Neuroscience Seminar Series
From L to R, Dr. Balderston, Dr. Cohen, Dr. Stocker, Dr. Badawi, & Dr. Jones
The Neuroscience Seminar Series is proudly presented by Delaware State University and the Interdisciplinary Health Research Center. Each installation of the series will feature five to six different neuroscience experts from universities across the country presenting in different areas and topics at the forefront of neuroscience research.
The Series is hosted by Dr. Hakeem Lawal and Dr. Janeese Brownlow and is made possible through the Interdisciplinary Health Equity Research Center.
Each Seminar will take place at 11 a.m. on a Thursday and will be held at the OSCAR Auditorium on the first floor of the Optical Science Center for Applied Research Building on the DSU Campus (unless otherwise noted).
| Date | Speaker |
| September 11, 2025 | Nicholas Balderston, University of Pennsylvania |
| September 25, 2025 | Yale Cohen, University of Pennsylvania |
| October 16, 2025 | Yomna Badawi, University of Pittsburgh |
| November 6, 2025 | Kevin Jones, University of Michigan |
| November 20, 2025 | Alan Stocker, University of Pennsylvania |
Dr. Nicholas Balderston - “Using precision neuromodulation and threat to understand the mechanisms of anxiety expression and regulation”
Abstract: “This talk will focus on recent work using noninvasive neuromodulation to understand and treat anxiety. My research follows two overarching aims. The first aim is to conduct high-throughput mechanistic studies in healthy individuals to understand the neural mechanisms of anxiety and to develop new tools for improving neuromodulation studies of anxiety and other psychiatric disorders. The second aim is to apply these techniques and test therapeutic targets in anxiety patients. This dual-pronged approach allows me to maintain a high level of scientific productivity while translating fundamental neuroscience into innovative treatments for individuals suffering from anxiety disorders.”
Bio: I am an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and associate director of the Center for Neuromodulation in Depression and Stress (CNDS) at the University of Pennsylvania. The overall focus of my lab is to understand the underlying causes of anxiety and to use this basic understanding to help develop and improve the tools that we use to treat anxiety disorders. My approach is to use psychophysiology and neuroimaging to develop hypotheses about how the brain and behavior are connected and then to test these hypotheses using causal noninvasive neuromodulation approaches, specifically transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).
Dr. Yale E. Cohen - “Functional organization of multisensory information in the primate auditory cortex”
Abstract: “Auditory perception can be modulated by other sensory stimuli. However, we do not fully understand the neural mechanisms that support multisensory behavior and how this information is functionally organized. Here, we recorded spiking activity from the primary auditory cortex (A1) in non-human primates, while they detected a target vocalization that was embedded in a background chorus of vocalizations. We found that a congruent video of a monkey eliciting a vocalization, improved behavior, relative to their performance when we presented a static image. As a lever for the functional organization of multisensory information, we compared the contribution of neurons with significant spectrotemporal response fields (STRFs) with those that had non-significant STRFs (nSTRFs). Indeed, based on spike waveform shape and functional connectivity, STRF and nSTRF neurons appeared to belong to different neural classes.
Consistent with this, we found that, at both the single-neuron and population level (via a targeted dimensionality reduction of neural trajectories), that nSTRF neurons were modulated more by the visual trial conditions (congruent video versus static image) than STRF neurons. Together, our results are the first to demonstrate how functional information relating to multisensory behavior is organized in the primate A1, to identify a differential contribution of nSTRFs to behavior, and to demonstrate that task-related information in the primate A1 is encoded as a structured dynamic process in the neural population.”
Dr. Yomna Badawi - “Neuromuscular active zones in healthy and ALS model mice and the effects of a targeted therapeutic approach”
Abstract: “Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive deterioration and loss of function of the motor neurons leading to paralysis. Studies indicate that neuromuscular junction (NMJ) denervation occurs in the early stages of the disease while neuronal cell bodies in the spinal cord remain intact. My goal is to study the molecular mechanisms that lead to NMJ denervation in ALS and identify interventions to improve neuromuscular function in ALS patients.
First, I will show the analysis of NMJ active zone organization using stimulated emission depletion (STED) nanoscopy in healthy NMJs and describe how key active zone proteins are altered in NMJs of SOD1G93A mice, a rodent model of ALS. Next, I will demonstrate the acute and chronic effects of GV-58, a novel Cav2-specific voltage-gated calcium channel gating modifier that we have developed, on neuromuscular function in SOD1G93A mice. Improving neuromuscular transmission could prove to be a new intervention approach to strengthen neuromuscular function, delay the loss of motor skills, and improve the quality of life of ALS patients.”
Bio: I am a Research Faculty member in the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh. My broad research goals focus on understanding synapse formation and maintenance under normal physiological conditions, and how these mechanisms are altered in neurodegenerative disorders. These include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, and weakness in aging. My aim is to contribute to the development of therapies for preventing neuromuscular dysfunction.
Past Series
| Date | Speaker |
| January 23, 2025 | Dr. Dayan Knox, University of Delaware |
| February 13, 2025 | Dr. Jeff Donlea, UCLA |
| February 27, 2025 | Dr. Gina Poe, UCLA |
| March 13, 2025 | Dr. Naomi Sadeh, University of Delaware |
| March 27, 2025 | Dr. Barry Rovner, Thomas Jefferson University |
| April 3, 2025 | Dr. Karine Fenelon, University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
Seminar Descriptions
Dr. Dayan Knox – “Uncovering circuits and mechanisms that facilitate sex differences in traumatic stress reactivity”
1/23/25 – Location: Science Center 139
“While it has been known that women are more likely to develop post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after trauma, mechanisms via which this sex difference manifests are not well understood. This is especially so in preclinical models where many paradigms and stress protocols that are effective in males are not effective in female model systems. In this talk I describe how the single prolonged stress (SPS) model of PTSD has been used in my lab (in conjunction with behavioral, neuroscience, and in vivo MRI techniques) to understand sex difference in traumatic stress reactivity.”
Dr. Jeff Donlea – “Using flies to investigate basic functions of sleep”
2/13/25 – Location: Luna Mishoe Science Center North 139, Auditorium
“Sleep is a physiological state that has been broadly conserved across evolution but its fundamental biological functions remain poorly understood. The Donlea lab uses fruit flies as a model system to investigate the influence of sleep on synaptic organization in circuits across the brain. We have recently found that plasticity during sleep loss varies between neurotransmitter systems, but plastic trends remain consistent across brain regions. Complementary studies also explore the evolution of sleep across related fly species to examine selective pressures that might drive adaptation in sleep need.”
Dr. Gina Poe - “Sleep to learn: features of sleep critical to lifelong learning”
2/27/25, 11:00 a.m. – Location: Biology Auditorium, Luna Mishoe Science Center North 139
“Should schools build naps into their schedules? Why do we need so much time to be unconscious each day? Why is nearly every mental illness accompanied by altered sleep? Are dreams important? We will explore the mechanistic answers to all of these questions through my colleagues’ and my scientific studies. By the end of my talk, it is my hope that you will be in love with your beauteous sleep and will desperately need a nap!”
Dr. Naomi Sadeh - “Unraveling the causes of impulsivity: Why we act without thinking and how it impacts mental health”
Thursday, 3/13/25, at 11 a.m. – Location: OSCAR Seminar Room, 1st Floor
“Why do some people act on impulse while others can resist temptation? Impaired impulse control plays a key role in major public health issues like crime, suicide, violence, and addiction. But the reasons behind impulsive behavior vary—what drives one person’s struggle with self-control may be entirely different for someone else. This talk explores the complex interplay of biological, psychological, and environmental factors that shape impulsivity.”
Dr. Barry Rovner - “Cognitive Change with Aging & Social Determinants of Dementia”
Thursday, 3/27/25, at 11 a.m. – Location: OSCAR Seminar Room, 1st Floor
“This presentation will focus on cognitive decline in late life, focusing on Alzheimer disease and Vascular Cognitive Impairment. We will discuss expected age-related cognitive change, risk factors for cognitive decline, the spectrum of cognitive dysfunction, neuropathology, biomarkers of Alzheimer disease, and treatment. For clinical relevance, we will review the evaluation and treatment of an older woman with cognitive decline. We will also discuss new research on preventing cognitive decline in older Black individuals with diabetes and how culturally determined beliefs about diabetes medications may increase risk of dementia.”
Dr. Karine Fenelon - “Targeting Amygdala Neurons to Restore Sensorimotor Gating Deficits”
Thursday, 4/2/25, at 11 a.m. – Location: OSCAR Seminar Room, 1st Floor
“Prepulse Inhibition (PPI) of the auditory startle response is a key measure of sensorimotor gating, a pre-attentive mechanism disrupted in several neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia. While reversing PPI deficits is widely used in preclinical drug screening, the neural mechanisms underlying PPI remain unclear. Recent findings have ruled out a cholinergic midbrain pathway, instead pointing to glutamatergic, glycinergic, and GABAergic signaling in the brainstem. Given the amygdala’s established role in disorders featuring PPI deficits, we tested its projections to the brainstem. Using mice, we found that amygdala neurons projecting to the brainstem are crucial for PPI. Notably, manipulating these amygdala neurons restored PPI in a schizophrenia-related mouse model, revealing an amygdala–brainstem circuit critical for sensorimotor gating and therapeutic intervention.”
Seminars Photo Gallery
