Graduate Training in Neuroscience
University of Washington
Research News
Two of our recent graduates, Sung Han and Julia Lemos, have had work from their dissertations published in Nature. Both papers represent collaborations between labs in our Neurobiology & Behavior program (Catterall and de la Iglesia, and Phillips and Chavkin.)
Dr. Han’s paper “Autistic-like behaviour in Scn1a+/- mice and rescue by enhanced GABA-mediated neurotransmission” identifies the neurobiological mechanism of autistic-like behavior in an animal model of Dravet syndrome and has important implications for the treatment of autism spectrum disorders. Dr. Lemos’ paper “Severe stress switches CRF action in the nucleus accumbens from appetitive to aversive” demonstrates a neural mechanism for how stress can lead to depression.
N&B faculty member Adrian KC Lee (Speech & Hearing Sciences, Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences) just received a prestigious Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Research Program Award
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/afoo-aag011112.phpThis Award is for new researchers who show exceptional ability and promise for conducting basic research. His AFOSR project is to develop "An integrated neuroscience and engineering approach to classifying human brain-states."
The work of N&B student Stephanie Furrer on the mechanism of spinocerebellar ataxia type 7 is featured on the cover of this month's special issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.
Journal of Neuroscience, Nov. 2011 . See our Blog.
N&B Student William Marrs in lab of Nephi Stella identifies a novel mechanism controlling levels of an endogenous cannabinoid in the brain.
Nature Neuroscience, 2010 and press release. Also, see our Blog.
Research of N&B Program Labs Featured in the Wall Street Journal
The labs of David Raible and Ed Rubel are using zebrafish as a model system to identify drugs and genes that may influence damage and regeneration of sensory hair cells of the human inner ear. N&B graduate student Julie Harris has contributed importantly to this work.
N&B Faculty Fetz and Perlmutter create a brain-computer interface to restore movement in a paralyzed monkey.
N&B Seminars
The N&B Program has merged the new faculty-sponsored seminar series with the Neubeh 510 seminar series. The faculty seminar series highlights the neuroscience research being done on the UW campus and affiliated sites. Research from two N&B faculty labs is presented each month. This gives faculty an opportunity to showcase their current work. The 510 seminar series speakers are chosen by our graduate students. These speakers are invited from all over the U.S. to present topics from many disciplines related to neuroscience. All neuroscience faculty, students, postdocs and research staff are invited to attend.
2012-2013 N&B Seminar Series: Neubeh 510
Mondays, 3:30pm - 4:30pm,
T-733 HSB, Autumn Quarter;
T-747 HSB, Winter Quarter;
T-747 HSB, Spring Quarter
Dates and Seminar Speakers - Autumn Quarter 2012
October 1, 2012
Massimo Scanziani, PhD
Professor and Vice Chair, Section of Neurobiology;
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute;
University of California-San Diego
Cortical inhibitory circuits and visual processing
More about Dr. Scanziani
(Student Host: Sharri Zamore, N&B Graduate Student)
(Faculty Host: Wyeth Bair, Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Structure)
October 8, 2012
Adrian KC Lee, PhD/ScD
Assistant Professor, Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences;
University of Washington
Capturing cortical dynamics to build a time-varying model of the brain -- implications in neuroscience and brain-computer interface
More about Dr. Lee
October 22, 2012
Jeansok Kim, PhD
Professor, Department of Psychology;
University of Washington
Fear and natural risky decisions in rats
More about Dr. Kim
October 29, 2012
Bill Zagotta, PhD
Professor, Department of Physiology & Biophysics;
University of Washington
Molecular mechanisms of cyclic nucleotide-regulated ion channels
More about Dr. Zagotta
November 5, 2012
Sandra Bajjalieh, PhD
Professor, Department of Pharmacology;
University of Washington
Synaptic vesicle composition and the regulation of neurotransmission
More about Dr. Bajjalieh
November 19, 2012
Michael Ailion, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry;
University of Washington
Dense-core vesicle signaling and unmotivated worms
More about Dr. Ailion
November 26, 2012
Jan Marino "Nino" Ramirez, PhD
Professor, Department of Neurological Surgery;
Director, Center of Integrative Brain Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute;
Research Affiliate, Center on Human Development and Disability;
University of Washington
How clouds of neurons control rhythmic behavior
More about Dr. Ramirez
December 3, 2012
Jeff Riffell, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Biology;
University of Washington
Plasticity and dynamics in the processing of olfactory information
More about Dr. Riffell
Dates and Seminar Speakers - Winter Quarter 2013
January 7, 2013
Chantel Prat, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology; Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences
University of Washington
The neural basis of individual differences in fluid and crystallized abilities
More about Dr. Prat
February 4, 2013
Olivia Bermingham-McDonogh, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Biological Structure;
University of Washington
Development and regeneration of the mammalian ear
More about Dr. Bermingham-McDonogh
February 25, 2013
Teresa Nicolson, PhD
Associate Professor, Oregon Hearing Research Center;
Investigator, Howard Huges Medical Institute;
Oregon Health & Science University
Interplay between ribeye and Cav1 channels at ribbon synapses
More about Dr. Nicolson
(Student Host: Adrienne Mueller, N&B Graduate Student)
(Faculty Host: Ric Robinson, Professor, Department of Biological Structure)
March 11, 2013
Yadin Dudai, PhD
PhD, Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
and Center for Neural Science, New York University The conclusive beginning and inconclusive end of memory consolidation
More about Dr. Dudai
(Student Host: Alison Mehrevari, N&B Graduate Student)
(Faculty Host: Lee Osterhout, Professor, Department of Psychology)
Dates and Seminar Speakers - Spring Quarter 2013
April 1, 2013
Fred Rieke, PhD
Professor, Department of Physiology & Biophysics;
University of Washington
Interactions between parallel circuits control retinal computation
More about Dr. Rieke
April 8, 2013
Michael Mustari, PhD
Research Professor, Department of Ophthalmology;
Research Affiliate, Center on Human Development and Disability;
University of Washington
Parallel pathways for neural control of eye movements
More about Dr. Mustari
April 22, 2013
Nephi Stella, PhD
Professor, Departments of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and Pharmacology;
University of Washington
Targeting endocannabinoid signaling for the treatment of epilepsy and neurodegenerative disease
More about Dr. Stella
April 29, 2013
Bertil Hille, PhD
Wayne E. Crill Endowed Professor, Department of Physiology & Biophysics;
University of Washington
Phosphoinositide membrane lipids and phospholipase C regulate the excitability of nerve cells
More about Dr. Hille
May 20, 2013
Tracy Bale, PhD
Associate Professor of Neuroscience; Director, Neuroscience Center;
Vice Chair, NGG (Neuroscience Graduate Group);
University of Pennsylvania
Stressed parents: maternal and paternal epigenetic reprogramming of the developing brain
More about Dr. Bale
(Student Host: Wambura Fobbs, N&B Graduate Student)
(Faculty Host: Paul Phillips, Associate Professor, Departments of Pharmacology and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences)
June 3, 2013
Rachel Wilson, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Neurobiology;
Harvard University
Olfactory processing in the Drosophila brain
More about Dr. Wilson
(Student Host: Max Turner, N&B Graduate Student)
(Faculty Host: Sandra Bajjalieh, Department of Pharmacology)