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Category: Neuroscience

New livestock model for stroke changes research paradigm

Recent UGA Neuroscience PhD program graduate Emily Baker, working with Frank West, associate professor in College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences have changes the paradigm in stroke research by presenting a viable alternative to rats in stroke research.

Due to the pig’s distinct anatomical and physiological similarities Baker and West show that using their new model their, “findings are likely to be more clinically relevant.” According to the RBC research team, almost all clinical trails of neuroprotective therapies have failed to translate from the laboratory to the clinic. This dynamic shift from rat to pig model may speed stroke discoveries because it provides a better, more predictive translational model.

To find out more about Baker and West’s work in the full article on UGA Today.

‘Brain Glue’ repairs traumatic brain injuries

 

Researchers at the University of Georgia’s Regenerative Bioscience Center have developed Brain Glue, a substance that could one day serve as a treatment for traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs. Lohitash Karumbaiah, assistant professor in UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, led the team that designed and created Brain Glue. The main difference between Brain Glue and other synthetic hydrogels, according to the team, is the variety of possibilities to trap neural stem cells, improve integration and reduce the likelihood of rejection.

Read the full article on Karumbaiah, a current University of Georgia neuroscience faculty member, on UGA Today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARCS Awards top $1 million to UGA students

ARCS Foundation is a national, volunteer organization of women dedicated to advancing science through scholarship.

The Atlanta Chapter began partnering with UGA in 2000 through the Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute. Since then, 145 awards surpassing $1 million total have been granted to exceptional UGA doctoral students in science and technology disciplines.

“There really isn’t another award like this, and I’m just so excited for some of the things that I’m able to do now,” Stephanie Herrlinger said of the Global Impacts Award she received,
which granted her $25,000 over the next three years.

So far, she has used the money to attend the Society for Neuroscience conference in November, purchase software to organize research data, and to enroll in a course on molecular neurodegeneration at the University of Cambridge in England.

Herrlinger is one of 12 UGA graduate students in fields ranging from biochemistry and genetics to ecology and engineering to receive an award this year. This year’s ARCS Scholars also include Lydia Anderson, John Avery, Erin Baker, Daniel Becker, Heather Bishop, Chris Cleveland, Kerri Coon, Marcus Goudie, Danielle Lambert, Wided Najahi-Missaoui, and Cecilia Sanchez. All students were selected for their leadership skills, academic strength, and research. For more on these students, see the 2016 Announcement.

Read the full Office of Research article.

New mouse model reveals extensive postnatal brain damage caused by Zika infection

A team of scientists led by researchers at the University of Georgia has developed a new mouse model that closely mimics fetal brain abnormalities caused by

Jianfu Jeff Chen. Photo by Paul Efland.
Jianfu Jeff Chen

the Zika virus in humans. This model, described in a paper published recently in the journal Development, may help scientists better understand how the Zika virus affects different cell types in the developing brain, which could hasten the creation of new treatments and diagnostics.

“A lot of the discussion about Zika has focused on microcephaly, and while that is certainly important, we found that the virus causes additional devastating damages to the developing brain as well,” said Jianfu “Jeff” Chen, an assistant professor of genetics in UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

For more information, go to: UGA Today

New leadership, support programs to help graduate students thrive, develop critical skills

LEADing the Way 

Two years after she received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia, Rachael Hart Earls was excited to return to her alma mater to begin her doctoral studies. But as she prepared for life in a laboratory as a neuroscientist, she worried that she would feel isolated and wondered if there was a way to create synergies between her academic goals and her desire to work with people outside of the lab.

She found the answer in Graduate Scholars LEAD (Leadership, Engagement and Development), a program launched this summer by the Graduate School. Funded by a $495,000 Innovations in Graduate Education grant from the National Science Foundation, the program fosters the development of critical thinking skills, teamwork, communication and leadership.

 

For more information, please visit: LEADing the Way

Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute’s Division of Neuroscience faculty highlighted in “Brain Trust” article

Brain trust: Unlocking the mysteries of the mind was the feature article in the Spring 2016 issue of the University of Georgia Research, the online and print magazine

by the Office of the Vice President for Research at the University of Georgia. Dr. James Lauderdale, the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience PhD Program Graduate Coordinator, and Dr. Philip Holmes, the BHSI Division of Neuroscience Chair, among other Neuroscience faculty at the University of Georgia were featured in the article.

 

 

 

Nu Rho Psi UGA Chapter welcomed new members

Nu Rho Psi UGA Chapter welcomed eight new members, Elizabeth Bogue, Leah Caplan, Branson Byers, Lillie Tien, Michelle Sequeira, Camila Ortiz, Lauren Noblitt, and Olivia Treston, on May 4, 2016

Nu Rho Psi membership provides recognition of verified academic excellence in the interdisciplinary field of neuroscience. Membership is by invitation and is open to undergraduate and graduate students who are making the study of Neuroscience one of their major interests and who meet the other academic qualifications. Students who become members of Nu Rho Psi are selected based on their superior scholarly accomplishments as well as their excellent work in the laboratory.

The official mission and purpose of Nu Rho Psi is to: (1) encourage professional interest and excellence in scholarship, particularly in Neuroscience; (2) award recognition to students who have achieved such excellence in scholarship; (3) advance the discipline of Neuroscience; (4) encourage intellectual and social interaction between students, faculty, and professionals in Neuroscience and related fields; (5) promote career development in Neuroscience and related fields; (6) increase public awareness of Neuroscience and its benefits for the individual and society; and, (7) encourage service to the community. Prominent honorary members include Dr. Larry Squire (University of California – San Diego), Dr. Robert Sapolsky (Stanford University) and His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet.

 

Dr. Graeme Mason to speak to UGA Neuroscience Community

Graeme Mason will speak on “Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of Brain Metabolism of Glucose, Acetate, and Ethanol

at 3:30pm Thursday, December 3 in Room 175 of the Paul D. Coverdell Center

Dr. Graeme Mason develops experimental models and methods for studies of brain metabolism using 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry in conjunction with 13C isotopic labeling invivo, in cell preparations, and other systems. His work began during his graduate studies at Yale where he used a rat model for the experimental determination of brain glucose transport kinetics, energetics, and neurotransmitter metabolism. Dr. Mason received further training at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he guided the group’s 13C-labeling studies of the human brain in vivo in the 4.1T whole-body MR system.

Dr. Mason currently studies metabolism and neurotransmission in the brain in vivo, including effects of psychiatric disorders and substances such as alcohol and nicotine. Dr. Mason examines healthy subjects and patients to investigate relationships among GABA, glutamate, and glutamine concentrations and their rates of synthesis and release in the brain, in particular with regard to effects of alcohol with acute and chronic use.

This seminar is co-sponsored by the Neuroscience Division of the Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute as well as The Paul D. Coverdell Neuroimaging Training Program & Fellowship from the John and Mary Franklin Foundation.

If you are faculty member interested in meeting with Dr. Mason during his trip, please complete this Doodle Poll: http://doodle.com/poll/4w5tcduz67tuv2da or contact Dr. Jesse Schank.

 

Neuroscience Seminar: Dr. Shannon Gourley

Shannon Gourley, PhD presents “Toggling between actions and habits: Cortical regulators and the influence of cocaine” on November 5, 2015 at 3:30pm in the Coverdell Center, Room 175.

Dr. Gourley’s research team focuses on issues of depression and addiction. Within social contexts, Dr. Gourley’s group aims to understand how social context during adolescence sculpts prefrontal cortical development and determines long-behavioral outcomes. These include, for example, complex decision-making, reward valuation and inhibitory control in adulthood. Dr. Gourley’s team uses behavioral, pharmacological, biochemical, genetic, and cellular approaches to develop and optimize novel therapeutic interventions for adolescent populations vulnerable to depression and addiction. Additionally, her research team aims to better understand the neurobiological mechanisms of resilience to stressors (including social stressors) and drugs of abuse at any age.

 

Sponsored by: University of Georgia Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute

 

Neuroscience Seminar: Dr. Alvin Terry

Dr. Alvin Terry presents “Organophosphate Exposure and Cognitive Deficits: Elucidating the Mechanisms and Identifying Therapeutic Targets on October 1, 2015 at 3:30pm in the Coverdell Center, Room 175.

Dr. Alvin Terry is a Regents’ Professor and Chair as well as the Associate Vice President for Basic Science Research within the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at Augusta University (formerly Georgia Regents University). His research interests focus on the role of central acetylcholine (i.e., cholinergic) pathways in cognition; specifically how these neuronal pathways are involved in the memory dysfunction associated with specific neurologic and psychiatric illnesses. The actions of both pharmaceutical and toxicological agents on the cholinergic neuronal system, axonal transport, as well as the major growth factors (nerve growth factor, brain derived growth factor) that support the cholinergic system are of particular interest.

Dr. Terry’s laboratory also focuses on drug discovery and development strategies for the treatment of illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia. The laboratory employs a variety of methods to test hypotheses ranging from behavioral testing in animal models (rodents to non-human primate) to molecular, cellular and analytical techniques (e.g., immunoblotting methods, immunohistochemistry, receptor autoradiography, Mass Spectrometry, etc).

Sponsored by: University of Georgia Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute

 

 

American Society for Neurochemistry 2015 Annual Meeting

UGA faculty, graduate students and postdocs interested in cellular, neurochemical and molecular studies of the nervous system in health and disease are encouraged to attend the ASN 2015 Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA, March 14-18, 2015.

Approximately 400+ delegates from North America and around the world are expected to attend. Participants include bench and clinical scientists, graduate students, and

postdoctoral fellows as well as research scientists working with human and animal models.

Plenary speakers include Drs. Jay Giedd, Patrizia Cassacia, Barbara Hempstead and Scott Brady.

Join us for four days of symposia and colloquia designed to address the four major themes of our Society:

1) Building the Nervous System 2) Glial Cell Biology 3) Molecular and Cell Biology of the Nervous System 4) Neurodegeneration and Disease.

Substantial time is allotted throughout the meeting for scientific discussion both formally and informally. Short oral presentations are selected from the submitted abstracts, along with daily poster sessions. Special efforts have been taken to encourage young investigator participation and numerous travel awards are available.

For more information on registration, visit https://www.asneurochem.org/meetings/asn-meeting-2015-atlanta/2015-annual-meeting-general-information.html

 

 

Neuroscience Spring 2015 Seminar Series

February 5
Brett Clementz

Department of Psychology, University of Georgia

March 5

Randy Hall
Department of Pharmacology, Emory University

April 2
Susan Fagan
College of Pharmacy, Georgia Regents University

May 7
Paul Katz
Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University

All seminars held at 2:00 PM
College of Veterinary Medicine
Main Building, Room 311

Sponsored by University of Georgia Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute

 

UGA Neuroscience Spring Symposium to be held April 20

The UGA Neuroscience Student Association and the Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute’s Neuroscience Ph.D. Program will be hosting the 2012 Neuroscience Spring Symposium on April 20 from 2:30 to 5:00 p.m. in the Coverdell Center. The symposium is open to anyone with a vested interest in neuroscience at UGA and aims to showcase the nature and scope of student and faculty research in the field, which currently spans 15 departments in six schools and colleges across campus. <a href="”>Read More.