
About Us
The Friedman Brain Institute and the Neuroscience Graduate Program, presents the 17th 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
Moderators
Priti Balchandani, PhD
Professor
Diagnostic, Molecular and Interventional Radiology, Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Artificial Intelligence and Human Health
John F. Crary, MD, PhD
Professor
Pathology, Molecular and Cell Based Medicine, Artificial Intelligence and Human Health and Neuroscience
Opening Remarks
Keynote Speakers
Paul J. Kenny, PhD
Professor and Chairman, Nash Family Department of Neuroscience
Director, Drug Discovery Institute
Speakers
Jean C. & James W. Crystal Professor and Chair
Dept. of Genetics & Genomic Sciences
Director, Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer’s disease
Yasmin Hurd, PhD
Ward-Coleman Chair of Translational Neuroscience
Director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai
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
(South Hall Lobby)
Registration
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9:00 – 9:05 am
(Assembly Hall)
Coffee, tea, and water
Introduction
Fanny Elahi, MD, PhD and Herbert Wu, PhD
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9:05 – 9:20 am
Welcome Remarks
Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD on Friedman Brain Institute
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9:20 – 9:35 am
Paul J. Kenny, PhD on Nash Family Department of Neuroscience
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9:35 – 9:45 am
George Huntley, PhD on Graduate Student Program
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9:45 – 10:15 am
Keynote: Dayu Lin, PhD
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10:15 – 10:35 am
Coffee break
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10:35 – 11:30 am
Behavioral Neuroscience
Moderators: Priti Balchandani, PhD and Sarah Stanley, PhD
10:35 – 10:45 am | Scott Russo, PhD
10:45 – 10:50 am | Veronika Kondev, PhD (Nestler lab)
10:50 – 11:00 am | Cameron S McAlpine, PhD – “Immunogenic control of sleep after myocardial infarction”
11:00 – 11:05 am | Jamie Carty (Stanley Lab)
11:05 – 11:10 am | Zach Pennington, PhD (Cai Lab)
11:10 – 11:30 am | Q&A and Panel Discussion
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11:30 am – 12:20 pm
(South Hall)
Poster Session I
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12:20 – 1:20 pm
Lunch & Networking
*All attendees must register prior to the retreat in order to receive a lunch ticket. Unfortunately, to maintain an accurate catering count, walk-ins will not be supplied a lunch ticket.
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1:20 – 1:50 pm
Keynote: Paul J. Kenny, PhD – “Cells and circuits in opioid addiction”
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1:50 – 3:00 pm
Tools in Neuroscience
Moderators: John F. Crary, MD, PhD and Jack Humphrey, PhD
1:50 – 2:00 pm | Cheen Euong Ang, PhD
2:00 – 2:05 pm | Sarah Williams (Nan Yang Lab)
2:05 – 2:15 pm | Joel Blanchard, PhD
2:15 – 2:20 pm | Christina Maher (Radulescu & Saez Labs) – “Intracranial recordings uncover neuronal dynamics of multidimensional reinforcement learning”
2:20 – 2:30 pm | Yun Soung Kim, PhD – “A Forehead-Wearable EEG Patch for At-Home Brain Activity Monitoring”
2:30 – 2:40 pm | Erin Beck, MD, PhD – “Advanced MRI techniques for imaging brain structural changes in health and disease”
2:40 – 3:00 pm | Q&A and Panel Discussion
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3:00 – 3:20 pm
Coffee break
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3:20 – 4:00 pm
Paths in Science
Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD, Alison M Goate, DPhil, Yasmin Hurd, PhD
Moderator: Fanny Elahi, MD, PhD
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4:00 – 4:50 pm
(South Hall)
Poster Session II
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4:50 – 5:10 pm
Awards
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5:10 – 6:00 pm
Social Hour
