Thesis Seminars

Gregory Reilly - Ph.D. Candidate
Advisor: Doug Portman, Ph.D.

A key issue within the field of neuroscience is understanding how genetic programs in fixed neural circuits are able to guide state-dependent innate behaviors. Innate behavior is governed by the integration of both environmental stimuli and internal state. Biological sex represents a naturally occurring variation in internal state that has been shown to play a role in influencing animal behavior. For example, the simple nematode C. elegans are able to switch between locomotion behavior states based upon both external stimuli an internal state. However, much of this locomotive behavior has solely been studied in the hermaphrodite and not the male C. elegans. Males, unlike self-fertilizing hermaphodites, must integrate two major needs, feeding and finding a mate, to determine the optimal locomotive state. Understanding how mating cues from pheromones, different food stimuli, and biological sex influence C. elegans locomotor states will give key insights into how, on a fundamental level, neural circuits integrate sensory cues with internal state to generate adaptive behavioral flexibility. In this proposal, I will investigate how both pheromone mating cues and food signals influence the locomotive states of both male and hermaphrodite C. elegans.

 Dec 16, 2020 @ 10:00 a.m.

Host: Neuroscience Graduate Program

Kathleen Miller-Rhodes - Ph.D. Candidate
Advisor: Marc Halterman, M.D., Ph.D.

Acute ischemic stroke is a leading cause of death and disability in the aging population. Although available interventions improve recanalization rates, there remain no therapies to treat delayed ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI). The discrete signals responsible for IRI involve a complex cascade of innate immune priming, neuroinflammation, and delayed post-ischemic neurodegeneration. Emerging evidence implicates organ crosstalk in the pathology of delayed central nervous system (CNS) damage following global cerebral ischemia. In this project, we tested the hypothesis that the prevailing inflammatory milieu within the lung is an essential determinant of post-stroke CNS injury. To test this, we investigated the relationship between acute brain ischemia, lung inflammation, and CNS reperfusion injury in the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model of stroke. In male C57Bl6J mice, ischemia-reperfusion was associated with pulmonary function changes, vascular inflammation, and airway immune infiltration. In post-stroke lung tissue, the loss of endogenous SOD3 correlated with increases in 4-HNE modified proteins indicative of elevated oxidant stress. Conversely, mice that express human SOD3 within type II pneumocytes (TgSOD3) exhibited lower post-stroke levels of 4-HNE protein modification and vessel inflammation versus wildtype controls. TgSOD3 mice exhibited reduced blood-brain barrier (BBB) damage and developed smaller infarct volumes 72 hours post-stroke. We also observed sex-related differences in the SOD3-dependent regulation of post-ischemic IRI. Higher basal expression of lung SOD3 observed in female mice was associated with smaller infarcts, a reduced burden of post-stroke hemorrhage, and lower myeloperoxidase levels, ICAM-1, and fibrinogen. These results collectively implicate lung-derived SOD3 as a modulator of neurovascular injury in acute ischemic stroke. Future work defining SOD3 regulation in the lung, lung-dependent immune priming, and the remote effects of SOD3 on the cerebrovasculature could open up a new field of lung-targeted therapies for stroke and other acute neuroglial disorders.

 Dec 08, 2020 @ 1:00 p.m.

Host: Neuroscience Graduate Program

Dennis Jung - Ph.D. Candidate
Advisor: Adam Snyder, Ph.D.

 Oct 29, 2020 @ 1:00 p.m.

Host: Neuroscience Graduate Program

Fei Shang - PhD Candidate

 Sep 30, 2020 @ 3:00 p.m.

Host: Neuroscience Graduate Program

Kathryn Toffolo - Ph.D. Candidate

 Sep 29, 2020 @ 1:00 p.m.

Host: Neuroscience Graduate Program

Fara Zukusilo - PhD Candidate

 Sep 29, 2020 @ 9:00 a.m.

Host: Neuroscience Graduate Program

Luke Shaw - PhD Candidate

 Sep 28, 2020 @ 1:00 p.m.

Host: Neuroscience Graduate Program

Cody McKee - PhD Candidate

 Sep 28, 2020 @ 12:00 p.m.

Host: Neuroscience Graduate Program

Silei Zhu - PhD Candidate

 Sep 28, 2020 @ 10:00 a.m.

Host: Neuroscience Graduate Program

Jingyi Yang - PhD Candidate

 Sep 23, 2020 @ 1:00 p.m.

Host: Neuroscience Graduate Program

Jacob Rudlong - PhD Candidate

 Sep 23, 2020 @ 11:00 a.m.

Host: Neuroscience Graduate Program

Laura Owlett - Ph.D. Candidate
Advisors: Kerry O'Banion & John Olschowka

 Sep 03, 2020 @ 1:00 p.m.

Host: Neuroscience Graduate Program

Monique Mendes - Ph.D. Candidate
Advisor: Ania Majewska, Ph.D.

 Jul 31, 2020 @ 9:30 a.m.

Host: Neuroscience Graduate Program

Josh Hinkle - Ph.D. Candidate
Advisors: Kerry O’Banion, Ph.D. & John Olschowka, Ph.D.

 Jul 16, 2020 @ 10:00 a.m.

Host: Neuroscience Graduate Program

Patrick Miller-Rhodes - Ph.D. Candidate
Advisor: Handy Gelbard, Ph.D.

 Jul 14, 2020 @ 3:00 p.m.

Host: Neuroscience Graduate Program

Alejandra Rodriguez - Graduate Student
Advisor: David Paul, M.D.

 Jul 13, 2020 @ 9:00 a.m.

Host: Neuroscience Graduate Program

Samantha Abbott - Neuroscience Graduate Student
Advisor: Lizabeth Romanski

 Jun 19, 2020 @ 2:30 p.m.

Mark Stoessel - Ph.D. Candidate
Advisor: Ania Majewska, Ph.D.

 Jun 10, 2020 @ 10:00 a.m.

John Wilson - Ph.D. Candidate
Advisor: Kenneth S. Henry

 Apr 02, 2020 @ 12:00 p.m.

Anjali Sinha - Ph.D. Candidate

 Mar 30, 2020 @ 1:00 p.m.

Host: J. Chris Holt