2025 Symposium Schedule

Date: Wednesday, October 1st, 2025
Time: 9:30AM - 5:00PM
Location: Biomedical Research Building, Ground floor Lobby & Auditorium, 421 Curie Blvd., University of Pennsylvania, 19104 (map) (directions). This is an in-person event.

Register for free by September 24th, 2025. Attendees are also invited to submit a poster abstract for review along with their registration. Poster abstracts are due September 22nd, 2025. Poster size limits are 60” W x 40” H.

Schedule

Light Breakfast, Hang up posters
9:30 AM

Welcome & Introduction
10:00 AM

Morning Talks
10:10 - 11:45 AM
Julia Katherine Brynildsen — “Molecular analysis of network vulnerability to A-synuclein pathology reveals PAKs as therapeutic targets for Parkinson’s disease”
Ahmad Beyh — “Bridging neuroscience and AI with biologically constrained neural networks”
Laurel Seemiller — “Uncovering sex-specific mechanisms of vulnerability and resilience to adolescent alcohol exposure”

Catered Lunch & Poster Session
11:45 - 12:45 PM

Panel: Transitioning from Postdoc to Professor
12:45 - 1:45 PM

Discuss the process of transitioning to a professor position with new faculty members currently establishing their labs
Natali Chanaday — Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology
Lauren Kreeger — Assistant Professor, Department of Otorhinolaryngology
Kate Wofford — Assistant Professor, Department of Neurosurgery

Afternoon Talks
2:00 - 3:30 PM

Edward Chuang — “Proteostress-induced neuronal vesicle extrusion: Exophers preferentially recruit protein condensates with high viscoelasticity”
Rebecca Moore — “Constant light impairs memory processing transgenerationally in D. melanogaster”
Andrew Moberly — “Learning dependent reconfiguration of cortical circuits underlying visual fear conditioning”

Wrap-up & Closing Remarks
3:30 PM

Networking Happy Hour (Bring ID!) & Poster Session
3:30 - 5:00PM

Network with postdocs, faculty, graduate students, and other fellows over posters, snacks, beer and wine, and other refreshments.