Neuroscience Research Day Features 48 Presentations

“Research Day is an integral part of the neuroscience program, both from a programmatic standpoint and as an opportunity for the various labs in the neuroscience community at UB to come together and share their results and ideas,” says Fraser J. Sim, PhD, associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology and director of the neuroscience program.

The neuroscience program represents a diverse faculty from the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences — including basic science and clinical departments — as well as faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and the School of Public Health and Health Professions.

“Research Day is an annual celebration of the interdisciplinary program, highlighting the important work that the neuroscience trainees and faculty do every day, and provides students an excellent opportunity to practice and perfect their scientific communication and networking skills,” Sim adds.

Thomas J. Covey, PhD, assistant professor of neurology, is the president of the Buffalo chapter of SfN.

“This meeting is a primary regional venue for Buffalo-area neuroscientists to present their work and to engage with colleagues from UB and other regional colleges and universities,” says Covey, who oversaw the planning, coordinated the speakers and other details for the event as chair of the program planning committee. “Research Day provides a particularly important opportunity for UB neuroscience students to gain valuable experience communicating their research to other neuroscientists.”

“It also serves as a venue for members of our community at all stages of their education or career to learn from — and to engage with — world-class neuroscientists that are doing cutting edge research within UB and elsewhere,” Covey adds.

The following doctoral and postdoctoral students won awards:

• “Neurodevelopmental Risk Factors ADNP and POGZ Demonstrate Striking Functional Convergence”
  Conrow-Graham, Megan E.; Schieber, Jennifer; Williams, Jamal; Zhong, Ping; Rein, Benjamin; Yan, Zhen
  Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

• “Striatin-3 is a Novel Rac1 Interactor in Schwann Cells”
  Weaver, Michael R.; Pellegatta, Marta; Frick, Luciana; Berti, Caterina; Palmisano, Marilena; Ferguson, Scott; Namba, Clementine; Selbach, Matthias; Paul, Florian; Wrabetz, Lawrence; Poitelon, Yannick; Feltri, M. Laura
  Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Albany Medical Center; Biologics, AstraZeneca; Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine; Meharry Medical College; Department of Pathology, New York University; Axo-Glia Interaction Unit, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University at Buffalo; Neuroscience Program, Department of Biochemistry, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
  
• “Characterizing the Role of Magi-2 in Central Sensitization”
  Sheehan, Garrett D.; Bhattacharjee, Arin
  Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

The following list includes the other oral presentations, including title, authors and faculty mentors:

• “Lifestyle Change Improves Lupus Life Quality”
  Okamura, Kazuki K.; Phelps, Michael; Jacob, Alexander A.; Alexander, Jessy A.
  Department of Biological Sciences, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “Parsing Thirst and Hunger Circuits in Brain Using Vasopressin-Deficient Brattleboro Rats”
  Brakey, Destiny J.; Schatz, Kelcie C.; Paul, Matthew J.; Daniels, Derek
  Center for Ingestive Behavior Research and Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo; Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, College of Arts and Sciences
• “Long-Term Effects of Adolescent Cannabis Exposure: Role of Prenatal Environment”
  Murlanova, Kateryna; Jouroukhin, Yan; Pletnikov, Mikhail
  Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “Study of a Novel Neurosteroid as an Acute Neurotherapeutic Following Wevere Traumatic Brain Injury”
  McGuire, Matthew J.; Gertz, Steven; Wagner, Audrey; Schwartz Byrne, Robin; Newman, Michael; Woodhouse, Colleen; Poulsen, David
  Department of Neurosurgery, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “Huntingtin (HTT) in Axon Injury: HTT-Rab7 Co-Migrate on a Retrogradely Moving Signaling Endolysosome”
  Krzystek, Thomas J.; White, Joseph; Thurston, Layne; Hoffmar-Glennon, Hayley; Li, Yichen; Gunawardena, Shermali
  Biology Department, University at Buffalo

The following list includes the other poster presentations, including title, authors and faculty mentors:

• “Autophagy is Defective in Schwann Cells in Krabbe Disease”
  Dhimal, Narayan; Weinstock, Nadav I.; Shin, Daesung; Hurley, Edward; Wrabetz, Lawrence; Feltri, M. Laura
  Department of Neurology, Hunter James Kelly Research Institute; Neuroscience Program, Department of Biotechnical and Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Department of Neurology, Department of Biochemistry, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “Role of Complement Activation in SARS-COV2 Associated Neuro-Inflammation”
  Bedi, Harneet; Alexander, Jessy J.; Aalinkeel, Ravikumar; Bruggemann, Liana; Schwartz, Stanley A.; Mahajan, Supriya D.
  Departments of Medicine and Biomedical Informatics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “Chronic High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) in Adolescent Rats Results in Cocaine Place Aversion”
  Hammond, Nikki; Thanos, Panayotis
  Biology Department, University at Buffalo, College of Arts and Sciences; Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “Pharmacokinetics of Acute Intraperitoneal Injected Versus Inhaled THC in Rats”
  Penman, Samantha L.; Thanos, Panayotis
  Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “Rural vs. Urban Residence and Incident Cognitive Impairment in the REGARDS Study”
  Harris, Matthew L.; Thacker, Evan L.
  BYU Department of Public Health; Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “Agonist Efficiency From Concentration-Response Curves: Structural Implications and Applications”
  Indurthi, Dinesh; Auerbach, Anthony
  Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “BPN14770 Alleviates Cognitive Impairment of Humanized APP/PS1 PDE4D Mice”
  Gao, Shichao; Xu, Ying; O‘Donnell, James M.
  Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University at Buffalo
• “The Effect of Stress on Physiological Melatonin Levels”
  Brzyski, Michael G.; McKay, Naomi J.
  Department of Psychology, SUNY Buffalo State
• “Antinociceptive Effects of α2/α3-Selective GABAA Receptor PAMs on Opioid-Induced Hyperalgesia”
  Woodhouse, Kristen L.; Cook, James M.; Li, Jun-Xu.
  Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
• “Targeting H3K4me3 for Treatment of Cognitive and Synaptic Deficitsin Alzheimer’s Disease”
  Cao, Qing; Wang, Wei; Williams, Jamal; Yan, Zhen
  Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “Polyglutamine Expansion Causes Mitochondrial Fragmentation in Vivo”
  Swinter, Kelsey A.; Gunawardena, Shermali
  Biology Department, University at Buffalo, College of Arts and Sciences
• “Effects of the Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Agonist PHA-543613 on Energy Balance Control in Rats”
  DiBrog, Adrianne M.; Kern, Katherine A.; Przybysz, Johnathan T.; Mietlicki-Baase, Elizabeth G.
  Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, University at Buffalo
• “Contribution of Genetic Risk Assessment to Bariatric Surgery Outcomes”
  Mihalkovic, Abrianna; Thanos, Panayotis; Quattrin, Teresa
  Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, College of Arts and Sciences; Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Pediatrics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “Determining the Cellular Sources of Acetylcholine Following Demyelination”
  Ravichandar, Roopa; Polanco, Jessie; Saraswat, Darpan; Broome, Jacqueline; Lang, Jennifer K.
  Neuroscience Program, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Medicine, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “Prognosticating Factors for Pediatric Concussion”
  Andrews, Mark; Farooq, Osman
  Department of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “Tau Phosphorylation in Cortical Neurons Differentiated From iPSCsof Alzheimer’s Disease Patients”
  Xiao, Zichun; Jiang, Houbo; Cao, Qing; Yan, Zhen; Feng, Jian
  Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “Intermittent-Access Self-Administration Model Results in Higher Motivation for Heroin in Adult Rats”
  Rakowski, Elizabeth A.; King, Christopher; Meyer, Paul J.
  Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo
• “Intracerebroventricular Pramlintide Dose-Dependently Decreases Palatable Food Intake in Rats”
  Kern, Katherine A.; DiBrog, Adrianne M.; Przybysz, Johnathan T.; Mietlicki-Baase, Elizabeth G.
  Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, University at Buffalo
• “Alice in Wonderland Syndrome With Pediatric Concussion and Synesthesia: A Unique Occurrence”
  Vasudevan, Geetha; Fine, Edward J.; Bass, Kathryn; Farooq, Osman
  Department of Neurology, Department of Surgery, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “Enhanced Compulsive-Like Opioid-Directed Behaviors in Adults Following Adolescent Nicotine Exposure”
  Honeycutt, Sarah C.; Paladino, Morgan S.; Mukherjee, Ashmita; Loney, Gregory C.
  Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo
• “Oscillatory Store-Operated Calcium Signals Regulate Human Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Stem Cell Fate”
  Seidman, Richard; Saraswat, Darpan; Khattab, Heba; Polanco, Jessie; Broome, Jacqueline; O'Bara, Melanie; Sim, Fraser
  Neuroscience Program, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “Sympathetic Modulation of Post-Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Vasospasm and Neurogenic Stunned Myocardium”
  Tambi, Sandra; Zhang, Jeff; Hess, Ryan; Abdelmalik, Peter
  Department of Neurosurgery, Department of Neurology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “Neuropeptide S Facilitates Fear Extinction and Attenuates Stress-Induced Anxiety-Like Behavior”
  Bool, Heather; Jewula, Gabriel J.; Suarez, Mauricio; Clark, Stewart D.
  Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Research Institute on Addictions, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “Inhibiting Endocytosis in Peripheral Nociceptors Attenuates Inflammatory Pain Behaviors in Rodents”
  Powell, Rasheen; Young, Violet A.; Sheehan, Garrett D.; Bhattacharjee, Arin
  Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “Taste Information Appears Necessary for Diet Driven Changes in Salivary Protein Expression”
  James, Kimberly F.; Ascencio Gutierrez, Verenice; Kay, Kristen E.; Martin, Laura E.; Medler, Kathryn F.; Torregrossa, Ann-Marie
  Department of Molecular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University; Department of Food Science and Technology, Oregon State University; Department of Psychology, Biology Department, University at Buffalo
• “The Presence of Salivary Proteins Alters Post-Oral Feedback”
  Ascencio Gutierrez, Verenice; Martin, Laura E.; James, Kimberly F.; Torregrossa, Ann-Marie
  Department of Food Science and Technology, Oregon State University; Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo
• “Role of Human Alpha-Synuclein(α-syn) & Leucine Rich Repeat Kinase2(LRRK2) During Neuronal Cell Death”
  Bajgain, Pratima; Chakraborty, Piyali; Gunawardena, Shermali
  Department of Biological Sciences, University at Buffalo, College of Arts and Sciences
• “Cortical Activity Patterns Associated With Working Memory Training: An Event-Related Potential Study”
  Kulkarni, Maitreyee M.; Shucard, David W.; Shucard, Janet L.; Covey, Thomas J.
  Department of Neurology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “Alertness and Perceived Performance Influence P3 Response and Performance During Cognitive Tasks”
  Hill, Elaina C.; Shucard, David W.; Shucard, Janet L.; Covey, Thomas J.
  Division of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurosciences, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “Investigating the Baseline Activation of YAP in a Mouse Model of Charcot Marie Tooth Disease 1A”
  Moore, Seth; Gawron, Joseph; Wrabetz, Lawrence; Feltri, M. Laura
  Neuroscience Program, Department of Biochemistry, Department of Neurology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “Chemogenetic Inhibition of Olfactory Tubercle-Dopamine Attenuates Methamphetamine-Induced Behaviors”
  Bhimani, Rohan V.; Park, Jinwoo
  Center for Neuroscience, Department of Biotechnical and Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “Behavioral Effects of Levy and Su(Levy) Mutations in Drosophila Melanogaster on Neurodegeneration”
  Thirumurti, Priyanka; Singh, Satpal
  Center for Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “The Effects of Methylphenidate and Fluoxetine on Adolescent Behavior”
  McCarthy, Madison; Watts, Samantha; Thanos, Panayotis
  Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “Characterization of ER Channel Proteins”
  Campbell, Taylor I.; Krzystek, Thomas.; Gunawardena, Shermali
  Department of Biological Sciences, University at Buffalo
• “Sex-Specific Effects of Post-Weaning Social Isolation on Socio-Affective Behavior and Vasopressin”
  Kinley, Brianna L.; Kyne, Robert F.; Ventura, Nina; Lawton- Stone, Tamijah J.; Paul, Matthew J.
  Department of Biological Sciences, Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, College of Arts and Sciences
• “Examining Perineuronal Nets in a Non-Traditionall Laboratory Species”
  Forrester-Fronstin, Zoey; Schulz, Kalynn M.; Paul, Matthew J.
  Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, College of Arts and Sciences; Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee Knoxville
• “Delayed Oligodendrocyte Recruitment and Maturation in Large Volume Demyelination of the Rabbit CNS”
  Cooper, James J.M.; Polanco, Jessie J.; Peirick, Jennifer; Saraswat, Darpan; Sim, Fraser J.
  Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Neuroscience Program, Lab Animal Facilities, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “Determination of the Acute Effects of 6-Hydroxydopamine on Dopamine Transmission”
  Yates, Ryan; Park, Jinwoo
  Biotechnical and Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “Chronic Olanzapine Decreases [3H] MK-801 Binding Across a Normal and High-Fat Diet in the Rat Brain”
  Richardson, Brittany J.; Waldman, Leah; Hamilton, John; Thanos, Panayotis
  Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University at Buffalo, College of Arts and Sciences; Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• “LncRNAs in AMD: HTRA1-NAT and AC100861.1 as Potential Biomarkers and Therapeutic Targets”
  Husami, Nadine J.; Farkas, Michael H.; Kaczynski, Tadeusz J.
  Department of Biochemistry, Ross Eye Institute, Department of Opthalmology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

Patricia Reuter-Lorenz, PhD, the Michael I. Posner Collegiate Professor of neuroscience and psychology and chair of the Psychology Department at the University of Michigan, gave the distinguished scientist keynote lecture.

The title of her presentation was “Age-Related Decline: Harnessing Compensation Related Utilization of Neural Circuits.”

Reuter-Lorenz investigates the neural and cognitive mechanisms of attention, working memory and executive control. Using a combination of behavioral and neuroimaging studies, she investigates such questions as:

• Do the cortical hemispheres make different contributions to attention and working memory?
• What is the effect of aging on attention and working memory?
• What strategies and training can be used to promote efficient performance?
• How do emotion and cognition interact?

Mikhail V. Pletnikov, MD, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the Jacobs School, gave the new faculty lecture.

The title of his presentation was “Abnormal Glial Cells in Psychiatric Disorders: Cause or Consequence?”

Pletnikov’s research focuses on the mechanisms of neuron-glia interaction in the pathophysiology of behavioral alterations and cognitive impairment in neuropsychiatric disorders.

He is interested in the role of astrocytes and astrocyte bioenergetics in mediating adverse neurodevelopmental effects of environmental factors, including microbial pathogens, cannabis and stress. These mechanisms are studied using mouse genetics, molecular, cellular and systems approaches and in vivo imaging technologies.

The event took place March 12 as a virtual meeting program.