NeURoscience | Vol 8 | 2021

NEUROSCIENCE University of Rochester | Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience Vol. 8 - 2021

The perfect pilot: How a grant takes flight PG 3

F R O M T H E D I R EC TO R ’ S D E S K

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John J. Foxe, Ph.D. Kilian J. and Caroline F. Schmitt Chair in Neuroscience Director, The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience Professor & Chair, Department of Neuroscience

On the cover Ed Freedman, Ph.D., Margot MayerProschel, Ph.D., Ania Busza, M.D., Ph.D., Ania Majewska, Ph.D., Harris Gelbard, M.D., Ph.D.

Photo by John Schlia Editor

Kelsie Smith Hayduk Contributor

Mark Michaud Design by

Brittany Colton 2

write to you at the end of a truly trying year for humanity, but on the cusp of a considerably more hopeful one ahead in 2021. The start of a new year brings a sense of renewed optimism, especially poignant this year as the vaccines for COVID-19 roll out, with their promise of a much healthier world. If ever there was a time when society has realized the importance of the scientific enterprise, it is surely now.

The COVID vaccines were delivered within a year, a truly extraordinary achievement, but of course this was only possible because of the years of hard work that went into developing the necessary technologies, platforms, and deep understanding of mRNA biology. Here at the Del Monte Institute, it is innovation, discovery, and progressing the understanding of neuroscience that we will continue to strive to do, no matter the challenges we face.

It is by asking the right questions and getting the necessary support for new ideas that we are able to move the needle of our understanding. It is the quiet hard graft in our labs that will provide the foundations of new discoveries, and lead to cures for some of the most vexing neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases. Therefore, it is fitting to acknowledge the incredibly generous philanthropic support we have received over recent times for our neuroscience pilot grant program. This program has elevated our science and cultivates a culture of groundbreaking discoveries that result in federal funding, scientific papers, and presentations around the globe. In our cover story you will read about our pilot grants – the oil in our research engine – and the impact this funding has on scientific discoveries.

Our student spotlight shines on one of our emerging stars, Laura Owlett, Ph.D., MD/PhD candidate in the Medical Science Training Program. She shares how the award of a highly competitive NIH F30 allowed her to investigate microglia, the immune cells of the brain, and its key role in Alzheimer’s disease.

You’ll also meet our newest faculty member, Benjamin Suarez-Jimenez, Ph.D. His work focuses primarily on advancing our understanding of anxiety disorders and stress. Using virtual reality, he is working to understand how the brain builds maps, especially following a traumatic event.

Suarez-Jimenez is also the newest member of the Neuroscience Diversity Commission, bringing a valuable perspective to our team.

Space exploration continues to take our neuroscience research to new heights. M. Kerry O’Banion, M.D., Ph.D., was awarded a grant from NASA to explore the effect space travel has on the immune system and bone marrow, and its subsequent impact on brain function. This is his second grant from NASA. For this study he will team up with Laura Calvi, M.D., an endocrinologist and co-director of the UR Multidisciplinary Neuroendocrinology Clinic. Their work could help answer questions about astronaut health and performance during future long-duration missions.

During these difficult pandemic months, our research scientists and trainees have rolled up their sleeves, put on their masks of course, and have kept the mission alive and prospering. Our community of friends and donors have pitched in generously, and our science has gone forth despite all adversity. The quiet hard graft continues and we have much to be proud of. Spring is our next season, with the promise of new beginnings and new discoveries. We will soon be accepting applications for our next round of Del Monte pilot grants, to fund work that will continue to push the frontiers of neuroscience.

In Science,

John J. Foxe, Ph.D.

NEWS BRIEFS

Space travel and the brain: Aiming to understand its effects on function M. Kerry O’Banion, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Neuroscience and Neurology has been awarded $1.8 million from NASA to explore the effect space travel has on the immune system and bone marrow, and its subsequent impact on brain function.

Using simulated space radiation produced by particle accelerators at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory, O’Banion and his team, including Laura Calvi, M.D., an endocrinologist and co-director of the UR Multidisciplinary Neuroendocrinology Clinic, will examine tissue and cellular changes in genes, blood flow, and immune cell function in mice. Calvi’s preliminary data found space radiation changes in bone marrow suggestive of a skewed phenotype, in which white blood cells are changed into a more inflammatory phenotype. Similar changes are found with aging.

O’Banion previously worked with NASA on a study that showed exposure to a particular form of space radiation caused biological and cognitive changes in mice.

The grant is one of 21 research proposals recently awarded

by NASA to help answer questions about astronaut health and performance during future long-duration missions.

Green = Labelled Neurons Blue = Cell Nuclei Red = Microglia

URMC research to treat neurodegenerative diseases advances Oscine Therapeutics – a biotechnology company that is developing cell-based therapies for neurological disorders based on discoveries made at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) – has been acquired by Sana Biotechnology for undisclosed terms.

The research behind Oscine is based on decades of work in the lab of Steve Goldman, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Neurology and Neuroscience and co-director of the URMC Center for Translational Neuromedicine. Goldman’s research has focused on understanding the basic biology and molecular function of the glial support cells in the central nervous system, devising new techniques to precisely manipulate and sort these cells, and studying how cell replacement could impact the course of neurological diseases. Goldman, who was Oscine’s president and scientific founder, joins Sana as senior vice-president and head of Central Nervous System Therapy.

Goldman’s research focuses on support cells in the brain called glia. In many neurological diseases – such as multiple sclerosis, Huntington’s, and neuropsychiatric disorders – these cells either disappear or malfunction. This ultimately leads to the motor, cognitive, and behavioral symptoms of

these disorders. Goldman’s lab has shown that replacing these sick cells with healthy ones can slow and even reverse disease progression in animal models of these diseases.

Sana Biotechnology was created in 2018 with a focus on developing and delivering engineered cells as medicines for patients. Last year, the company invested in Oscine’s R&D in neurological disorders, in what remains the University of Rochester’s largest-ever commercial spin-off.

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NEWS BRIEFS

Memories create fingerprints that reveal how the brain is organized While the broad architecture and organization of the human brain is universal, new research shows how the differences between how people reimagine common scenarios can be observed in brain activity and quantified. These unique neurological signatures could ultimately be used to understand, study, and even improve treatment of disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.

“Our research demonstrates that we can decode the complex information in the human brain related to everyday life and identify neural ‘fingerprints’ that are unique to each individual’s remembered experience,” said Feng (Vankee) Lin, Ph.D., R.N., an associate professor in the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience and co-author of the study which appears in the journal Nature Communications.

Researchers asked participants to recall common scenarios, such as driving, attending a wedding, or eating out at a restaurant. The participants' verbal descriptions were mapped to a computational linguistic model that creates numerical representation of the context of the description and asked to rate aspects of the experience, such as how strongly it was associated with sound, color, movement, and different emotions. The study volunteers were then placed in a functional MRI (fMRI) and asked to reimagine the experience. Using the fMRI data, verbal descriptions, and ratings, researchers were able to build a functional model of each participant’s brain, essentially creating a unique signature of their neurological activity.

The researchers were able to identify several areas of the brain that served as hubs for processing information across brain networks that contribute to recalling information about people, objects, places, emotions, and sensations.

In addition to expanding our understanding of how the brain is networked, the authors point out that many of the key regions they identified tend to decline in function as we age and are vulnerable to the degeneration that occurs in disease like Alzheimer’s. The findings could lead to new ways to diagnose and study disorders associated with irregular memory deficits, including dementia, schizophrenia, and depression, and perhaps even personalize treatments and predict which therapies will be more effective.

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From Left: Margot Mayer-Proschel, Ph.D., Ed Freedman, Ph.D., Ania Busza, M.D., Ph.D., Ania Majewska, Ph.D., Harris Gelbard, M.D., Ph.D.

The perfect pilot: How a grant takes flight It is a simple truth in the field of science: the questions that ultimately lead to scientific advances need funding to be answered.

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t the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, there is a commitment to support novel, high-risk research that opens new doors of understanding of the brain and central nervous system. Pilot grants are an indispensable tool to support the initial experiments designed to pursue new fields of investigation and generate the data needed to secure external support, publish findings, and share data with scientific colleagues across the globe. Since 2015, philanthropic support for the Institute’s pilot programs has more than tripled to $800,000. Thirteen novel research projects received pilot funding in 2020, almost three times the number from five years ago. In the past five years, more than $2.7 million in pilot funding has generated more than $31 million in external research support.

Other changes have elevated the process so that only highly meritorious projects are awarded these pilots. “We have moved to a highly sophisticated review process, where two thirds of the reviewers come from outside of the University, including world leading experts. It provides an unbiased appraisal and raises the level of excellence required for our pilot grants,” said Ian Dickerson, Ph.D., Del Monte pilot grant program director. “It is run like a National Institutes of Health study section.”

Margot Mayer-Proschel, Ph.D., professor of Biomedical Genetics and Neuroscience, received a $40,000 Schmitt Program in Integrative Neuroscience pilot grant in 2016.

This initial support has led to more than a million dollars in funding, and generated data and findings that have resulted in multiple publications and presentations. The recently designated Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center at the University can also be linked back in part to the award of this pilot. Focusing on in utero brain development, the Mayer-Proschel lab investigated two insults they believed could be an early risk factor for autism – iron

deficiency and the genetic mutation 16p11.2. While it had been established that the genetic mutation 16p11.2 is a risk factor for autism, they needed data showing an autism relevant functional consequence in the offspring that was exposed to maternal iron deficiency in utero, so they applied for pilot funding. “Using a nutrition based animal model, we found such an intriguing set of data, suggesting that iron deficiency alone during the gestational period really changes the balance of excitation and inhibition in neuronal circuits later in life – which is exactly what you would expect in the context of autism,” Mayer-Proschel said. “We didn’t even finish all the experiments that we originally proposed – we incorporated these data immediately into a bigger NIH grant proposal.” In 2018, they received a $1.4 million NIH grant, bolstering the University’s childhood research portfolio. This funding also allowed Mayer-Proschel to recruit new graduate students who continue moving this research forward in several new directions, including the possible implications these insults may play in Alzheimer’s disease. “We got the pilot, we got

Embryonic mouse brain stained with antibodies against Nkx2.1 (green) - a critical transcription factor that defines specific brain regions important for the creation of interneurons, cells that play a critical role in establishing the excitatory and inhibitory balance of the brain later in life. (Courtesy Mayer-Proschel) 3

the grant, and we got the identify differences between the brains of younger and older students – and we can healthy subjects. The goal is to provide researchers with a keep going on. It literally benchmark against which they can compare motor function sometimes just takes a small and brain activity with those experiencing cognitive decline. boost provided by a pilot “If we can slow the progression of Alzheimer’s down enough grant to make bigger steps so that symptoms start at 90-years-old instead of 80 that possible.” would be fantastic. We’re not there yet, but I think that’s the Ed Freedman, Ph.D., path we’re on.” A path that needed a pilot grant to begin. associate professor of Each pilot program supports a specific field of Neuroscience, has already neuroscience. The Schmitt Program in Integrative held multiple presentations, Neuroscience (SPIN) supports basic science and translational including in Europe, on projects that advance understanding of normal and abnormal some of the findings from brain functions. The Harry T. Mangurian Jr. Foundation his 2019 pilot grant. He will supports basic, clinical, and translational research projects apply for federal support for Autism Spectrum Disorder. The Rochester Center to continue research that for Alzheimer’s Disease Research (RCADR) supports MoBI avatar with human traces. is using mobile brain/body basic science and translational projects that advance (Courtesy Freedman) imaging (MoBI) technology understanding of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. to identify biomarkers in the Philanthropic funds within the RCADR support awards aimed brain that could be early indicators of Alzheimer’s disease. He at understanding Alzheimer’s – the Feinberg Family Fund and Anton Porsteinsson, M.D., director of the University of and the Sally J. States Pilot Fund in Alzheimer’s Research.

Rochester Alzheimer's Disease Care, Research and Education The University of Rochester Center for Advanced Brain Program, were awarded a $50,000 pilot. As a flagship program Imaging and Neurophysiology (UR CABIN) offers support of the Del Monte Institute, funds to support this work were for innovative, investigator-initiated basic and clinical received from the Rochester neuroscience research that Center for Alzheimer’s employ the PRISMA 3T "In the past five years, more than $2.7 MRI. The Center for Health Disease Research (RCADR) and an anonymous million in pilot funding has generated + Technology (CHET) donor to identify the key Clinical Neuroscience Pilot more than $31 million in external physiological and motion Program offers funding for research support." parameters that best track clinical research projects the cognitive decline that that leverage novel digital occurs in Alzheimer’s. The MoBI system tracks movement technologies that advance our understanding of areas of and brain activity via electroencephalography (EEG) while unmet need in clinical neuroscience. subjects are walking and performing tasks. “Walking requires The CHET Pilot Program is currently supporting a study a certain amount of what we would call cognitive load, and that aims to develop a new tool that measures exercise the behavioral task also requires a certain amount of cognitive in stroke patients. Ania Busza, M.D., Ph.D. an assistant load,” Freedman said. “When you put them together we can professor in Neurology who specializes in stroke, was uncover the masked deficits.” Researchers are working to awarded a $49,300 CHET grant for this research in 2019.

Using biometric sensors, Busza is designing a tool for the objective measurement of rehabilitative exercise. To date, Busza and her collaborators have developed a machine learning algorithm that accurately identifies when a person is doing one of three basic exercises and counts the number of reps, and are working to expand the number of exercises to 10. “We think it's the first month or two after a stroke that the person has the most potential for plasticity and for improving,” Busza said. “The pilot is allowing us to develop a tool to quantify exercise, movement, and recovery.” Busza has a paper in the pipeline, along with an application for a larger grant that will enable her lab to make improvements to Sensors on arm measure exercise in stroke patient. (Courtesy Busza) 4

the tool that will allow researchers to better understand the role exercise plays in stroke recovery. “I’m too junior to have a huge pot of funds that I can just play around with and all of the grants I have been applying for seem to want at least some preliminary data to show that we’re able to do what we claim we can do. I needed the pilot to do that.”

Having preliminary data from a study supported by a pilot grant elevated the work of Ania Majewska, Ph.D. She was awarded a $40,000 Schmitt pilot grant in 2015 to study the mechanism that regulates how microglia – part of the brain’s immune system – move in the brain, Microglia working in the and whether microglia quiescent brain. Green = function to repair or microglia, purple = microglial exacerbate damage in the receptors at the fine ends of brain following a stroke. microglial processes. (Courtesy The data collected have Majewska) since turned into millions of dollars of federal funding, competitive student training grants, and publications – including one in a major research journal. “I really think that in order to understand anything about brain function, whether it’s developmental or computational or disease therapeutics, you need to understand all the different players and how they interact,” Majewska, a professor in the Department of Neuroscience, said. “The biggest thing about having pilot funding is being able to do these experiments and really find out if your ideas are worth pursuing further.” Five years later, data from this pilot continues to branch out. In 2019, a Nature

Neuroscience publication was the first to show that microglia shut off while we are awake and likely do their jobs while we sleep. Majewska has also since been awarded multiple NIH grants totaling more than $3 million, and students in her lab have received competitive F30 and F31 grants – totaling nearly $500,000.

A 2020 RCADR Feinberg pilot is supporting novel research

by Harris Gelbard, M.D., Ph.D., a professor in the Center for Neurotherapeutics Discovery. Gelbard is investigating changes in the blood and brain after orthopedic surgery that result in post-operative delirium – research that could have implications for our understanding of Alzheimer’s and dementia.

The study aims to identify proteins in immune cells in the body and brain that could be targeted by URMCBrain tissue that is being 099 – an anti-inflammatory investigated to determine what type of immune cells are and neuroprotective agent associated with damage and developed in Gelbard’s lab. repair (URMC-099) in Gelbard Findings from previous lab with a model of poststudies have shown this operative delirium. (Courtesy compound can prevent Gelbard) this type of delirium. This new pilot will help gather data necessary for larger studies with the hope of eventually advancing this research to clinical trials. “Pilots are really the lifeblood of investigative science,” Gelbard said. “This is about moving the needle forward, and pilots give you the opportunity to do that. You couldn’t be successful without them.”

Retired physicist contributes to science at alma mater Ben Feinberg, Ph.D. (BS ’69) and his wife, Mary, recently made a gift to establish the Feinberg Family Fund, supporting pilot research projects related to Alzheimer’s disease and dementia at the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience.

As a physicist – he spent his career at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California – Dr. Feinberg understands the critical need for research support. “The number of Americans with dementia continues to grow,” Feinberg said. “We need to drive new discoveries, but

sometimes the projects with the most potential need an extra boost to get going.”

Seed funding, provided by the Feinberg Family Fund and other sources, can spark findings that lead to major federal grants, and in turn, more innovative treatments and cures. This at a time when research dollars are dwindling across the country.

“It’s gratifying to know that our philanthropy could help break new ground, and ultimately help more families suffering with dementia,” he said.

Interested in supporting a pilot project? Contact James O’Brien, director of Advancement, at jobri18@UR.Rochester.edu or 585-397-6918 5

F A C U LT Y P R O F I L E

Q&A with Benjamin Suarez-Jimenez, Ph.D. Benjamin Suarez-Jimenez, Ph.D., joined the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience in January 2020 as an assistant professor in Neuroscience. He received his B.A. in Psychology from the University of Puerto Rico and went on to complete his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University College London.

His research focuses primarily on advanced understanding of anxiety disorders and stress.

Tell us a little bit about your research.

My research focuses on understanding the neural mechanism of how the brain learns about the environment, particularly to predict where it is threatening and where it is safe. I investigate neural signatures of anxiety disorders and PTSD using virtual reality environments. I study how we build maps in our brain – much of which is experience based – where someone has experienced danger and/or happiness.

I’m working to understand how we build those maps and how the maps then become psychopathologies of stress and anxiety. A lot of people who have a stress, trauma, or excessive anxiety kind of blur these lines and are not able to differentiate a safe area from a dangerous one.

How did you become interested in your field of study?

It was a combination of personal experiences, research I was doing as a post-doc, and my mentors. I’m from Puerto Rico and as a teen went to the only public boarding school at the time, which specialized in math and sciences. It was a stressful time for me and my peers. A lot of people dropped out, but it pushed me to do better. Looking back, it was the first time I started considering the types of questions about stress and anxiety that I’m asking today. Although I still didn’t go into science right away. I started undergrad as an engineering major before switching to psychology.

That’s when I was introduced to research and started to get involved with projects that had to do with resilience.

During this time, my brothers enlisted in the military and were deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. I saw how they were changing and eventually developed PTSD. I wanted to learn

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more about it and anxiety disorders in general, including how we can improve treatment, and better diagnosis these disorders. Currently, there are not behavioral markers to look for, we just know what people tell us. As part of a partnership program with the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) and the University College London, my job was to link labs that didn’t necessarily talk to each other. NIMH was focusing on anxiety disorders in children and adults, and the lab in London was dealing with learning and memory and using virtual reality, which was my first introduction with the technology.

What brought you to the University of Rochester?

There were a lot of things happening in my life when the opportunity at the University came my way, including Black Lives Matter, and the way minorities are represented in the sciences. I’m gay, Puerto Rican, mix race – my dad is Black, my mom is white. I had read a letter about diversity and inclusion that resonated with me because it laid out clear action, and wasn’t just another leader in academia saying the right thing. I would later learn the letter was written by John Foxe, Ph.D. This was after he approached me about my research and use of virtual reality. He expressed interest in expanding the virtual reality work through partnerships within academia and the industry itself. The diversity and inclusion movement, support for virtual reality work coupled with the collaborative nature current faculty shared with me about the University, all helped lead me here. And honestly, another reason is people looked happy when I was talking with them. My background is very family oriented and the unity and feel of community I got from Rochester really attracted me.

and Biomedical Genetics who is working on how we can use short psychotherapies to really cure disorders. Because I want to continue my work with veterans, I’m looking forward to working with Wilfred Pigeon, Ph.D., a psychiatry professor who works with the VA. I’m excited to get to know the other faculty and work collaboratively. There’s research that will complement mine well that I think will allow for more creativity.

Do you have a favorite piece of advice?

Over my career, I've had so many different types of mentors.

They have shaped me in a way of becoming a better mentor, which in turn helped me become a better researcher. But I've learned to balance my life and my work. When I was in London, I saw how people were very productive and yet would often take time to themselves and their families, which was very different when I came back to the states. I had to make a concerted effort to be successful and productive, while still maintaining a healthy life. It’s a balance I try to teach my students – to manage their career and life as much as possible.

I want them to enjoy what they are doing, because research is fun.

Final thoughts?

I’m very excited to be a part of the University and the Neuroscience Department. I’m really looking forward to participating more with the Neuroscience Diversity Commission. I guess I can do research anywhere but the support is not something that you get everywhere and I really value that.

Who are you looking forward to collaborating with?

Manuel Gomez-Ramirez, Ph.D., assistant professor in Brain and Cognitive Sciences approached me because of my experience with animal models and MRI and determining where electrodes need to be placed on the brain for these tests. Also Mark Noble, Ph.D., professor of Neuroscience

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S T U D E N T S P OT L I G H T

LAURA OWLETT, Ph.D.

Image from Owlett's thesis work of an amyloid plaque (blue) surrounded by microglia (red and green).

Laura Owlett, Ph.D., is a MD/PhD candidate in the Medical Science Training Program and worked in the lab of M. Kerry O’Banion, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Neuroscience and Neurology in the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience and John Olschowka, Ph.D., professor of Neuroscience. She was awarded a competitive National Institute of Health (NIH) F30 grant to support research that is seeking to understand why microglia – the brain’s immune cells – do not effectively clear the plaque associated with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Owlett hypothesized that activating the Axl receptor – which is thought to prompt microglia to clean waste and calm inflammation – would reduce the accumulation of plaque in the brain. “The F30 really allowed me to take off with this project because the Axl receptor pathway is a novel focus for our lab. It came out of a previous project as an interesting avenue to pursue,” Owlett said.

By overexpressing Axl’s ligand to increase the activity of Axl on microglia, Owlett observed that while plaque numbers went down, activation of Axl actually heightened inflammation, which was the opposite of what was expected.

“It was really interesting to us,” Owlett said. “It fits well with our understanding of how inflammation can help clear plaque but also hints at a new role for Axl in the brain.”

Owlett is in her third year of medical school, and hopes to pursue a residency in neurology. She is one of six current students with an NIH F30 or F31 grant. In the past five years, neuroscience students have been awarded more than $1.7 million in NIH training grants to conduct research at the Medical Center.

Students with current F31 and F30 awards Ian DeAndrea-Lazarus Karl Foley Laura Owlett, Ph.D. Keshov Sharma Mark Stoessel Brendan Whitelaw

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F31 $250,080 F30 $200,064 F30 $200,076 F30 $202,080 F31 $136,560 F30 $201,576

NEWS BRIEFS

Neuroscience faculty keeps anatomy lab hands-on despite pandemic, students excel The class of 104 students who just completed Human Structure and Function, a fundamental course for all medical students, is the top performing class in more than two decades. Human Structure and Function covers anatomy, histology, embryology, and physiology and requires some inperson and hands-on learning. This success came despite the challenges of learning and teaching during a global pandemic.

Director of Anatomical Sciences Strand of Human Structure and Function Martha Gdowski, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Neuroscience credits the support of senior associate dean of Medical Student Education David R. Lambert, M.D., as well as careful planning and teamwork among faculty, for allowing students to safely learn on site during the pandemic. They were able to modify the lab space and meet PPE protocols to keep the anatomy lab in-person.

The Department of Neuroscience dates to the Anatomy Department that began in 1926 as one of the five original basic science departments at the medical school.

From Left: Jennifer Prutsman-Pfeiffer, Ph.D. (wearing student gown required in anatomy laboratory), John Olschowka, Ph.D., Sarah McConnell, Ph.D., Sergiy Nadtochiy, Ph.D., Linda Callahan, Ph.D. Not pictured: David Kornack, Ph.D., Diane Piekut, Ph.D., Martha Gdowski, Ph.D.

Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience Executive Committee John Foxe, Ph.D.

Paige Lawrence, Ph.D.

Director, The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience Kilian J. and Caroline F. Schmitt Chair in Neuroscience Professor and Chair, Department of Neuroscience

Wright Family Research Professorship - Dean's Office M&D Professor and Chair, Department of Environmental Medicine

Bradford Berk, M.D., Ph.D.

John Romano Professorship in Psychiatry Professor and Chair, Department of Psychiatry

Director, The University of Rochester Neurorestoration Institute Professor of Medicine, Cardiology

Robert Dirksen, Ph.D.

Hochang (Ben) Lee, M.D.

Shawn Newlands, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A. Professor and Chair, Department of Otolaryngology

Lewis Pratt Ross Professorship of Pharmacology and Physiology Professor and Chair, Department of Pharmacology and Physiology

Webster Pilcher, M.D., Ph.D.

Diane Dalecki, Ph.D.

Ernest & Thelma Del Monte Distinguished Professor in Neuromedicine Professor and Chair, Department of Neurosurgery

Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering

Duje Tadin, Ph.D.

Jennifer Harvey, M.D.

Professor, Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences

Professor and Chair, Department of Imaging Sciences

Robert Holloway, M.D., M.P.H. Edward A. and Alma Vollertsen Rykenboer Chair in Neurophysiology Professor and Chair, Department of Neurology 9

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Subscribe to NeURoscience Perspectives on YouTube Episode 6 features Tatiana Pasternak, Ph.D., scientific review officer at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

She shares with host, John Foxe, Ph.D., details of her new role at the NIH, her journey to the United States as a researcher, and her connection to Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov.

delmote.urmc.edu/youtube

John Foxe, Ph.D. interviews Tatiana Pasternak, Ph.D., by video, from the Cognitive Neurophysiology Lab at URMC.