Neuroscience Graduate Program Past News


Dr. Sarah E. Swinford-Jackson successfully completed her Dissertation Defense April 23, 2016. "Role of the Serotonin (5-HT) 5-HT 2c Receptor (5-HT-2cR) in Cocaine Cue Reactivity".


Dr. Julia Gerson successfully completed her Dissertation Defense April 23, 2016. "Characterization of Tau Oligomeric Strains: Implications for Disease Phenotypes".


Dr. Ernesto Lopez successfully completed his Dissertation Defense May 21, 2016. "Role of Arginine Vasopressin Receptor 2 in Microvascular Hyperpermeability During Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock".


Dr. Thomas James successfully completed his Dissertation Defense August 18, 2016. "Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 Regulation of Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels".


Congratulations to Wenjuan Ru who has received a two year McLaughlin Predoctoral Fellowship award for her project entitled "The Microglia-Mediated Mechanism of HIV-1-gp 120-Induced Synapse Degeneration".


Congratulations to the following students who were both selected as Jeane B. Kempner Scholars 2016-2017: Alice Bittar for her project entitled "Differential Effect of Specific ROS in Synaptic Plasticity and Neuropathic Pain" and Ashley Nilson for her project entitled "The Mechanisms for the Spread of Tau Oligomers from Secretion to Internalization"


The following students received a President's Cabinet Award for their project "Students Empowering Future Generations of Neuroscientists and Health Professionals": 

Congratulations to Michele Comerota, Andrea Dimet, and Ashley Nilson.


2015 Society for Neuroscience Chapter of the Year Award

As the President of the Galveston Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience, it is with great pleasure that I share with you the good news that our chapter has been selected as the 2015 Society for Neuroscience Chapter of the Year. 

In a scientific society that counts more than 60,000 members and over 150 chapters from around the world, this is not small accomplishment, and the full merit of such an achievement goes to our neuroscience graduate students, whom have been running the chapter in the past several years. Their passion, dedication and commitment to community outreach to promote the awareness and interest in the brain sciences among local schools and the public at large has led to this success and recognition. Our gratitude also goes to their mentors who, with their example of scientific passion and academic commitment, guide and inspire them every day. Please join me in congratulating our students, and share the pride in our outstanding crop of future neuroscientists.

Sincerely,

Giulio Taglialatela


Dr. Karon Wynne successfully completed her Dissertation Defense Fall, 2015. "The Effects of Dendro[60]fullerene on Neurobehavioral Outcome and Cerebral Vascular Function After Traumatic Brain Injury".


The following Neuroscience Program Graduate Students are recipients of the 2015 Who's Who Among Students in American Universities & Colleges:

David Briley

Julia Gerson and

Sarah Jackson

The announcement was made August 13, 2015, by the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Congratulations to you all for your dedication and hard work.


Dr. Norelle Wildburger received the George Sealy Memorial Award June 29, 2015.


Congratulations to the 2015 Winners of the the Dr. and Mrs. Seymour Fisher Academic Excellence Awards in Neurocience:

Medical Student Award

Latham Fink, PhD, Individual differences in impulsive action reflect variation in the cortical serotonin 5-HT2A receptor system

Graduate Student Awards

  • Alice Bittar, Two types of ROS are differentially involved in spinal synaptic plasticity and mechanical hypersensitivity in neuropathic mice
  • Norelle Wildburger, Ph.D., Quantitative proteomics reveals protein-protein interactions with fibroblast growth factor12 as a component of the Nav1.2 macromolecular complex in mammalian brain

The winners presented a seminar and received their awards on Monday, June 22, 2015


Dr. Norelle Wildburger received the Jeane B. Kempner Postodctoral Fellowship Award on June 22, 2015..


Dr. Norelle Wildburger successfully completed her Dissertation Defense June 15, 2015. "Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Homing to Glioma Stem Cell Xenografts".


Dr. Tetyana Buzhydygan successfully completed her Dissertation Defense April 25, 2015. "Anomalies of Gabaergic System Associated with HIV-1 Infection".


The Neuroscience Graduate Program invited Dr. Dennis Selkoe to be the 2015 James E. Beall Memorial Lecturer in Neuroscience. The program was held April 22-23, 2015. Dr.Selkoe is the Vincent and Stella Coates Professor of Neurologic Diseases at Harvard Medical School and Co-Director of the Center for Neurologic Diseases, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital. The Laboratory of Dennis J. Selkoe, MD


Dr. Rosann Govea successfully completed her Dissertation Defense March 6, 2015. "Group III mGluR8 Negatively Modulates TRP Channels".


Julia Gerson's research was recently featured on NPR. She was interviewed during her presentation at the Society for Neuroscience meeting held in Washington, DC November 15 - 19, 2014. Julia's work focuses on a tau oligomer that occurs in Alzheimer's patients and people with traumatic brain injury.


Congratulations to the following NGP students who received scholarships from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Presentations were made at an Awards Luncheon November 21, 2014.

Elizabeth Crofton - Bohdan R. Nechay Scholarship

Julia Gerson - James E. Beall II Memorial Award in Anatomy and Neurosciences

Julia Gerson - Zelda Zinn Casper Endowed Scholarship

Sarah Jackson - Jen Chieh and Katherine Huang Scholarship

Rosann Govea - Michael Tacheeni Scott Endowed Scholarship

Julia Gerson - George Sealy Research Award in Neurology

Ernesto Lopez - Jane Welsh Award for Excellence in Cardiovascular Research


Congratulations to Dr. Shayne Hassler for his successful Dissertation Defense on October 16, 2014. "Reactive Oxygen Species and Lipid Peroxidation Products Contribute to Neuropathic Pain in Chronic Spinal Cord Injured Rats".


Congratulations to Dr. Latham Fink for his successful Dissertation Defense on July 2, 2014. "Individual Differences in Impulsive Action and Temporal Estimation: Interaction with the Serotonin (5-HT) 5-HT2A Receptor".


The Neuroscience Community at UTMB is very pleased to announce the winners of the 2014 competition for two important awards endowed by the Dr. and Mrs. Seymour Fisher Academic Excellence Awards in Neuroscience. The awards are given for the best paper prepared and submitted by a medical or graduate student on any topic relevant to neuroscience. The awards were presented to the following two graduate students:

Sarah Swinford-Jackson - Prolonged Abstinence from Cocaine Self-Administration Associates with Elevated Cocaine Cue Reactivity and Lower Cortical Serotonin (5HT) 5-HT2c Receptor (5HT2cR) Tone.

Julia Gerson - Specific Targeting of Tau Oligomers in Htau Mice Prevents Cognitive Impairment and Tau Toxicity Following Injection with Brain-Derived Tau Oligometric Seeds.


Congratulations to the Winners of the Dr. and Mrs. Seymour Fisher Academic Excellence Awards in Neurocience 2013:

Medical Student Award

Mathieu Bakhoum, Evidence of autophagic gridlock in aging and neurodegeneration

Dan W. Branch, Virtual reality spine surgery simulation: An empirical study of its impact on technical performance

Graduate Student Award

  • Jordan Jahrling, Cognitive enhancement following PPARy agonism is mediated by a nuclear hippocampal pERK-PPARy complex during memory consolidation in Tg2576 Alzheimer's mice.

The winners will present a seminar and receive their awards on Wednesday, July 10, 2013


Congratulations to Dr. Hossein Ameri for his successful Dissertation Defense on June 19, 2013. "TWEAK/FN14 Pathway is Activated by Hypoxia and is a Novel Mediator of Retinal Neovascularization".


Congratulations to the Graduate School Scholarship Award Winners - Fall 2012:

Alyssa Baker: Ann and John Hamilton Endowed Scholarship

Mathieu Bakhoum: James E. Beall II Memorial Award in Anatomy and Neurosciences; and Robert Harrison, MD, Memorial MD/PhD Endowment Scholarship

Latham Fink: David and Janet Niesel Scholarship

Emily Stieren: George Sealy Award in Neurology

Sarah Swinford: Michael Tacheeni Scott Endowed Scholarship


Congratulations also to NGP faculty members who won Graduate Student Organization awards - Fall 2012:

Drs. Jose Barral and Giulio Taglialatela: Teaching Excellence Awards

Dr. Darren Boehning: GSO Faculty Award for Student Advocacy.


The James E. Beall II Memorial Lectureship 2012 was awarded to Dr. Robert Malenka, who is the Nancy Friend Pritzker Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Director of the Nancy Friend Pritzker Laboratory at Stanford University School of Medicine, Co-Director of the Stanford Institute for Neuro-Innovation and Translational Neurosciences, and Member of the National Academic of Sciences. He presented the 2012 James E. Beall Memorial Lecture entitled "Molecular Mechanisms and Functions of Synaptic Plasticity" on Monday, October 29, 2012.


Congratulations to the winners of the Dr. and Mrs. Seymour Fisher Academic Excellence Awards in Neuroscience:

Medical Student Award

Emily Stieren, Ubiquilin-1 Is a Molecular Chaperone for the Amyloid Precursor Protein.

Graduate Student Award

Abhisek Mukherjee, Calcineurin Inhibition at the Clinical Phase of Prion Disease Reduces Neurodegeneration, Improves Behavioral Alterations and Increases Animal Survival.

The winners gave a seminar and received their awards on Thursday, May 24, 2012.


Congratulations to two NGP students who received highly competitive, prestigious NIH Fellowships:

Latham Fink, MD-PhD student in the Neuroscience Graduate Program (mentor: Dr. Kathryn Cunningham, Center for Addiction Research), has been awarded an National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA/NIH) F30 Fellowship for his dissertation project on Serotonin 5-HT2A Receptor Integration of Impulsivity and Cocaine Cue Reactivity, starting July 2012.

Alyssa Baker, MD-PhD student in the Neuroscience Graduate Program (mentor: Dr. Susan Carlton, Dept. of Neuroscience and Cell Biology), was awarded an F30 Fellowship (NIDA/NIH) for her dissertation project on Peripheral activation of Group III mGluR potentiates morphine analgesia, starting July 2011.


Congratulations to Norelle Wildburger for her article "Control of neuronal ion channel function by glycogen synthase kinase-3: new prospective for an old kinase" (co-authored with Dr. Fernanda Laezza) published in Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience.


NGP faculty member Dr. Jose Barral, Director of the NGP Neurobiology of Disease Track and recipient of the Graduate Student Organization Outstanding Teacher Award, has been selected as keynote speaker for the Graduate School Community of Scholars Ceremony, August 22, 2012. Dr. Barral will talk about the investigative process and describe what the new students should expect of their mentors and, likewise, what their mentors will expect of them.


Congratulations to NGP student Mathieu Bakhoum for his successful Dissertation Defense on May 24, 2012.


Congratulations to NGP student Karon Wynne for the award of an Albert Schweitzer Fellowship (ASF). The 2012-13 class of Houston-Galveston Schweitzer Fellows includes 12 graduate students who will spend the next year learning to effectively address the social factors that impact health, developing lifelong leadership skills, and living famed physician-humanitarian Albert Schweitzer's message of service. For more information see http://www.schweitzerfellowship.org/features/us/houston/ and http://www.utmb.edu/newsroom/article7769.aspx


We are excited that Robert Malenka, MD, PhD has accepted the James E. Beall II Memorial Lecturer in Neuroscience Award and will be visiting us on October 28-30, 2012. Dr. Malenka is the Nancy Friend Pritzker Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine, Co-Director of the Stanford Institute for Neuro-Innovation and Translational Neurosciences, and Member of the National Academic of Sciences. A recent interview published in PNAS can be found here: http://www.pnas.org/content/108/40/16501.full


Congratulations to the following students for successfully defending their Dissertation Proposals:

Sarah Swinford 11/28/12

Latham Fink 4/2/12

Jordan Jahrling 1/5/12

William Miller 11/30/11


A "Diversity Supplement" application for NGP student Rosann Govea by NGP faculty member Dr. Susan Carlton was approved by NIH/NINDS on March 30, 2012. Congratulations!


The Society for Neuroscience Galveston Chapter is hosting a Brain Facts Trivia competition on March 13th at 7pm at Brews Brothers (24th and Strand). Food will be provided and winning teams will receive prizes. All are welcome. This event it sponsored by an SfN Chapter Grant awarded to the Society for Neuroscience Galveston Chapter. Contact Vice President Sarah Swinford at seswinfo@utmb.edu for more information.


Happy Brain Awareness Week, March 12-18, 2012!


The next NGP Graduate Student Organization and Society for Neuroscience Galveston Chapter Meeting will be held on February 29th at 1pm in the BSB 120 Conference Room. Free lunch is provided by the SfN Galveston Chapter.


Please welcome our new NGP Faculty Members:
Dr. Jonathan Hommel, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology
Dr. Carol Nilsson, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology
Dr. Yogesh Wairkar, Department of Neurology


Congratulations to Alyssa Baker for her successful Dissertation Proposal Defense on January 19, 2012.


The Society for Neuroscience Galveston Chapter hosted Baylor Neuroscientist and New York Times Bestselling Author Dr. David Eagleman on January 18th, 2012. Dr. Eagleman gave the inaugural lecture for the SfN Galveston Chapter, entitled "The Secret Lives of the Brain." This event was sponsored by an SfN Chapter Grant to the Society for Neuroscience Galveston Chapter.


The next NGP Graduate Student Organization and Society for Neuroscience Galveston Chapter Meeting will be held on January 11th at 1pm in the BSB 120 Conference Room. Free lunch is provided by the SfN Galveston Chapter.


The NGP Student Organization is taking donations to sponsor a child in the CPS Toy Drive. Please contact seswinfo@utmb.edu if you wish to make a donation.


The Society for Neuroscience Meeting is held in Washington D.C. November 12-16, 2011. Please join the Society for Neuroscience and the Society for Neuroscience Galveston Chapter! See Vice President Sarah Swinford at seswinfo@utmb.edu for more information.


Congratulations to the Graduate School Scholarship Award Winners - Fall 2011:

John Anderson: Seymour Fisher Academic Excellence Award in Neuroscience

Mathieu Bakhoum: GSBS Associates Scholarship; Jen Chieh and Katherine Huang Scholarship; Margaret Saunders Travel Award

Adrienne De La Cruz: George Sealy Research Award in Neurology

Jordan Jahrling: Peyton and Lydia Schapper Endowed Scholarship

William Miller: Sjoerd Steunebrink Scholarship Endowment

Emily Stieren: Betty Williams Scholarship; James E. Beall II Memorial Award in Anatomy and Neurosciences; Margaret Saunders Travel Award; Robert Bennett Tuition Scholarship; Robert Harrison, M.D., Memorial M.D./Ph.D. Endowment

Sarah Swinford: Leroy Olson, Ph.D. Endowed Scholarship


We are also proud to announce that NGP members, Drs. Jose Barral and Volker Neugebauer, received Graduate Program Teaching Awards - 2011


Neuroscience and Cell Biology Retreat is held November 3rd, 2011.


Congratulations to the winners of best poster cash prizes in the Society for Neuroscience Poster Symposium! And thanks to all that attended!
1st Place - Smitha Krishnan Infante
2nd Place - Susan Edionwe
3rd Place - Alyssa Baker


The Society for Neuroscience Galveston Chapter is hosting a poster symposium October 25th, 2011 in Levin Hall Foyer, and we want you to participate! Come display your innovative research and compete for cash prizes! Students and postdoctoral fellows from all UTMB schools and departments are eligible, but the project must be related to neuroscience in some way. This symposium is sponsored by a Chapter grant from the Society for Neuroscience to the SfN Galveston Chapter. If you are interested in participating, please submit an abstract of 250 words or less and your contact information to Sarah Swinford (Vice President) at seswinfo@utmb.edu. With your abstract, please include your title, author information (including your faculty mentor and department), and a funding source, if applicable. Your abstract will become part of a book to be handed out at the symposium. Please email Sarah with questions or for more information.


The James E. Beall II Memorial Lecturer this year was Dr. Mortimer Mishkin, Chief, Cognitive Neuroscience Section at NIMH. He presented his seminar entitled "Speech and Auditory Memory: How Deep is their Connection" on Monday, September 26, 2011.


Congratulations to NGP students John Anderson and Zane Martin for successfully defending their dissertation.


Current NGP student representatives are Mathieu Bakhoum & Latham Fink.


Please welcome our new NGP Faculty Members:
Dr. Javier Navarro, Department of Neuroscience & Cell Biology
Dr. Rodrigo Orlando Kulji, Department of Neurology


Congratulations to the Winners of the 2011 Dr. and Mrs. Seymour Fisher Academic Excellence Awards in Neuroscience:
John Anderson (medical student category winner)
Jason Thonhoff (medical student category winner)
Lindsay Reese (graduate student category winner)


Congratulations to NGP students Hossein Ameri, Alyssa Baker, Latham Fink, Tanzeen Yusuff, Shayne Hassler and Tetyana Buzhdygan for successfully completing the NGP Qualifying Examination in 2011.


The next Lunch Meeting of NGP students and first year BBSC students mentored through the NGP is scheduled for October 21, noon, BSB 120 Conference Room. Free lunch provided - We gratefully acknowledge the generous support of the Dept. of Neuroscience & Cell Biology. Please contact Program Coordinator Mrs. Lisa Davis for details at limdavis@utmb.edu.


Congratulations to NGP student Emily Stieren who successfully defended her dissertation on September 10 and is back in Medical School to complete the MD-PhD program.


We are pleased to announce the availability of travel support for all first year BBSC students mentored through the NGP and second-year NGP students to attend the 40th Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego, November 13-17, 2010. Funding is made possible through the generous support of the Jean C. and William D. Willis Research Endowment. Please contact NGP Director Dr. Neugebauer for details at voneugeb@utmb.edu.


All NGP students and all first year BBSC students mentored through the NGP are invited to attend the Annual Research Retreat of the Department of Neuroscience & Cell Biology. The meeting "Molecules and Mechanisms" will be held September 23 and 24, 2010, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Galveston Convention Center. Admission is free. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. The generous support of the Department of Neuroscience & Cell Biology is greatly appreciated. Please contact Ms. Belinda Ebert for additional information at bebert@utmb.edu.


All NGP students and all first year BBSC students mentored through the NGP are invited to a Lunch Meeting, September 16, noon, BSB Conference Room. Free lunch provided - We gratefully acknowledge the generous support of the Dept. of Neuroscience & Cell Biology. Please contact Program Coordinator Mrs. Lisa Davis for details at limdavis@utmb.edu.


We are grateful that NGP student Latham Fink has generously agreed to serve as the "Junior" NGP Student Representative. NGP student Mathieu Bakhoum will assume the role of "Senior" NGP Student Representative. Please join us in thanking outgoing NGP Student Representative Emily Stieren for her dedicated and valuable service!


Congratulations to NGP student Zengrong Zhu who successfully defended his dissertation! Best wishes Dr. Zhu!


Please welcome our new NGP Faculty Members:
Dr. Rakez Kayed, Department of Neurology
Dr. Myoung-Goo Kang, Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology
Dr. Thomas Green, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology


Congratulations to the Winners of the 2010 Dr. and Mrs. Seymour Fisher Academic Excellence Awards in Neuroscience:
Trung Nguyen (medical student category winner)
Emily Stieren (medical student category winner)
Diana Ferrari (graduate student category winner)
Cristian Lasagna (graduate student category winner)


Congratulations and best wishes to NGP students Trung Nguyen, Brian Rooney and June Yowtak, who received their PhD degrees at the GSBS commencement on May 1, 2010.


We are also proud to announce that NGP member, Dr. Darren Boehning, received the Graduate Student Organization Distinguished Teaching Award at the GSBS commencement on May 1, 2010.


Congratulations to NGP students Zane Martin and John Anderson who successfully defended their dissertation proposals and were admitted into candidacy.


Please join us in welcoming our newly admitted students for Fall 2010.
Rosann Govea
Min-Hee Pang
Sarah Swinford (Presidential Scholar)
Norelle Wildburger
Karon Wynne


The admissions process for Fall 2010 has been completed. We thank Dr. Owen Hamill for serving as Chair of the NGP Admissions Committee and look forward to admitting highly qualified applicants with strong a interest in Neuroscience research.


Congratulations to the Graduate School Scholarship Award Winners Fall 2009:

John Anderson: GSBS Associates Scholarship; Jean C. and William D. Willis Research Endowment

Adriane dela Cruz: Arthur V. Simmang Scholarship Fund

Zane Martin: GSBS Associates Travel Award Presented in Memory of Christina Fleischmann

Lindsey Reese: Michael Tacheeni Scott Endowed Scholarship

Emily Stieren: Jen Chieh and Katherine Huang Scholarship

Jason Thonhoff: James E. Beall II Memorial Award in Anatomy and Neurosciences; Robert Harrison, M.D., Memorial M.D./Ph.D. Endowment; George Sealy Research Award in Neurology


Congratulations to the Award Winners at the Research Retreat Meeting "Molecules and Mechanisms" of the Department of Neuroscience & Cell Biology:
Brian Rooney (Best Oral Presentation)
Emily Stieren (Best Poster Presentation)


Please welcome our new NGP Faculty Members:
Dr. George Jackson, Department of Neurology
Dr. Shao-Jun Tang, Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology
Dr. Fernanda Laezza, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology