About Us
Riverside Church
The Friedman Brain Institute and the Neuroscience Graduate Program, presents the 16th Annual Neuroscience Retreat.
The Friedman Brain Institute hosts a Neuroscience Retreat held in the spring of each year. Neuroscience is multidisciplinary by nature and, reflecting this, the scientists and physicians that contribute to the neurosciences at Mount Sinai hail from a variety of departments and campuses. The Retreat provides an opportunity for everyone in the Neuroscience community at Mount Sinai – faculty, fellows, students, researchers and clinicians – to meet and discuss their work in order to increase awareness of ongoing research and approaches, to foster new interactions, and to generate novel ideas.
For additional information, please contact Vena Persaud at vena.persaud@mssm.edu or Veronica Szarejko at veronica.szarejko@mssm.edu
Retreat Organizers
Joseph M Castellano, PhD
Associate Professor
Neuroscience and Neurology
Xiaoting (Ting) Wu, PhD
Assistant Professor
Neuroscience
Moderators
Fanny Elahi, MD, PhD
Associate Professor
Neurology, Neuroscience and Pathology, Molecular and Cell Based Medicine
Joel Blanchard, PhD
Associate Professor
Neuroscience and Cell, Developmental & Regenerative Biology
Opening Remarks
Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD
Director, Friedman Brain Institute
Paul J. Kenny, PhD
Chairman, Nash Family Department of Neuroscience
George Huntley, PhD
Director, Neuroscience Graduate Program
Speakers
Helen S Mayberg, MD
Director, Nash Family Center for Advanced Circuit Therapeutics
Professor, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Psychiatry and Neuroscience
Vice Chair of Research
Department of Dermatology
Director, Mark Lebwohl Center for Neuroinflammation and Sensation
Professor, Dermatology
Assistant Professor
Neuroscience
Postdoctoral Fellow
Neuroscience
PhD Student
Neuroscience
Associate Professor
Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Cell, Developmental & Regenerative Biology
Ashley Cunningham
PhD Student
Neuroscience
Mate Kiss, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Cardiovascular Research Institute
Watit Sontising, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Neurology
Paloma Bravo
Associate Researcher
Cell, Developmental & Regenerative Biology
Angela Radulescu, PhD
Assistant Professor
Psychiatry
Retreat Administrators
Veronica Szarejko
Project Manager
Danny Roldan
Web Content Specialist
Vena Persaud
Executive Assistant
Jenny Rivera
Administrative Director
AGENDA
8:30 – 9:00 am
Registration
(South Hall Lobby)
______________________
9:00 – 9:05 am
Introduction
(Assembly Hall)
Joseph M. Castellano, PhD and Xiaoting (Ting) Wu, PhD
______________________
9:05 – 9:20 am
Welcome Remarks
Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD on Friedman Brain Institute
______________________
9:20 – 9:35 am
Paul J. Kenny, PhD on Nash Family Department of Neuroscience
______________________
9:35 – 9:45 am
George Huntley, PhD on Graduate Student Program
______________________
9:45 – 10:15 am
Keynote Speaker I
Helen Mayberg, MD – “What is Well? An Evolving Transdisciplinary Perspective from Studies of DBS for Depression”
______________________
10:15 – 10:35 am
Raffle
BREAK – Coffee
______________________
10:35 – 10:55 am
Evan Schaffer, PhD (Faculty Speaker) – “Stable geometry is inevitable in drifting neural representations”
______________________
10:55 – 11:15 am
Alberto Corona, PhD (Postdoc Speaker) – “Stress-sensing microglia and habenular function”
Anina Lund (Student Speaker) – “Establishing the Molecular Foundation of Brain Anatomy in Living Individuals”
______________________
11:20 am – 12:20 pm
Poster Session I (Scavenger hunt)
(South Hall)
______________________
12:20 – 1:15 pm
LUNCH
______________________
1:20 – 1:50 pm
Keynote Speaker II
(Assembly Hall)
Brian Kim, MD, MTR, FAAD – “Sensing Inflammation at the Barrier”
______________________
1:50 – 2:10 pm
Georgia Panagiotakos, PhD (Faculty Speaker) – “O Ca(2+)ptain! My Ca(2+)ptain! Ion channels, activity dependent calcium signaling and neuraldifferentiation programs”
______________________
2:10 – 2:25 pm
Break
______________________
2:25 – 3:25 pm
Poster Session II (Scavenger hunt)
(South Hall)
______________________
3:25 – 3:45 pm
Ashley Cunningham (Student Speaker) – “Cell-Type specific roles for H3 serotonylation in the developing brain”
Mate Kiss, PhD (Postdoc Speaker) – “Insufficient sleep compromises adequate central nervous system drainage and instigates autoantibody production in brain-draining cervical lymph nodes”
______________________
3:45 – 4:00 pm
Break (raffle 2)
______________________
4:00 – 4:20 pm
Watit Sontising, PhD (Postdoc Speaker) – “Spatial metabolism in temporal lobe epilepsy”
Paloma Bravo (Student Speaker) – “Microglia contribution to sexual dimorphism and remodeling of the developing brain”
______________________
4:20 – 4:40 pm
Angela Radulescu, PhD (Faculty Speaker) – “Reinforcement learning as a model of cognitive and affective dynamics in mental health”
______________________
4:40 – 5:00 pm
Storytelling
(Assembly Hall)
Camille Casiño (Psychiatry)
Jacqueline Overton (Neuroscience)
Xuran Wang (Psychiatry)
______________________
5:00 – 5:30 pm
Ceremony
(South Hall)
______________________
5:00 – 6:00 pm
Networking / Social reception
with live music by Dianne R. Carr (Pianist) and Amelia McNiven (Violinist)
Musicians
Amelia McNiven (Violinist)
Amelia is from Ontario and is a Columbia University Student studying pre-medical sciences after completing a Bachelors in Violin Performance at the University of Toronto. She has played extensively in orchestras, chamber groups, and events such as weddings. Most recently she performed at the Lincoln Center with the Columbia University Orchestra, and at Carnegie Hall as a chamber music competition winner.
Dianne R. Carr (Pianist)
Dianne R. Carr is a native New Yorker, a classically-trained musician and is thrilled to join Amelia McNiven Fontani, Violinist, in supporting the April 26th Retreat at Riverside Church! Good health and life to all!
Awards
Our awards ceremony is one of the highlights of the retreat. We are thrilled to honor the outstanding students, postdocs and faculty that make up the Friedman Brain Institute membership.
MiNDS Brain Fair Booth Competition: This award is given by the MiNDS leadership team to a laboratory that has demonstrated outstanding community outreach through their involvement in Mount Sinai’s annual Brain Fair. The laboratory selected developed and staffed a novel booth for the fair, and this award highlights their commitment to making neuroscience education exciting and accessible to students of all ages.
Philip Hausfeld Memorial Scholarship Award ($5,000)
Brain Award ($2,000): The Brain Award is given to a student with the best record of achievement in neuroscience.
Neuroscience Mentorship Distinction Award (NMDA) ($500): The Neuroscience Mentorship Distinction Award (NMDA) is presented to a Neuroscience MTA faculty member that exemplifies exceptional mentorship, dedication to trainee well-being, and career development and commitment to the educational mission of Mount Sinai and the community.
Best Poster
Postdocs – Two awardees – $200
Students – Two awardees – $200
Best Images
- FIRST PLACE – $200
- SECOND PLACE – $100
- THIRD PLACE – $50
Most “Liked” Social Media Image: Every image that is submitted is uploaded to all of the Friedman Brain Institute’s social media platforms – Facebook | Twitter | Instagram * The image that receives the most combined “likes” will win! *
- FIRST PLACE – $200
- SECOND PLACE – $100
- THIRD PLACE – $50
Art of the Brain Scavenger Hunt – Match the images with the posters located in the South Hall. The first person to submit the correct answers wins a framed Art of the Brain image. Submit your answers here.
Nominations
Storytellers
Camille Casiño
Psychiatry
Camille Casiño is an associate researcher in the Morishita Laboratory. After falling in love with neuroscience as a teenager, she went on to get a BA in Neuroscience from the University of Chicago in 2021 but maintained her love for music by studying music theory and analysis. Her research interests include the development of social behavior, learning and memory, and synaptic physiology. Outside of the lab, Camille also works as a professional editor. A born and raised New Yorker, Camille spends her free time playing the piano, reading ergodic literature, and adding to her list of favorite places to eat in the city.
Jacqueline Overton
Neuroscience
With a passion for understanding the intricate relationships between brain, body, and behavior, I bring extensive expertise in neuroscience research, spanning sensation, perception, interoception, behavior, physiology, decision making, development, and aging. I am a creative problem solver with a gift for communicating across diverse teams. By bridging the gap between neuroscience and user experience, I aim to drive innovative solutions for mental wellness and behavior change.
My current research focuses on harnessing the power of slow breathing exercises and invasive recordings in human neurosurgery patients to probe the neural mechanisms of interoception, with the goal of uncovering potential therapeutic targets for neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety.
Personally, my journey has been enriched by over 20 years of dedicated meditation and yoga practice, during which I have experienced firsthand the transformative influence of mindfulness on my healing and personal growth. I recently attained a 200-hour yoga instructor certification and am currently exploring advanced breathwork techniques, aiming to not only enhance my own practice but also to inspire and uplift others through the sharing of my diverse lived experiences.
Xuran Wang
Psychiatry
Xuran Wang is an Assistant Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, affiliated with Department of Psychiatry with a secondary position at Department of Genetics and Genomic Science and the SEAVER Autism Center. Her research focuses on developing advanced statistical methods and computational tools to address the challenges posed by emerging biotechnologies in the field of neuro-psychiatric disorders. Prior to her current position, Xuran completed her Postdoctoral research at Carnegie Mellon University. She holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics and Computational Science from the University of Pennsylvania, where she gained expertise in applying mathematical and computational approaches to address complex scientific problems.
