News

The Carney Lab has received an STTR Grant titled "Speech Enhancement Based on Auditory Coding of Voiced Signals."

This project will test the feasibility of a novel speech-enhancement strategy based on recent physiological and modeling studies. The lab is joining forces with a small company, Omnispeech LLC, which has expertise in developing algorithms for speech enhancement for cell phone applications. The long-term goal is to develop signal-processing algorithms that will enhance speech in noisy environments for listeners with normal hearing or with hearing loss. In addition to cell phones, other applications could include hearing-aids or other assistive devices.

A new study out today in the Journal of Neuroscience shows that traumatic brain injury can disrupt the function of the brain's waste removal system. When this occurs, toxic proteins may accumulate in the brain, setting the stage for the onset of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

We know that traumatic brain injury early in life is a risk factor for the early development of dementia in the decades that follow, said Maiken Nedergaard, M.D., D.M.Sc., co-director of the University of Rochester Center for Translational Neuromedicine and senior author of the article. This study shows that these injuries set into motion a cascading series of events that impair the brain's ability to clear waste, allowing proteins like tau to spread throughout the brain and eventually reach toxic levels.

The findings are the latest in a series of new insights that are fundamentally changing the way scientists understand neurological disorders. These discoveries are possible due to a study published in 2012 in which Nedergaard and her colleagues described a previously unknown system of waste removal that is unique to the brain which researchers have dubbed the glymphatic system.

Douglas Portman will start his term as President of the Chapter January 1^st, 2015.
Thank you for everyone who participated in the first presidential elections.
Thank you Krystel for serving as the first President and for reviving the Chapter.

David Knill

David C. Knill, professor of brain and cognitive sciences, and associate director of the Center for Visual Science, passed away suddenly on October 6^th at the age of 53.

The University has more information in their newscenter.

The Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences has created a memorial website. From this site, you can post tributes or stories about Dave and invite friends and colleagues to post their own contributions.

Alumna, Maria Diehl, and NGP faculty, Lizabeth Romanski, published a paper in August 2014 edition of the Journal of Neuroscience on Responses of Prefrontal Multisensory Neurons to Mismatching Faces and Vocalizations.

Michele Saul, PhD

Dr. Michele Saul has accepted a position as Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology beginning this Fall. Michele was a popular instructor in ANA 258 here at the UR, where she worked with Dr. Martha Johnson-Gdowski. In addition to her new faculty position, she will continue part-time as a Postdoctoral student in our Fudge lab developing her studies on adolescent stress models in rodents.

Make sure to congratulate her!!

Three first year NGP students received Convocation Awards this year.

• Laura Duclos was awarded the Graduate Alumni Fellowship Award
• Rianne Stowell received the Merritt & Marjorie Cleveland Fellowship Award
• Jessica Hogestyn received the Irving Spar Fellowship Award

Congratulations to All!

Congratulations to this year's Award Recipients

• Grayson Sipe won a travel award from the Schmitt Program in Integrative Brain Research to attend the EMBL Conference, Microglia: Guardians of the Brain, held on 26-29 March 2014 in Heidelberg, Germany.
• Heather Natola won a travel award from the Schmitt Program in Integrative Brain Research to attend the 45^th annual American Society of Neurochemistry meeting in Long Beach, CA, March 8-12, 2014.
• Adrianne Chesser received a travel award to attend the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark on July 12-17, 2014 where she presented a poster.
• Julianne Feola received a travel award from Graduate Women in Science to attend the Gordon Research Conference in Italy from June 29 - July 4,2014.
• Ryan Dawes was awarded a Trainee Scholar Award from the Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society.

The photography of Gary Paige was been recognized in the leading photography magazine for serious photographers, Shutterbug Magazine. His photograph of Havana Glen Park, NY was also the featured photograph on the contents page.

The magazine recognized Gary's work for the monthly assignment of Super Depth of Field in an urban, landscape or nature photograph. Depth of field is the relationship of the foreground and the background focus within the image. This is determined by a combination of the lens focal length, the aperture used and the distance to the foreground subject matter.

Congratulations Gary! Continue the fantastic shooting.

William E. O'Neill, PhD

After more than 35 years of service to URMC, Bill has retired to devote more time to personal endeavors. He will remain deeply involved in the studies of his current students who appreciate his wealth of expertise.

Bill was Associate Professor in both the Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy at the Medical Center and for Brain/Cognitive Sciences on the River Campus. He will be deeply missed.

Make sure to congratulate him when you see him.

Gary D. Paige, M.D., Ph.D., is stepping down after 16 years of service as chair of the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy. M. Kerry O’Banion, M.D., Ph.D., will serve as interim chair effective July 1, 2014 while a national search for a permanent chair is conducted.

Anne Leubke, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and of Neurobiology & Anatomy, and Loisa Bennetto, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology, presented Listening through Noise: Search for Autism Biomarkers on March 25^th in the Helen Wood Hall Auditorium as part of the spring CTSI Seminar Series.

Those wishing to see the presentation can see a video taped copy from the URMC media site. Login is required with your NetID.

Loisa Bennetto, director of the developmental neuropsychology lab in the Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology, will present a talk on Understanding Autism at the next "Got Health?" event on Thursday, March 20. The free lecture will be held from 12:10 to 12:50 p.m. in the Rundel Auditorium at the Rochester Central Library, 115 South Ave. The talk is sponsored by the Center for Community Health in partnership with the Central Library.

Grayson Sipe, 4^th year Neuroscience Graduate Program student in Dr. Ania Majewska's lab was awarded NIH (NRSA) Individual Pre-doctoral Fellowship from NINDS. The title of his project is: Role of P2Y12 and Purinergic Signaling in Microglia-Mediated Synaptic Plasticity (2013-2016). Congrats Grayson!

Elk Lake, North Hudson, Adirondacks
State Park, New York, USA

Dr. Gary Paige's photographic work has received an honorable mention in the 8th Annual Digital Photo Contest sponsored by The Nature Conservancy.

The contest was open to all photographers internationally at least 18 years of age. The contest highlighted remarkable digital imagery featuring nature and people. Dr. Paige's entry was among the fourteen honorable mentions after the top five finalists had been determined.