June 17, 2024

GPN Quarterly Newsletter: June 2024

Welcome to summer! Congratulations on making it to the end of the academic year. As we transition into the new season, let’s take a moment to reflect on the past quarter in the Graduate Program in Neuroscience.

Community Updates

A heartfelt congratulations to several of our doctoral candidates who successfully defended their dissertations during the Spring Quarter:

• Nastacia Goodwin, PhD (Lab of Dr. Sam Golden), dissertation titled, “Dissociable neural mechanisms of reactive and appetitive aggression.”
• Holly Hake, PhD (Lab of Dr. Andrea Stocco), dissertation titled, “Speed of Forgetting: A Computational Biomarker and Early Indicator for Memory Impairment”
• Su-Yee Lee, PhD (Lab of Dr. John Tuthill), dissertation titled, “Mapping central circuits for leg somatosensation in Drosophila”

This year, we are proud to report that 12 students successfully achieved PhD candidacy and 13 students successfully defended their PhD dissertations. It was wonderful to celebrate with many of the 2023-2024 graduates at the Interdisciplinary Biomedical PhD Hooding Ceremony last week. Below are a few photos from the event:

Alumni Updates

In an effort to stay connected with our GPN community online, we reached out to GPN alumni on LinkedIn to gather stories about their paths after graduation. Here are a couple of highlights:

• Jessica Fox is a professor at Case Western Reserve University, where she runs a lab studying neural mechanisms of flight. She teaches undergraduate neuroscience courses and has three children with her partner.
• Hitomi Sakano earned his PhD in 2008 and recently transferred to UT Southwestern in Dallas as an Assistant Professor and Neurotologist. He researches auditory development in an autism mouse model for Fragile X syndrome and operates on ear and skull base disorders. Hitomi is the proud parent of two kids.

We are excited to continue collecting and sharing stories with you, as we know there are various and unique trajectories for life after graduation. Stay connected with our community by following our new LinkedIn page: University of Washington Graduate Program in Neuroscience.

Remembering Dr. Elena Chartoff

We remember Dr. Elena Chartoff, an esteemed alumna of our Graduate Program in Neuroscience, who passed away unexpectedly in May. Dr. Chartoff graduated the program in 2001 and her dissertation focused on the regulation and role of neurotensin in the basal ganglia. She was an advocate for increased public education on mental illness, substance misuse, and neuroscience. For more on her life and work, visit her memoriam at Mass General Brigham McClean.

Program Updates

Student Handbook

Our Student Handbook, compiled and written in 2022, has been an essential document for outlining our policies and procedures. in one central location. We are continuously reviewing and updating the language to ensure it reflects existing program policies as clearly and efficiently as possible. While we understand it can be difficult to keep track of a living document, we have dedicated space on our website to delineate changes on a quarterly basis. You can check out the latest updates to the handbook by visiting our  Program Affairs page whenever the quarterly newsletter is available.

Kudos and Recognition

Congratulations to Mar Borrego for being awarded the prestigious TL1 Award! The ITHS TL1 Program is a one-year, mentored research training program in translational science designed for graduate students. Supporting up to 20 Trainees annually, it fosters a diverse cohort, promoting interaction across various disciplines and facilitating learning from multiple perspectives. Mar’s research delves into the interaction between sex and opioid use disorder. We are thrilled to see Mar embark on this amazing opportunity, advancing their research in an environment rich with diversity and creativity. Learn more about the program here.

Thank you to our generous donors on Giving Day! We are thrilled to announce that we raised $9,050 of our $10,500 goal thanks to the incredible generosity of our donors. We deeply appreciate your support and contributions to our cause. A special thank you to:

• Anitha Pasupathy
• Céline Abell
• Horacio de la Iglesia
• Sheri Mizumori
• Emmalee Altergott
• Jay Neitz
• Jeansok Kim
• Jennifer Simpson
• Maureen Neitz
• Nick Steinmetz
• Steve Perlmutter
• Wyeth Bair

Your contributions have made a significant impact on our community and programs.

Thank you to our students who completed our Neuroscience Teaching Internship Survey. As many of you know, the teaching internship is a major milestone in completing the program. It provides a valuable opportunity for our graduate students to hone their teaching skills and engage with undergraduate students in the Undergraduate Neuroscience Program. We recognize that this internship requires a significant commitment of both time and energy, and we are grateful for any feedback that can help us improve the experience for future students.

Congratulations to Natalia Montes on her one-year anniversary of being part of our program staff! Natalia has proven to be an indispensable asset to our team, demonstrating versatility and dedication in various capacities. Starting off assisting with student support during the 2023 GPA recruitment process, she seamlessly transitioned into her current role as Program Operations Specialist. Natalia’s unique perspective as a graduate student enriches our administrative team, offering insights that enhance our approach to program operations. She consistently brings forward innovative ideas, such as the creation of this newsletter, which have added significant value to our program. As Natalia’s tenure with us continues, we eagerly anticipate the further development of her role and the exploration of her creative ideas. Thank you, Natalia, for your contributions thus far, and here’s to many more milestones together!

We bid farewell to Sunny Ko, our undergraduate office assistant, as she graduates this quarter after nearly two years of dedicated service in our office. Sunny’s impact on our program has been profound, evident across various aspects of our operations. Sunny’s meticulous work on tasks such as website cleanup, handbook formatting, and numerous special projects has been invaluable. Many of the updates and improvements implemented during her tenure would not have been achievable without her dedication. As Sunny embarks on her next adventure, we extend our best wishes for her future endeavors. Her presence in our office will be deeply missed, and we are grateful for the lasting contributions she has made to our program. Farewell, Sunny, and may your journey ahead be filled with success and fulfillment.

Looking Forward

Best of luck to Director Steve Perlmutter, along with Professors Garrett Stuber and Sheri Mizumori, on an impending T32 grant application. They led a large undertaking over the last two quarters in writing and submitting a T32 application for the GPN. This included writing over 22 pages detailing the program’s operations for the past, present, and aspirational future, along with 92 pages of program data and statistics.

As we transition into the summer, we eagerly anticipate welcoming the incoming students of the 2024 Cohort, both virtually and in person. Continuing our tradition, these new students will have the chance to connect with each other and current students through video calls, covering essential topics such as housing, life in Seattle, and the program curriculum for their first two years. Additionally, they have an opportunity to virtually meet our esteemed faculty in a “meet & greet” session in August.

The new cohort will join us in person in September for orientation events that are being organized and prepared by our Events Committee and Curriculum Committee. This year, Jump Start will span three days and feature several new sessions, including a range of graduate preparation sessions with current students, as well as a Python Workshop. Please keep an eye on your email for opportunities to participate in these incoming student orientation events.

Lastly, we look forward to seeing many of you all at the Program Annual Retreat, which will again be held in Foege Auditorium and the Vista Café on September 24th. More details will be shared over the summer.

Program Directors’ End of Year Note

As we close out another academic year, it’s with great pride and joy that we extend our congratulations to all our students who graduated this year. Your dedication, hard work, and passion for neuroscience have been truly inspiring, and we have every confidence that you will continue to make significant contributions to the field.

To our 2024 cohort, congratulations on successfully completing your first year in the program! We are thrilled to witness your growth and development as budding neuroscientists, and we look forward to the exciting achievements that lie ahead for each of you.

A huge thank you to all the donors who made Husky Giving Day a resounding success for us. Your contributions make a tangible difference in the lives of our students and the progress of our program, and we are immensely grateful for your generosity.

Throughout the year, we have been fortunate to receive valuable feedback from both faculty and students. Your insights and suggestions are instrumental in guiding our efforts to continuously improve and strive for excellence in everything we do. As directors, we are committed to addressing your feedback and implementing positive changes that benefit the entire neuroscience community.

Last but certainly not least, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our dedicated program staff, Céline, Jennifer, and Natalia, whose hard work and dedication behind the scenes make all our endeavors possible. We are also incredibly grateful to our student office assistant, Sunny, for her invaluable assistance and support throughout the year. Your contributions have made our lives easier, and we deeply appreciate all that you do.

As we look ahead to the future, we are filled with optimism and excitement for what lies ahead.

With warm regards,

Maureen & Steve
Program Directors

Please continue to reach out to neurofinance[at]uw.edu for suggestions on newsletter topics or kudos to be added. Don’t hesitate to mention yourselves as well!