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2025-26 Seminar Series
The Neuroscience Seminar Series is held on Thursdays from 2–3 p.m. in the Great Room (111), 130 Flagg (SSRC), unless otherwise indicated. The series is jointly hosted with the INP. For information or questions, please contact Associate Professor Kathy Quinlan at kaquinlan@uri.edu.
| Date | Name of Speaker | Title of Seminar | Job Title, Affiliation, Institution |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9/4/2025 | Merina Varghese and Landon Genry | Introduction to Neuroscience Colloquium: how to make the most of seminars and interact with the speakers | Assistant Professor, Ryan Institute for Neuroscience (Varghese) and PhD student, Quinlan Lab (Genry), URI |
| 9/11/2025 | Marin Manuel, PhD | Studying Motor Unit Development in a Rabbit Model of Cerebral Palsy | Assistant Professor, Ryan Institute for Neuroscience and Department of Biomedical & Pharmaceutical Sciences, URI |
| 9/18/2025 | Robert D. Nicholls, DPhil | Insights into pathophysiology from cell & animal models for the neurobehavioral disorder, Prader-Willi syndrome | Director, Birth Defects Laboratories Professor, Division of Genetic and Genomic Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh, PA |
| 9/25/2025 | John H. Martin, PhD | Development and Repair of the Motor Systems of the Brain and Spinal Cord | Medical Professor and Interim Chair, Molecular, Cellular & Biomedical Sciences Department, City University of New York School of Medicine, NY |
| 10/2/2025 | Jennifer I. Luebke, PhD | Diversity and selective vulnerability of cortical pyramidal neurons | Waterhouse Professor & Chair, Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, MA |
| 10/9/2025 | Laura Beth J. McIntire, PhD | Integration of spatial lipidomics and transcriptomics reveal the role of acyl chain remodeling in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease | Assistant Professor, Pharmacology in Radiology, Radiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY |
| 10/16/2025 | Patrick R. Hof, MD | Development of Multiscale Multiomics Human and Non-Human Primate Brain Atlases | Regenstreif Professor, Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY |
| 10/23/2025 | Emily PoYs | Dissertation defense | PhD Candidate, Fallini lab, CBLS, URI |
| 10/30/2025 | No seminar | Student reflection on previous seminars | |
| 11/6/2025 | TBD | ||
| 11/13/2025 | Tracy Santos | Thesis defense | INP Masters, Quinlan lab, URI |
| 11/20/2025 | Benjamin B. Tournier, PhD | Preclinical validation of a pharmacological strategy against Alzheimer’s pathology | Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospitals of Geneva and University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland |
| 11/20/2025 | Aurélien M. Badina | Spatial transcriptomics analysis of glial activation dynamics throughout the progression of Alzheimer’s disease | PhD student, Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland |
| 12/4/2025 | Dhaval Solanki, PhD | Assistant Professor and Co-Director of Wearable Biosensing Laboratory, Electrical Engineering, URI |
Past Speakers
Spring 2025
| Date | Name of Speaker | Job Title, Affiliation, Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 1/30 | Merina Varghese, PhD. | Assistant Professor, URI Biomedical & Pharmaceutical Sciences |
| 2/6 (rescheduled from Fall 2024) | CJ Heckman, PhD | Professor of Neuroscience, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Human Movement Science, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine |
| 2/13 | Michael Ahlijanian, PhD. | Former VP of Research, EnVivo Pharmaceuticals |
| 2/20 | Herbert Levine, PhD | Distinguished Professor, Physics and Bioengineering, Northeastern University |
| 2/27 (Virtual talk) | Mary Flynn, PhD, RD, LDN | Research Dietitian, The Miriam Hospital, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, Brown University |
| 3/6 | Vignesh Ravichandran, PhD candidate | URI Wearable Biosensing Lab |
| 3/20 | David Tingley, PhD | Sr. Principal Scientist (retired), Eli Lilly |
| 3/27 | Ryan Chapman, PhD | Assistant Professor, URI Kinesiology |
| 4/3 | Alex Ciota, PhD* | Director, Arbovirus Laboratory, NY State DOH Wadsworth Center, Associate Professor, Biomedical Sciences, University at Albany |
| 4/10 | Daniel Zytnicki, PhD, HDR | Saints-Pères Paris Institute for the Neurosciences, Faculty of Exact and Biomedical Sciences, Université Paris Cité |
| 4/24 | Karl Herrup, PhD | Professor of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine |
| *Hosted by the URI Institute for Immunology and Informatics |
Fall 2024
| Date | Name of Speaker | Job Title, Affiliation, Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 9/19 | Shehjar Sadhu, Ph.D. Candidate | Electrical Engineering, Research Assistant, URI Wearable Biosensing Lab |
| 9/26 | Rick Palumbo, Ph.D., LMHC | Oliver Saunders-Wilder, Research Affiliate, MIT; Director of Technology, Tools of the Mind |
| 10/10, | Alisa Baron, Ph.D. | Assistant Professor, URI Communicative Disorders, Co-Director, Collaborative Cognitive Neuroscience Lab |
| 10/17 | Vibhu Sahni, Ph.D. | Director, Laboratory of Cell Fate Specification and Circuit Development, Burke Neurological Institute, Assistant Professor, Neuroscience, Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine |
| 10/31 | Devina Kumar, Ph.D. | Assistant Professor, URI Physical Therapy |
| 11/7 | CJ Heckman, Ph.D. | Professor, Neuroscience, Physical Medicine, and Rehabilitation, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University (rescheduled for Spring 2025) |
| 11/14 | Nathan Cook, Ph.D. | Assistant Professor, URI Psychology |
| 11/21 | Ying Zhang, Ph.D. | Associate Professor, URI Cell and Molecular Biology |
| 12/5 | Tess Puopolo, Ph.D. candidate | URI Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program |
Spring 2023
| Date | Name of Speaker | Job Title, Affiliation, Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 2/1 | Ellen McGough, PT, Ph.D. | Professor and Chair, URI Physical Therapy |
| 2/8 | Dorothy Schafer, Ph.D. | Associate Professor, Neurobiology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School |
| 2/22 + 4/4 Science Communication Fundamentals + Workshop | Emily Cribas, Ph.D. | Program Specialist, URI Metcalf Institute |
| 2/29 | Moses Chao, Ph.D. | Professor, Depts of Cell Biology, Neuroscience, Physiology, and Psychiatry, NYU Langone Medical Center |
| 3/7 | David Rand, Ph.D. | Erwin H. Schell Professor, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT |
| 3/21 | Justin Parent, Ph.D. | Director, Kids Development and Stress Lab; Assistant Professor, URI Psychology |
| 3/28 | Kristin Scaplen, Ph.D. | Assistant Professor, Neuroscience; Executive Faculty Fellow, Center for Health and Behavioral Sciences, Bryant University |
| 4/11 | Janis Gaudreau, | URI Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, Nicole Logan lab |
| 4/18 | Haley LeClerc, | URI Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, Jess Alber lab |
| 4/25 | Jen Mattar, | URI Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, John Robinson/William Van Nostrand lab |
Fall 2023
| Date | Name of Speaker | Job Title, Affiliation, Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 9/14 | Brice McConnell, MD, PhD | Director, Sleep Research Program, Alzheimer’s & Cognition Center University of Colorado, Denver |
| 9/21 | Elvia Mena Avila, MD, PhD | Postdoctoral Research Fellow, URI Quinlan lab |
| 9/28 | Victoria Heimer McGinn, PhD | Roger Williams University, Brain Waves RI (formerly Brain Week RI) |
| 10/12 | Yvonne Yang, MD, PhD** | Director, Psychiatry Research, UCLA Semel Institute |
| 10/19 | Rita Valentino, PhD | National Institute on Drug Abuse |
| 10/26 | William Van Nostrand | Co-Executive Director, URI Ryan Institute |
| 11/2 | Nicole Logan, PhD | URI Health Sciences |
| 11/16 | Bharat Baidyanathan, PhD** | EMD Serono: Biopharmaceutical|Merck KGaA |
| 11/30 | Riccardo Sirtori, PhD | Postdoctoral fellow, URI Fallini lab |
| **This talk was held virtually on Zoom. |
Spring 2023
| Date | Name of Speaker | Job Title, Affiliation, Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 2/2 (virtual talk) | Oriel Feldman Hall, Ph.D. | Associate Professor, Cognitive, Linguistic & Psychological Sciences, Brown University |
| 2/9 | Angie Johnston, Ph.D. | Assistant Professor, Psychology, Boston College |
| 2/23 | Jotham Coe, Ph.D. | Synthetic and Medicinal Chemist, BioPharmaWorks |
| 3/2 | Jacqueline Webb, Ph.D. | George & Barbara Young Chair in Biology; Professor of Marine Biology, University of Rhode Island |
| 3/9 | Belinda Barbagallo, Ph.D. | Assistant Professor, Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Salve Regina University (and URI INP) |
| 3/23 | Jose Canton Leal | INP graduating student |
| 3/30 | Manuel Castro-Alamancos, Ph.D. | Professor of Neuroscience, Janice and Rodney Reynolds Endowed Chair of Neurobiology, University of Connecticut |
| 4/6 | Reza Abiri, Ph.D. | Assistant Professor of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering, URI |
| 4/13 | Mariusz Furmanek, Ph.D., P.T., D.P.T | Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy, URI |
| 4/20 | Lauren Thompson | INP graduating student |
Fall 2022
| Date | Name of Speaker | Job Title, Affiliation, Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 9/15 | Richard Clements, Ph.D. | Assistant Professor of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, UR |
| 9/22 | Anne Hart, Ph.D. | Professor and Chair of Neuroscience, Brown University |
| 9/29 | Joseph Schrader, Ph.D. | Research Assistant Professor of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, URI |
| 10/6 | Gary Bassell, Ph.D. | Professor and Chair of Cell Biology, Emory University |
| 10/13 | Frank Menotti, Ph.D. | Chief Scientific Officer, MindImmune Therapeutics |
| 10/27 | Walt Besio, Ph.D. | Professor of Biomedical Engineering, URI |
| 11/3 | Giuseppe Coppotelli, Ph.D. | Research Assistant Professor of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, URI |
| 11/10 | Zoe Hughes, Ph.D. | Vice President of Biology, Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals |
| 11/17 | Mark Hartman, Ph.D. | Assistant Professor Kinesiology, URI |
| 12/1 | Lourdes Martinez Silva, Ph.D. | Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Columbia University |
Spring 2021
| Date | Name of Speaker | Job Title, Affiliation, Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 2/2 | Jessica Alber, Ph.D. | Ryan Research Professor of Neuroscience, URI |
| 2/9 | Gerhard Koenig, Ph.D. | Co-Founder, President, CEO Arkuda Therapeutics |
| 2/16 | F. Xavier Castellanos, M.D.* | Brooke and Daniel Neidich Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Grossman School of Medicine |
| 3/2 | Jennifer Morgan, Ph.D. | Director, Bell Center for Regenerative Biology & Tissue Engineering Marine Biological Laboratory |
| 3/9 | Christine Clarkin, P.T., D.P.T., Ph.D. | Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy, URI |
| 3/23 | Niall Howlett, Ph.D. | Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology, URI |
| 3/30 | Lynn McCane* | Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, URI |
| 4/6 | Christie Ward-Ritacco, Ph.D. | Associate Professor of Kinesiology, URI |
| 4/13 | Oluwarotimi Folorunso, Ph.D. | Director, McLean Mental Health Research Summer Program Harvard Medical School |
| 4/20 | Katie Dunton | Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, URI |
| *Virtual talk held on Zoom |
Fall 2021
| Date | Name of Speaker | Job Title, Affiliation, Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 9/15 | Fang Wang, PhD | Assistant Professor of Chemistry, URI |
| 9/22 | Simret Beraki, PhD | Labcorp Drug Development |
| 9/29 | Jaime Ross, PhD | Assistant Professor of Biomedical & Pharmaceutical Sciences |
| 10/6 | John Disterhoft, PhD | Ernest J. and Hattie H. Magerstadt Memorial, Research Professor of Physiology, Northwestern University |
| 10/13 | Gordon Dash, PhD | Professor of Computational Finance and Decision Science, URI |
| 10/20 | Judy Liu, MD/PhD | Sidney A. Fox and Dorothea Doctors Fox Professor of Ophthalmology and Neuroscience, Brown University |
| 10/27 | Christie Ward-Ritacco | Assistant Professor of Kinesiology, URI |
| 11/3 | Jodi Camberg | Associate Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology, URI |
| 12/1 | Yalda Shahriari | Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, URI |
| 12/8 | Karla Kaun | Associate Professor of Neuroscience, Brown University |
Spring 2021 (Virtual series)
| Date | Name of Speaker | Job Title, Affiliation, Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 9/30 | Sami Barmada, MD | PhD Associate Professor of Neurology and Angela Dobson and Lyndon Welch Professor of Neurology, Department of Neurology, University of Michigan Health System |
| 10/14 | Daniela Zarnescu, PhD. | Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona |
| 10/21 | Claudia Fallini, Ph.D. | URI Assistant Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology |
| 10/28 | Manolo Diaz-Rios, Ph.D. | Professor of Neuroscience and Biology, Bowdoin College |
| 11/4 | Andreas Pfenning, Ph.D. | Assistant Professor of Computational Biology, Carnegie Mellon University |
| 11/18 | Susan E. DeAndrea, Ph.D. | URI Assistant Professor of Kinesiology |
| 12/2 | Amy Stamates, Ph.D. | URI Assistant Professor of Psychology |
| 3/3 | Karen Echeverri, Ph.D. | Eugene Bell Associate Scientist, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, University of Chicago |
_____________________________________________
2019-20 Seminars
This series ended on March 16 in keeping with COVID-19 campus closures.
March 3, 2020
Activity-induced Modulation of the Nociceptor after Spinal Cord Injury
Megan Detloff, Assistant Professor, Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine
February 4, 2020
Innate Immune Cell Recruitment and Synaptic Destruction in Alzheimer’s Disease
Robert Nelson, Vice President of Biology, MindImmune Therapeutics, Inc.
January 21, 2020
The Pluripotential in Alzheimer’s Disease: iPS Cell Modeling for Risk and Opportunity
Yu-Wen Alvin Huang, Assistant Professor, Neurology, Brown University
December 17, 2019
Synaptic Loss: A Consequence or Driver of Age-related Pathologies
Gregorio Valdez, Associate Professor, Molecular and Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Center for Translational Neuroscience, Brown University
November 19, 2019
Selective Vulnerability of the Memory Networks in Brain Aging and AD
Hwamee Oh, Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University; Director of Imaging Research, Butler Hospital Memory and Aging Program
November 5, 2019
Development and Aging of a Brain Stem Cell Niche
Joanne Conover, Professor, Physiology and Neurobiology, University of Connecticut
September 10, 2019
Non-Transgenic, Diet-Induced Animal Models of AD-like Pathology and Dementia
Craig Weiss, Research Professor, Physiology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Public Talks
March 2019: “Superfoods for a Healthy Gut & Brain,” Navindra Seeram, URI Professor of Biomedical & Pharmaceutical Sciences, provided a Brain Week Rhode Island lecture on the gut-brain connection and the potential for certain foods to prevent inflammation and protect brain health.
May 2018: “The Inflammation Connection” W. Sue T. Griffin, Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences visited URI to give a public talk on the role of inflammation in brain health.