Our Picks

The murder of George Floyd in May 2020 in Minneapolis sparked protests worldwide and inspired the formation of groups centered on connection and visibility for Black people in predominately white organizations and institutions.

Two months later, Angeline Dukes, an assistant professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota, formed Black in Neuro in July 2020 — a nonprofit organization that aims to diversify neurosciences through community-building and celebration.

View the full video here!

Be sure to check out Brainfacts.org for more scientific stories of discovery and learn more about exploring the universe between our ears. 

UPDATED LINK: Today's live chat from 2-3 p.m. EDT with Chiara Manzini about conflicts in the lab will be hosted on the Zoom link below. Please join the chat to learn how to predict these, use negotiation to defuse them early, and how to try to resolve them. 

Join from 2-3 p.m. EDT Tuesday, September 27: https://societyforneuroscience.zoom.us/j/94842589599?pwd=b2JLU3VzU1hXN1FCb1lwVlQ4emJXQT09

REGISTER NOW!

The job of the postdoctoral fellow is, simply put, to get another job. Postdocs face significant challenges posed by the need to quickly learn a new field and formulate new hypotheses. As such, successfully navigating the postdoc-PI relationship is essential to the success and wellness of the postdoc. In this webinar, panelists will discuss ‘fit’ in a postdoc position, building a collaborative relationship between the postdoc and PI, and planning for the next career step. 

Learning objectives: 

At the conclusion of the webinar, you will gain insights from several different career stages and perspectives regarding: 

How to define, for yourself, the purpose of a postdoctoral position 


Different things to value or consider with respect to finding the right ‘fit’ for a postdoctoral lab 


Strategies to build a collaborative, mutually beneficial relationship between a postdoc and a PI 


Some examples for how one might navigate a difficult conversation between a postdoc and a PI

Register Here!

 

Mala Murthy will highlight discoveries from her lab on the neural mechanisms and computations underlying social communication in the Drosophila model system and the many parallels with communication strategies in other animals, including humans. She will explain the important role of developing quantitative tools for studying behavior. She will also discuss the choices that led her and her lab down this research path and the role of effective communication in science.

Apply Now: 2022-2023 Community Leaders!

REGISTER NOW!

Social media has profoundly changed the ways information is communicated and news can be manipulated by groups, aimed at spreading their opinions rather than scientifically verified data. Consequently, communication has become more difficult for researchers who had to modify the way they communicate in order to meet public attention.

During this online event, panelists will discuss and try to understand the context in which fake-news develops, the basis for behaviors associated with fake-news and the brain areas and neurotransmitters associated with those behaviors.

                                                                               

This webinar is a follow up of the in-person event organized at the FENS Forum 2022 on the same topic. As background, you are encouraged to watch ahead of the live webinar the recording of the in-person event. Watch the recording here or on YouTube.

If you have not already, please watch the special interest event organized at the FENS Forum on Why Fake News is So Fascinating to the Brain. You will need to login to your FENS account to watch this recording.

📺 Lead Us Not Into Error: Practical Advice From Statistical Reviewers 

Statistical analyses can reveal important patterns in neuroscience data but can also lead us into error. Watch this webinar and gain practical advice from experienced statistical reviewers on issues like covariate selection, sample-size planning, and p-value interpretation. 

 

📺 How to Submit an Impactful Abstract for Neuroscience 2022 Webinar 

The abstract submission period may be over, but watch this webinar to learn more about the abstract review process and how you can submit the most impactful abstract for next year’s annual meeting. Then, read the extended Q&A on the Neuronline Community forum.  

 

📄 Advice to Underrepresented Trainees on Building Better Mentor/Mentee Relationships 

Andrea Morgan explains why underrepresented trainees may face unique barriers when forming mentor-mentee relationships, and steps that they can take to build better relationships with their mentors in this Neuronline article. 

 

📄 The Benefits of Creating Art While Working in Science 

Peter Dallos is the John Evans Professor of Neuroscience Emeritus in the department of neurobiology at Northwestern University, but he is also an artist. In this article, he suggests there are remarkable similarities between the artistic and scientific methods. 

Register Here!

Over the past seven years, an in situ chemical synthesis approach to biological systems has emerged, in which functional materials are assembled within tissues such as the brain – either constructed throughout the intact tissue (hydrogel-tissue chemistry/HTC), or genetically targeted to cell types (genetically-targeted chemical assembly/GTCA). Resulting hybrid materials are endowed with diverse capabilities, including anchoring and labeling of RNA and protein, in situ sequencing, transparency, reversible size changes, and electrical insulation or conduction.

REGISTER NOW!

Join this interactive session as Dr. Ranier Gutierrez discusses his paper, “ Optoception: Perception of Optogenetic Brain Perturbations ” with eNeuro Editor-in-Chief Christophe Bernard. Attendees can submit questions at registration and live during the webinar.

Below is the significance statement of the paper published on June 17, 2022, in eNeuro and authored by Jorge Luis-Islas, Monica Luna, Benjamin Floran, and Ranier Gutierrez.

We propose that most optogenetic brain manipulations may serve as a conditioned cue to guide behavioral decisions and learning, probably using a variety of either interoception, percepts, or other sensory/motor responses evoked by perturbing distinct brain circuits. Further research should uncover whether optoception is a fundamental property everywhere in the brain and unveil its underlying mechanisms.

📺Teaching Neuroscience: Reviving Neuroanatomy

Students often find neuroanatomy a daunting exercise of rote memorization in a dead language. Watch this workshop to learn how to make neuroanatomy a more approachable topic and exciting area of focus for students.

 

📺Genetic Forms of Dementia in a Unique Clinical Setting — The Story of Colombia

In this on-demand webinar as a part of the Meet the Experts collection, Kenneth Kosik discusses international research that meshes clinical experience with molecular biology and neurogenetics. This work focuses on the largest kindred of familial Alzheimer’s disease in the world, located in Columbia, and is the basis of a trial for a prevent drug administered before the onset of dementia symptoms.

 

📄Expanding Diversity in Biomedical Sciences at Historically Black Colleges

Melissa Harrington of Delaware State University, a Historically Black institution, has a keen appreciation of the potential for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to enhance diversity in biomedical sciences.

Read and watch as Harrington and Christine Charvet explain the challenges of and potential solutions for enhancing diversity in STEM fields and hear from two students benefiting from DSU’s efforts.

 

📄Be Prepared to Defend Against Animal Rights Oppositional Efforts

Read this recap article of the webinar SfN hosted, How to Prepare for, Defend Against, and Recover from Animal Rights Oppositional Efforts, featuring Katalin Gothard, Eric Nestler, Sharon Juliano, and Matthew Bailey. Due to the sensitivity of the topic, the webinar was not recorded.