December
12/3 – UW GPN defense by Makenzie Patarino, Schindler Lab. Makenzie will present “Profiling the Heterogeneous Outcomes of Blast Trauma and Substance Use in Translational Mouse Models”
12/5 – NAPE Distinguished Speakers Talk by Dr. Aakanksha Jain, Assistant Professor of Immunology at UW. Dr. Jain will present “The neuroimmune interactome of pain and inflammation”
12/3 – Hot Cocoa Hour and Winter Food Drive
12/12 – NAPE Distinguished Speakers Talk by Dr. Susan Ferguson, Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and Director of Addictions, Drug, and Alcohol Institute (ADAI) at UW. Dr. Ferguson will present “Current considerations for modeling substance use and addiction”
November
11/7 – NAPE Distinguished Speakers Talk by Dr. Amber Alhadeff, Associate Member, Monell Chemical Senses Center & Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Alhadeff will present “Gut-brain circuits for feeding behavior”
11/14 – NAPE Distinguished Speakers Talk by Dr. Sam Golden, Associate Professor of Neurobiology & Biophysics at UW. Dr. Golden will present “A series of incomplete Scientific Vignettes”
11/21 – NAPE Distinguished Speakers Talk by Dr. Jan (Nino) Ramirez, Professor of Neurological Surgery at Seattle Children’s Research Institute. Dr. Ramirez will present “Unraveling the diverse neuronal mechanisms of fentanyl: from wooden chest syndrome to respiratory depression”
October
10/3 – NAPE Distinguished Speakers Talk by Dr. Larry Zweifel, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Zweifel will present “Molecular approaches for resolving the regulation of the midbrain dopamine system”
10/10 – NAPE Seminar Series talk by Aida Moghadasi, Bioengineering PhD student in the Berndt Lab. Aida will present “Engineering a protein-based fluorescent sensor for real-time monitoring of estradiol in the brain”
10/17 – NAPE Distinguished Speaker Seminar Series talk by Dr. Jose Moron-Concepcion, Henry E. Mallinckrodt Professor of Anesthesiology at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Moron-Concepcion will present “The role of sex and ovarian hormones in pain-induced facilitation of opioid intake”
10/24 – NAPE Distinguished Speaker Seminar Series talk by Dr. Tao Che, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Che will present “Toward Safer Analgesics: Lessons from GPCR Biased Signaling”
10/30 – NAPE Annual Halloween Potluck
September
9/12 – NAPE Distinguished Speakers Talk by Dr. Andre Berndt, Associate Professor of Bioengineering at UW. Dr. Berndt will present “Accelerating fluorescent sensor engineering for neuroscience with machine learning and high-throughput platforms”
9/15-9/19 – NAPE Imaging and Genetics Workshop
August
8/1 – NAPE UG Professional Development Session. In this session we will discuss “Career Options After PhD”
8/8 – NAPE Seminar by Dr. Zhiwen Ye, Acting Assistant Professor in the UW Department of Neurobiology and Biophysics. Dr. Ye will present “Brain-wide topographically coordinated rotating waves and ultra-high-density Neuropixels probe.”
8/14 – NBIO Seminar Series talk by Dr. Dan Christoffel, Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Christoffel will present “Divergent Roles of Nucleus Accumbens D1- and D2-MSNs in Regulating Hedonic Feeding.”
8/15 – Science Communication Workshop led by Monica Tschang (Graduate Student, Schindler Lab). Tailored to UGs, but open to all! This interactive session will help you refine your final research talk for clarity, engagement, and professionalism.
8/15 – NAPE Distinguished Speaker Series talk by Dr. Jessica Walsh, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology at UNC Chapel Hill. Dr. Walsh will present “MDMA restores cortico-accumbal signaling and rescues autism-related social deficits.”
8/21 – NAPE Summer Undergraduate Research Program Presentations Part 1. NAPE Fellows, Clark Fellows, and other undergraduate researchers, will give 10-minute research talks.
8/22 – NAPE Summer Undergraduate Research Program Presentations Part 2. NAPE Fellows, Clark Fellows, and other undergraduate researchers, will give 10-minute research talks.
8/29 – NAPE Craft Hour
July
7/11 – NAPE UG Professional Development Session. In this session we will discuss “How to Choose the Right Program for You”
7/18 – NAPE Summer Picnic and Donation Drive Kick-Off Event
7/25 – NAPE UG Professional Development Session. In this session we will discuss “How to Thrive and Survive in Grad School”
June
6/11 – NAPE Head-Fixed Behavioral Symposium
6/27 – NAPE UG Professional Development Session. In this session we will discuss “How to Prepare for Grad School”
May
5/2 – Grey Matters Journal presents “An Evening with Neuroscience”
5/6 – Pharmacology seminar by Dr. Benjamin Land, Research Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology. Dr. Land will be presenting “A role for cannabidiol and terpenes in pain”
5/13 – Pharmacology Dissertation Defense by Anthony English from the Bruchas and Stella labs. Anthony will be presenting “Walking on Weed: Predicting THC motor impairment reveals disrupted cortical activity”
5/15-5/16 – CoNECTOME 2025. This annual symposium features invited talks, a poster session, a neuroethics panel, plus two related hackathons.
5/16 – NAPE Seminar by Dr. Carina Soares-Cunha, Assistant Researcher at the University of Mindo, Minho Province, Portugal.
April
4/4 – ‘NAPE Distinguished Speaker Series’ Seminar by Dr. Tianyi Mao, Professor and Senior Scientist at Oregon Health & Science University. Dr. Mao will present “Neural Circuits and Their Modulation Underlying Sensori-motor Function.”
4/7 – GPN Dissertation Defense by Lydia Gordon-Fennell from the Phillips Lab. Lydia will be presenting “Neuropeptidergic Modulation of Canonical Reward Circuitry Underlying Escalation of Cocaine Consumption”.
4/7 – GPN Seminar by Dr. Jonathan Ting, Associate Investigator at the Allen Institute. Dr. Ting will present “Leveraging single cell genomics for discovery, application, and comparison of brain cell type targeting tools across mammalian species”.
4/8 – 2025 Crill Lecture by Dr. Ishmail Abdus-Saboor, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at Columbia. Dr. Abdus-Saboor will be presenting “Skin-Brain Axis for Tactile Sensations”
4/11 – ‘NAPE Distinguished Speaker Series’ by Dr. Matt Gardner, Assistant Professor of Psychology. Dr. Gardner will be presenting “Involvement of the orbitofrontal cortex in integrating offer features during decision-making”.
4/14 – Seminar by Dr. Jan Seimans, Professor at the Pharmacological Institute, Heidelberg University, will be presenting “Heat & Pain – From Spinal Cord to Hypothalamus”.
4/24 – GPN Dissertation Defense by Jordan Shaker from the Steinmetz lab. Jordan will be presenting “The midbrain reticular formation in flexible visual decision-making”
4/25 – ‘NAPE Distinguished Speaker Series’ Seminar by Dr. Mark Andermann, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Talk title TBA
4/28 – Department of Bioengineering Dissertation Defense by Avi Matarasso from the Bruchas Lab. Avi will be presenting “LC-Mediated DA Dynamics in Appetitive and Aversive Stimuli”.
March
3/7 – NAPE seminar by Matt McGregor, PhD Candidate in Ryan LaLumiere’s lab at the University of Iowa, invited by the Stuber lab. Matt will be presenting “Regulation of heroin and cocaine seeking may depend on distinct neural mechanisms”
February
2/7 – Graduate Professional Development Session on “Making Your Research Project Fundable”. Get insights into crafting winning grant proposals, identifying funding opportunities, and aligning your research with funding priorities.
2/12 – “Resilience and Well-being for Scientists” Workshop run by the UW Resilience Lab – open to all trainees.
2/14 – Graduate Professional Development Session on “Careers in Science”. Explore diverse career paths in science, including academic, industry, and non-traditional roles.
2/21 – Graduate Professional Development Session on “How to Write a Compelling Research Paper”. Enhance your scientific writing skills with strategies for structuring papers, crafting clear arguments, and responding to reviewer feedback.
2/28 – Graduate Professional Development Session on “Tips and Strategies for Improving Mentorship”. Develop effective mentorship skills to support and guide undergraduates, peers, and trainees. Learn best practices for inclusive and impactful mentoring.
2/28 – NAPE Seminar by Dr. Lindsay Schwarz, Assistant Member, Dept. of Developmental Neurobiology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Talk title TBA.
January
1/17 – Graduate Professional Development Session on “Improving Conflict Resolution Skills”. We’ll discuss navigating disagreements in lab settings, advisor-advisee dynamics, and group collaborations.
1/24 – Graduate Professional Development Session on “Managing Stress and Preventing Burnout”. We’ll discuss balancing research demands and promoting well-being.
1/31 – Graduate Professional Development Session on “Overcoming Imposter Syndrome in Academia”. We’ll discuss self-doubt, building confidence, and redefining success.
1/31 – NAPE Seminar by Ari Asarch, PhD candidate in the Neumaier Lab. Ari will be presenting “PSS: Decoding Neural Dynamics at Scale – A High-Performance Solution for Miniscope Analysis”