BHI Plenary Seminar Highlights

Dr. Xiongwei Zhu Gave a Plenary Seminar on April 16

Dr. Xiongwei Zhu, Professor of Pathology and Neurology at Case Western Reserve University, Vice Chair of Graduate Education in the Department of Pathology, Director of the Pathology Graduate Program, and Co-Director of the Molecular and Cellular Basis of Disease Training Program, visited Rutgers to give a BHI Plenary Seminar on April 16. His presentation, titled “Abnormal Mitochondrial Dynamics as a Therapeutic Target for Alzheimer’s Disease”, sparked discussions about the intersection of mitochondrial biology, synaptic function, and neurodegeneration—areas central to advancing our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinsons disease, and related disorders. Learn more

Upcoming: Dr. Robert Gereau to Present on May 7

We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Robert W. Gereau IV, Ph.D., Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Anesthesiology, Director of the Washington University Pain Center, and the Dr. Seymour and Rose T. Brown Professor of Anesthesiology and Neuroscience at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, as our distinguished plenary speaker. The hybrid plenary seminar, titled “Rethinking translational pain research: Studies of human tissues for identification and validation of therapeutic targets”, will take place on May 7, 2026, at 12 PM in the Medical Science Building, Room B-610, NJMS, and via Zoom. The seminar is hosted by Drs. Yuanxiang Tao and Huijun Hu from the Department of Anesthesiology at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. Learn more

Morris-Inouye Lecture Featuring Dr. David Julius, Nobel Laureate, on May 6

Dr. David Julius shared the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Ardem Patapoutian for work that transformed our understanding of how the nervous system senses temperature and mechanical stimuli. He discovered the ion channel that detects both the “hot” ingredient in chili peppers and painfully elevated temperatures. His laboratory continues to investigate the structure, regulation, and tissue distribution of sensory ion channels. Dr. Julius will deliver the 2026 Morris-Inouye Lecture on May 6, 2026, at 4 PM in the Main Lecture Hall of RWJMS. His lecture is titled “Gut Feelings: Probing mechanisms of visceral pain.” Graduate students and postdocs are invited to have lunch with Dr. Julius on May 6 from 12–1 PM at 675 Hoes Lane West, RWJMS Research Tower, Dean’s Conference Room 123. Trainees can sign up for lunch.

2026 Rutgers Giving Day

Thank you for supporting the Rutgers Brain Health Institute during Rutgers Giving Day on April 24! Your generous contributions fuel our critical work in brain health research, clinical innovation, education, and cross-disciplinary collaboration, powering the scientists, centers, and breakthroughs that make a meaningful difference. Watch the four videos from BHI faculty, trainees, and staff highlighting their work and impact at BHI.

Dr. Noelle Stiles

Dr. Sarah Delcourte

Dr. Utsav Gyawali

Andrea Dzioba

Rutgers Symposium on the Intersection of Cognitive, Sensory and Affective Neuroscience on May 11

Mark your calendar for the Rutgers Symposium on the Intersection of Cognitive, Sensory, and Affective Neuroscience on May 11, 10 AM – 4 PM at Masker’s Barn, Deserted Village of Feltville, Glenside Park, Union County. The event aims to foster interactions and build collaborations across PI’s and their labs whose work touches on cognition and sensation with those who study affective processes in health and neuropsychiatric illness. The retreat is being jointly organized by the Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Focus Area Working Group and the Motivational and Affective Neuroscience FAWG in the BHI. The event aims to foster interactions and build collaborations across PI’s and their labs whose work touches on cognition and sensation with those who study affective processes in health and neuropsychiatric illness. Learn more

Conducting Industry-Sponsored CNS Clinical Trials at Rutgers on June 11

Join us for a half-day event on June 11, 2026, from 1 to 5 PM in the Richard Weeks Hall of Engineering, Busch Campus, Piscataway, NJ. Discover Rutgers unique resources, including the state’s only Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Center, CAHBIR, and specialized research cores for industry-sponsored CNS trials. The event is sponsored by BHI, New Jersey Alliance for Clinical and Translational Science, and Rutgers Office for Research. Learn more and register now

Call for Submissions:

Addiction Neuroscience Journal

BHI and RARC members are encouraged to consider submitting to Addiction Neuroscience, an open-access journal published by Elsevier. It was founded by BHI Director Dr. Gary Aston-Jones, and RARC and BHI core member Chris Pierce serves as an Associate Editor. The journal focuses on advancing understanding of the brain mechanisms underlying addiction and has an initial Impact Factor of 2.2 and CiteScore of 2.9. The journal publishes research across a broad range of approaches, including behavioral, molecular, genetic, neuroimaging, and clinical studies, with the goal of integrating insights across the neuroscience of addiction. Addiction Neuroscience is interested in individual research papers as well as ideas for Special Issues, along with proposed Guest Editors.

BHI Spotlight

Opioid Crisis Hits Hardest in New Jersey’s Most Vulnerable Communities

A Rutgers School of Social Work study finds New Jersey’s economically and socially challenged counties carry a disproportionate opioid crisis burden, with the gap persisting. Based on a peer-reviewed study from Rutgers School of Social Work and Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ HRSA, it was led by principal investigator Dr. Jamey Lister and first author Sarah Cooper. Researchers analyzed substance use treatment admissions, overdose deaths, and naloxone use across all 21 New Jersey counties from 2014–2022. Using the CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index (including poverty, transportation access, and housing stability), they found more vulnerable communities had consistently worse outcomes across all measures. Learn more

MRI Scans Link Eye Microvascular Health to Early Signs of Cognitive Decline

A study led by Gina Roslan, a doctoral candidate, and Joshua W. Miller, professor and chair of the Department of Nutritional Sciences within the School of Environmental Sciences and Biological Sciences, is exploring whether microvascular abnormalities in the white of the eye can signal early neurodegenerative changes associated with age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease. The cross-campus project is in collaboration with and funded through a pilot grant from the CAHBIR in the BHI. CAHBIR resources and expertise are available to investigators across Rutgers, including from faculty in schools who typically don’t use an MRI scanner for their research studies. Learn more

The Neurotechnology Innovation Center (NTICe) Pilot Grant Funding Program 2026

The NTICe and BHI are pleased to announce the winners of the 2026 Pilot Grant Funding Program. This program aims to support interdisciplinary and innovative research collaborations that advance the development and improvement of neurotechnological approaches for diagnosing, managing, and treating nervous system disorders and trauma. Each awarded project will receive $25,000 in direct costs for a one-year funding period. Learn more

Travis E. Baker, PhD (Associate Professor, Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University-Newark; BHI Faculty Member)

Project Title: Excitatory–Inhibitory Hotspot Mapping for Precision TMS Targeting: An EEG-Based Neurotechnology for Individualized Reward Circuit Modulation

Bokyung Kim, PhD (Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rutgers University)

Project Title: Spatiotemporal EEG Biomarkers for Clinical Seizure Forecasting

Hai Sun, MD, PhD (Associate Professor, Assistant Director of Research, Assistant Residency Program Director, Department of Neurosurgery; Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs in the Department of Neurosurgery at RWJMS; Interim Chief of Service at RWJMS; BHI Faculty Member)

Project Title: Physics-Driven AI Models for Infraslow Activity Detection and Noninvasive Localization of the Epileptogenic Zone

Jianyuan Zhang, PhD (Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University)

Project Title: BBB-penetrant Antioxidative Fullerenols as Future Therapeutics for Neuroinflammation

Dr. Brian Greer Presents at Online Caregiver Evening: Brain Health Breakthroughs

On April 23, Dr. Brian Greer, interim director of the Rutgers University Center for Autism Research, Education, and Services (RUCARES), and tenured associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics at RWJMS, and a BHI Core Faculty Member, delivered a presentation at “An Online Evening for Caregivers: Brain Health Breakthroughs,” an event designed for caregivers and families supporting those with Alzheimer’s, dementia, stroke, brain injury, and neurological conditions. The event featured longtime Good Morning America host and journalist Joan Lunden and renowned brain health expert Dr. Majid Fotuhi, alongside national brain health and caregiving experts. Dr. Greer reviewed troubling statistics showing that caring for a child or an adult dependent with a neurodevelopmental disability like autism leaves many caregivers jobless or underemployed, divorced, isolated, depressed, and stressed, and described what his team and others throughout the country are doing to support caregivers and their children live life to the fullest. Learn more

Claim your minute (and possibly more) of fame!! If you want to share any news (e.g., awards, grants, publications, patents, donor gifts) in future monthly newsletters, please send them to Lily Zhang (lily.zhangty@rutgers.edu) or use this Microsoft form to submit your news. We will also push these out on social media. So don’t be shy! Share your good news with us! We would love to hear from you!!

Event Calendar Aggregator on the BHI Website

We encourage the Rutgers Neuroscience community to add their neuroscience and brain health research-related events to the Event Calendar on the BHI website. This will minimize scheduling conflicts for neuroscience and brain health events at Rutgers. To put your events on the BHI website Event calendar, BHI has obtained an event calendar aggregator software that can pull events you post on a shared Outlook or Google calendar created by BHI. If you’d like instructions on how to add your event, or if you have any questions, please contact Lily Zhang (lily.zhangty@rutgers.edu) to request access to the shared BHI Event Outlook or Google Calendar. Learn more

Banner Ad and Sponsorship Opportunities at BHI

We’ve launched a new banner ad section on the BHI website to help faculty and trainees promote events, study recruitment, job openings, and news announcements. With monthly traffic averaging over 10,000 visitors, and placements on the most-visited pages, your message will gain high visibility across Rutgers and beyond. Your ad will reach not only the Rutgers community but also external experts, prospective students, and potential collaborators and donors who visit the site. We will assist with designing engaging graphics and placing your announcement on high-traffic pages across the site. If you are interested in featuring your announcement, please contact Lily Zhang (lily.zhangty@rutgers.edu). Advertise with us

NEW!! We are looking for sponsors to support BHI events. Faculty, Staff and Trainees, please let us know about vendors you all work with who might be interested in sponsoring BHI events. Please reach out to kuzhikev@bhi.rutgers.edu with names and contact information of vendors who might be interested in partnering with BHI to sponsor neuroscience and brain health events at Rutgers.

BHI Feedback Hub

BHI Announcements & Opportunities

BHI Motivational and Affective Neuroscience FAWG Mock Grant Review Program

The BHI and the RARC are pleased to announce the mock grant review program at Rutgers University. The primary objective of this program is to increase the success of grant proposals submitted to NIH by Rutgers investigators from the BHI and/or the RARC. Learn more

South Asian Memory, Aging, and Risk Tracking for Brain Health study (SAMARTH)

The study aims to understand the characteristics that may place South Asian populations at heightened risk for Alzheimer's disease. The study seeks to recruit individuals with ethnic or racial backgrounds from the South Asian subcontinents, aged 45-70, who have a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias (one or more parents with Alzheimer’s Disease, high blood pressure, BMI >30, or Type II diabetes/pre-diabetes). Learn more

Multitasking Strategy Study (MUST Study): Neuroscience and Aging Study

The Rutgers Krieger Klein Alzheimer's Research Center and EngAGING Lab are recruiting older adults (60–75) for the MUST Study, a non-pharmacological research trial focused on cognitive training to support attention control and multitasking. Overall eligibility: ages 60–75, overall good health/cognitively healthy, English-speaking, and able to use a computer and the internet. Participation includes home-based online sessions (brain health education and cognitive training) and 3 in-person assessments over approximately 5–6 months. Participants may receive up to $275. Learn more

IFPR – Rutgers Research Collaboration

The RARC is partnering with the Institute for Prevention and Recovery (IFPR) to establish a streamlined process for collaboration among Rutgers researchers who want to partner with RWJBarnabas to analyze substance use disorder outcome data and/or implement new studies in the health system. Learn more

Rutgers Research Community Partnership (RCP)

The RCP, overseen by the RARC, is a central enrollment hub for community members to participate in Rutgers research projects, and for researchers to recruit for their studies. By signing up for the RCP, individuals agree to be contacted by approved researchers to participate in projects. Learn more

Join the ADRD Research Center Community

The Herbert and Jacqueline Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s Research Center in BHI will serve as a hub for collaboration, innovation, and transformative research, with the mission of making meaningful strides in the prevention, diagnosis, and care of Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders (ADRD). If you are interested in learning more or collaborating with the center, please submit the form to provide your contact information. Learn more

Join us and make a lasting impact in neuroscience research and education. Discover current opportunities to advance your career and collaborate with leading experts at Rutgers. View all open positions HERE

If you want to share any opportunities (e.g., open positions, grants, surveys) in future monthly newsletters, please send them to Lily Zhang (lily.zhangty@rutgers.edu) or use this Microsoft form to submit your opportunities.

Save the Date

May 6, 12 PM



Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia Translational Work-in-Progress (ADRD-TWIP)

The Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s Research Center (KKARC) in the BHI is organizing a series of translational work-in-progress talks, alternating between clinical and basic presentations to open new opportunities for translational research and discussions from different perspectives. Dr. Luciana Mascarenhas Fonseca will discuss “Cognitive Vulnerability to Glucose, Alzheimer’s disease and Down Syndrome”. Learn more

May 6, 4 PM



Morris-Inouye Lecture Featuring Dr. David Julius, Nobel Laureate

Dr. David Julius shared the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Ardem Patapoutian for work that transformed our understanding of how the nervous system senses temperature and mechanical stimuli. He discovered the ion channel that detects both the “hot” ingredient in chili peppers and painfully elevated temperatures. Dr. Julius will deliver the 2026 Morris-Inouye Lecture on May 6, at 4 PM in the Main Lecture Hall of RWJMS. His lecture is titled “Gut Feelings: Probing mechanisms of visceral pain.” Learn more

May 7, 12 PM



BHI Plenary Seminar: Dr. Robert W. Gereau

Dr. Robert W. Gereau IV, Ph.D., Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Anesthesiology, Director of the Washington University Pain Center, and the Dr. Seymour and Rose T. Brown Professor of Anesthesiology and Neuroscience at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, will present “Rethinking translational pain research: Studies of human tissues for identification and validation of therapeutic targets”. The hybrid seminar will take place on May 7 at 12 PM in the Medical Science Building, Room B-610, NJMS, and via Zoom. The seminar is hosted by Drs. Yuanxiang Tao and Huijun Hu of the Department of Anesthesiology at NJMS. Learn more

May 11

Rutgers Symposium on the Intersection of Cognitive, Sensory and Affective Neuroscience

The Cognitive & Sensory Neuroscience FAWG (CSN-FAWG) and Motivational & Affective Neuroscience FAWG (MAN-FAWG) at the Rutgers Brain Health Institute will host the Rutgers Symposium on the Intersection of Cognitive, Sensory and Affective Neuroscience on May 11, 10 AM – 4 PM at Masker’s Barn, Berkeley Heights, NJ. Keynote Speakers are Dr. Luiz Pessoa from University of Maryland and Dr. Jacqueline Gottlieb from Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute. Learn more

May 13, 12 PM



Special BHI Seminar

Katerina Akassoglou, PhD, serves as Director of the Center for Neurovascular Brain Immunology, Senior Investigator at the Gladstone Institutes, and Professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Akassoglou will present “Neurovascular interactions: from mechanisms to clinical trials.” Learn more

May 19-20

Rutgers Health and BHI Postdoc Peek: Postdoc Recruitment Event

Rutgers Health and the Rutgers Brain Health Institute will host Postdoc Peek, a two-day, all-expenses-paid, on-campus visit on May 19–20, and have received more than 80 applications from senior graduate students and early postdoctoral fellows. The program offers candidates the opportunity to explore postdoctoral training and research across a wide range of disciplines at Rutgers, connect with faculty, and learn more about life and research across Rutgers campuses. Learn more

June 11,1-5 PM

Conducting Industry-Sponsored (CNS) Clinical Trials at Rutgers

Rutgers University offers unique resources to support industry-sponsored clinical trials examining central nervous system (CNS) therapeutics. Key resources include New Jersey’s only Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Center, state-of-the-art neuroimaging facilities, and specialized research cores for biospecimen processing and behavioral assessment. The event is sponsored by BHI, New Jersey Alliance for Clinical and Translational Science, and Rutgers Office for Research. Learn more & Register now

September 11

5th Annual RARC Symposium

Save the date for the Rutgers Addiction Research Center (RARC) 5th Annual Symposium. The all-day event will showcase cutting-edge addiction research, clinical insights, and community partnerships across Rutgers.

September 24

2026 NJACE and RUCARES Conference

Save the date for the New Jersey Autism Center of Excellence (NJACE) and the Rutgers University Center for Autism Research, Education, and Services (RUCARES) annual conference. 

December 2

12th Annual Rutgers Brain Health Institute Symposium

Save the date for the 12th Annual Rutgers Brain Health Institute Symposium. This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Joseph E LeDoux, Professor Emeritus at New York University, where he was a University Professor, Henry and Lucy Moses Professor, Professor of Neural Science and Psychology, and Professor of Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at NYU Langone Medical School.

Please visit the BHI Event Calendar page to view other upcoming neuroscience and brain health research events. Learn more



If you want to share any events in future monthly newsletters, please send them to Lily Zhang (lily.zhangty@rutgers.edu) or use this Microsoft form to submit your events.

If you want to feature any news, opportunities, and events in future monthly newsletters, please send them to Lily Zhang (lily.zhangty@rutgers.edu) or use this Microsoft form to submit your news. Thank you for your cooperation and support!

Connect with us