your own research development? Congratulations on your amazing work!
    2 points
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