2018-2019 Bauer Summary
The M.R. Bauer Foundation Colloquium Series, Distinguished Lecturer Series, Annual Scientific Retreat, and Summer Science Research Fellowship - 2018-2019 Summary
The Benjamin and Mae Volen National Center for Complex Systems is a gateway into the sciences at Brandeis, and we are proud and privileged to be celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
This milestone marks the opening of a landmark building which holds a commanding position on our campus.
The Volen Center is, first and foremost, a research facility, and a pioneering one at that. The state-of-the-art labs and powerful computational machines are the tools of the trade, allowing our researchers to conduct leading-edge investigations.
However, as with any space, it is the people who occupy it and the work pursued within its walls that define its purpose and impact. In this respect, the Volen Center has surpassed the lofty goals of the plucky and ambitious university which had the vision and will to transform the neurosciences by its establishment.
Over the 25 years since its opening, Volen Center-affiliated researchers have earned legacy-making accolades. But, all agree that the spirit of the Volen Center is borne of the collaborations, the visitors, and the numerous undergraduate and graduate students who are animated by the potential and power of the study of the mind. In short, the building has nourished a scientific community.
The Volen Center engages in interdisciplinary research of the highest order and is a locus for the teaching and learning of neuroscience. Our work will have impact into the next quarter century, because the discoveries made at the Volen Center are consequential. In this momentous year, there is much to be grateful for and much to look forward to.
Leslie C. Griffith, MD, PhD
Nancy Lurie Marks Professor of Neuroscience and
Director, Volen National Center for Complex Systems
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When thinking of a complex system, Grand Central Terminal comes to mind. As the hub of transportation for a good portion of Manhattan, multiple layers of complexity must work in synchrony in order for travel to be successful.
From the Metro-North Railroad to the number 7 subway line, 750,000 people travel into and out of the station on any given day. Many actors contribute to the successful operation of this system, from the head of the New York MTA to the train engineers to the janitors – every job, every layer is important to the overall system. When one layer of this network is not working properly, the equilibrium of the system is thrown off, and problems ensue.
In this way, Grand Central Terminal is similar in scope to the many discussions of complex systems during the 2018- 2019 M.R. Bauer Colloquium Series.
From mitochondria to artificial neural networks; from individual dendritic spines to whole brain networks; from mRNA to society as a whole. Fourteen distinguished scientists explored complexity from the level of the smallest molecule to the level of human society. Each speaker has presented a summary of their work, which is preceded by a brief introduction set in italics, explaining in a more general framework the focus of the speaker’s research.
- Michael Yass, PhD
Professor, Chancellor’s Fellow Department of Neurobiology and Behavior UC Irvine
- Eva Anton, PhD
Professor, Department of Cell Biology and Physiology UNC – Chapel Hill
- Samantha Butler, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Neurobiology at UCLA
- Matt Shapiro, PhD
Professor, Department of Neuroscience Albany Medical College
- Paul Katz, PhD
Professor and Director Department of Neuroscience, UMASS Amherst
- Adam Hantman, PhD
Group Leader, HHMI - Janelia Research Campus
Every year the M.R. Bauer Distinguished Lecturer program brings to campus two distinguished visitors who spend a full week at Brandeis. These weeklong visitors present talks to small and large groups, visit Center laboratories, and engage students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty in informational and highly interactive conversations about shared areas of research interests. This year our distinguished lecturers were Yishi Jin from UCSD and Robert Singer from Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
- Yishi Jin, PhD
Distinguished Professor and Chair Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine
UC San Diego School of Medicine
- Robert Singer, PhD
Professor and Chair
Department of Neuroscience, Anatomy and Structural Biology, and Cell Biology Albert Einstein College of Medicine
The Volen National Center for Complex Systems held its annual scientific retreat on October 1, 2018, at the Waterworks Museum in Chestnut Hill, MA. This year Brandeis’ science departments had a bumper crop of new junior faculty members and we used the retreat as a way to introduce them to the Volen Center community. Speakers included Thomas Fai and John Wilmes from the Math Department, both of whom are applied mathematicians who work at the interface of life sciences and mathematics and are already engaged in collaborations with other Volen Center faculty. We also had talks from two new Biochemists, Julia Kardon and Niels Bradshaw. These scientists are using cutting edge technologies to understand both the function and evolution of proteins involved in key cellular pathways. Our last new faculty member, Grace Han from the Chemistry Department, studies and designs materials that can store and convert energy. To round out the day, we invited Yaneer Bar-Yam, founder of the New England Complex Systems Institute, to give a keynote talk on how data-driven science can help us understand political, economic and social trends.
Scientists from across Brandeis departments attended to hear the lectures, share lunch, and attend the poster session for this day of science. The retreat served as a break from routine and a great opportunity to engage our new junior faculty with Volen Center faculty, staff, postdocs and students.
- Schedule
- Yaneer Bar-Yam, PhD
President, New England Complex Systems Institute
- John Wilmes, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics, Brandeis University
- Grace Han, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Brandeis University
- Niels Bradshaw, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Brandeis University
- Julia Kardon, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Brandeis University
- Thomas Fai, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics, Brandeis University
The Volen Retreat offers the opportunity for all Volen-affiliated faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students to present a poster detailing their research. This is an opportunity for other members of the community to engage with their fellow scientists and exchange ideas. The face-to-face format of a poster session allows for direct and detailed discussion of data and techniques. This year 15 postdoctoral fellows and students presented posters at the Volen Retreat. The presenters and titles are below.
| Presenter |
Poster Title |
| Nicole Ayasse |
The effects of expectation and competition on the speed of speech comprehension in younger and older adults: an eye-tracking study |
| Guillaume Duclos |
Building new experimental and numerical models for studying topological defects in 3D active nematic |
| Katie Kimbrell |
The role of Rem2 in social transmission of food preference |
| Aishwarya Krishnamoorthy |
Understanding the neuronal functions of circMbl in Drosophila melanogaster |
| Daniel Powell |
Modulation of the pyrokinin-elicited gastric mill rhythm by an endogenous peptide hormone and a mechanosensory neuron |
| Mara Rue |
Increased extracellular potassium leads to paradoxical loss and recovery of pyloric circuit activity in the crab, Cancer borealis |
Amy Scalera &
Cassandra Blanchette |
Mechanisms of extracellular vesicle trafficking in the nervous system |
| Nadya Styczynski |
Motor resonance and the stereotype content model |
| Veda Tatavarty |
Autism-associated Shank3 is essential for homeostatic plasticity and neuronal circuit stability |
| Lauren Tereshko |
Cilia modulate the synaptic architecture of excitatory cortical neurons |
| Alejandro Torrado Pacheco |
Labeling cortical neurons based on their baseline firing rates in freely behaving mice |
| Shen Wang |
Patterned optogenetic stimulation of ferret V1 to examine cortical mechanisms of cross-orientation suppression |
| Tim Wiggin |
A modulatory feedback circuit with implications for learning and sleep in Drosophila |
| Derek Wise |
Seizure activity following prolonged activity deprivation in mouse organotypic cultures |
Brandeis advances discovery and learning by providing students with access to faculty-mentored, collaborative scientific investigations. These research experiences prove to be deeply rewarding and highly productive.
Brandeis is fortunate that the M.R. Bauer Foundation sponsors a cohort of Fellows every summer who benefit from intensive bench research in an interdisciplinary environment within the Volen Center and other units of the Division of Science. The M.R. Bauer Summer Science Research Fellowship Program embeds undergraduate Fellows in Brandeis labs so they can work full-time as members of a community of faculty members, graduate students, and postdocs.
The summer experience for this year’s M.R. Bauer Fellows culminated in SciFest IX on August 8, 2019, where the Fellows presented posters on their projects. The following pages include the abstracts from each Fellow’s poster as well as personal statements describing how this opportunity catapulted their education and saw them make profound leaps as scientists.
- Ziyi Guo
Jadhav Lab, Department of Psychology, Brandeis University
- Klarissa Hollander
Kern Lab, Department of Biochemistry, Brandeis University
- William Lenh
Rosbash Lab, Department of Biology, Brandeis University
- Seneca Scott
Katz Lab, Department of Psychology, Brandeis University
- Noah Somberg
Dolnik/Epstein Labs, Department of Chemistry, Brandeis University
- Eric Sun
Garrity Lab, Department of Biology, Brandeis University
- Samantha Wacks
Turrigiano Lab, Department of Biology, Brandeis University
- Ruilin Irene Wang
Paradis Lab, Department of Biology, Brandeis University
- Tracy Yang
Nelson Lab, Department of Biology, Brandeis University
- Han Zheng
Hong and Van Hooser Labs, Department of Computer Science and Biology, Brandeis University
As always, we thank the speakers who came to the Brandeis campus this past year to share their research with us and to engage us in many hours of stimulating discussion and exchanges of ideas with Volen Center faculty, students, and postdoctoral fellows. We are also grateful to our visitors for forwarding to us their lecture summaries that form the basis of this report.
We especially acknowledge Kim MacKenzie, a past neuroscience PhD graduate, for her valuable contributions and editorial assistance in the preparation of this report.
The text of this summary of the Bauer Foundation series, along with summaries from previous years, can be found at M.R. Bauer Foundation at Volen Center.
