Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience / News & Events / NEURO YES

Neuroscience Young Investigator Extramural Seminar

The University of Rochester Neuroscience Young Investigator Extramural Seminar (NEUROYES) is a series designed to elevate and highlight early career investigators while creating a network of scientists committed to conducting research that will increase our understanding of the brain, mind, and body. NEUROYES is hosted by the Neuroscience Diversity Commission, and Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department at the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience. We are committed to building an inclusive and equitable culture by uplifting underrepresented early career scientists who will help transform the future of science. As part of this mission, speakers from underrepresented populations, as defined by the NIH, will be selected and supported by the Neuroscience Diversity Commission.

This seminar is open to postdoctoral researchers from across the United States regardless of citizenship status.

An application period to be a NEUROYES visiting speaker occurs January through March/mid-April on an annual basis. The application period for the 2023/24 speaker series is closed. Please watch this page and social media for notifications of the application portal opening for the 2024/25 speaker series.

All selected speakers will present their work, meet one-on-one with UR faculty members, and engage with fellow postdocs and graduate students to share their research and educational experiences. See 'General Seminar Visit Information' section below for more information.

Eligibility

Candidates should be an advanced postdoc with at least one accepted or in-development paper from their postdoctoral lab. Candidates do not have to be the first author on this paper.
Strongly encouraged
- Candidates demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusivity in the sciences.
- Postdocs from underrepresented populations, as defined by the NIH, are strongly encouraged to apply.

Populations Underrepresented in the Extramural Scientific Workforce

The following groups have been shown to be underrepresented in biomedical research:

Blacks or African Americans
Hispanics or Latinos
American Indians or Alaska Natives
Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders
Individuals with disabilities - physical or mental impairments
Individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, defined as those who meet two or more of the following criteria:
- Were or currently are homeless
- Were or currently are in the foster care system
- Were eligible for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program for two or more years
- Have/had no parents or legal guardians who completed a bachelor’s degree
- Were or currently are eligible for Federal Pell grants
- Received support from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) as a parent or child
- Grew up in one of the following areas:
  - a U.S. rural area, as designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer
  - a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-designated Low-Income and Health Professional Shortage Areas

for further information, visit the NIH Diversity page

2023/24 Seminars

Please check back for seminar titles

Danique Jeurissen, PhD
Postdoctoral fellow, Shadlen Lab
Columbia University in New York

Visit dates: 12/6/23 - 12/8/23
Seminar title: The Neural Basis of Cognitive Flexibility in Primates
Mariajose Metcalfe-Lilliewood, PhD
Project Scientist, Reeve-Irvine Research Center
University of California, Irvine

Visit dates: 1/24/24 – 1/26/24
Seminar title: Unraveling outcomes of PTEN deletion in functional recovery after spinal cord injury
Austin Coley, PhD
Incoming Assistant Professor at UCLA
Current position The Salk Institute for Biological Studies

Visit dates: 3/14/24 – 3/16/24
Seminar title: TBA
Carmen Muñoz-Ballester, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Scholar en CDAB
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Visit dates: 4/24/24 – 4/26/24
Seminar title: TBA

Past Seminars

2022/2023 Seminars

Tahra Eissa, PhD
University of Colorado, Boulder
"The impacts of environmental inference on human decision-making"
Shahzad S. Khan, PhD
Stanford University
"Consequences of LRRK2 hyperactivity on nigrostriatal circuits"
Sunday M. Francis, PhD
NIH/NIMH
"Transdiagnostic Targets: Compulsivity in Neurodevelopmental Disorders"
Ipshita Zutshi, PhD
NYU School of Medicine
"Extrinsic control and intrinsic computation in the hippocampal CA1 network"

Spring 2022 Seminars

Jean-Paul Noel, PhD
New York University
"Updating Internal Models of Autism"
Kiara Eldred, PhD
University of Washington
"Photoreceptor Specification in the Human Eye"

General Seminar Visit Information

Seminar - open to all faculty, students, and staff
Chalk Talk for small, curated faculty group
Assigned a faculty mentor to provide career and professional advice before, during, and following the visit
Pre-visit run-through of seminar talk with two or three select faculty members to provide constructive feedback
Meeting/luncheon with graduate students and fellow postdocs
Dinner with a small group of faculty
Travel/lodging expenses provided
Small honorarium will be awarded

Committee Members

Manuel Gomez-Ramirez, PhD – Assistant Professor, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester
Lauren Hablitz, PhD – Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, University of Rochester
Nathan Smith, MS, PhD* – Associate Dean of Equity and Inclusion in Research and Research Education, Associate Professor, Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester
Benjamin Suarez-Jimenez, PhD* – Assistant Professor, Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester

* NEUROYES Committee Chair

Contact Us

For more information contact: Nathan_Smith@URMC.Rochester.edu

Please write ‘NEUROYES’ in the subject line.