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July 2016
The Friedman Brain Institute is proud to present the 17th issue of The Informant.
 

The Informant is a triennial newsletter highlighting announcements and events for basic and clinical neuroscience at Mount Sinai. The purpose of the Informant is to keep everyone abreast of all that is going on in and out of the labs and clinics that comprise the Friedman Brain Institute, as well as acknowledge those individuals responsible for its success. In addition to sharing information, our hope is that the Informant can be used as a tool to inspire, congratulate, and support one another.
Announcements
Brain Awareness Week
This year, various groups at Mount Sinai took part in Brain Awareness Week 2016. The 4th Annual Mount Sinai Brain Fair, hosted by Mentoring in Neuroscience Discovery at Sinai (MiNDS),  the Center for Excellence in Youth Education (CEYE), and the Friedman Brain Institute, recruited over 100 volunteers and attracted over 500 participants from local schools and the East Harlem community to learn about different aspects of neuroscience in a fun and interactive way. Activities included making neurons out of pipe cleaners, examining real neurons under a microscope, doing virtual brain surgery, debunking common misconceptions about the brain, and learning about how the different senses work in the brain.

Other events included the "Art of the Brain" exhibition and The Story Collider.

The "Art of the Brain" exhibition was on display at both the Grady Alexis Gallery in East Harlem and The Phillips Ambulatory Care Center (PACC) Atrium at Mount Sinai Beth Israel (10 Union Square East). The "Art of the Brain" is an exhibition of photographs and illustrations that celebrates the beauty of the brain as seen through the eyes of some of the world's leading researchers. This year, the exhibition was such a success that it was extended for an additional week.

While the exhibition is usually enjoyed by adults, value was seen in expanding it to include events that students would be fascinated by as well.

Middle school children from PS 171 visited the "Art of the Brain" exhibition and were given a gallery tour by MiNDS. During the tour, the photographs were explained to the students in layman's terms. CEYE then introduced the students to the NeuroSky MindWave starter kit (an instrument with which students can actually see how brainwaves change over time). Finally, Jill K Gregory, MFA, CMI and Christopher M. Smith, MA, CMI, two Mount Sinai Medical Illustrators introduced and instructed the students in Medical Illustration of the brain.
 
In a new partnership with The Story Collider, organized by Paula Croxson and Daniela Schiller, Qi Lin, Usman Hameedi, Rachel Yehuda, Casey Lardner, and Albert Wu) were selected to share their personal stories about the events that inspired them to pursue a career in science. All of these stories, related through theatrical performances, were engaging, funny and quite moving in unexpected ways. It was a great success.  

The "Art of the Brain" exhibit, the events attached to it, and The Story Collider took place in El Barrio's Artspace PS 109 on east 99th street. Because they all were housed in the same space, they complemented each other as they were enjoyed simultaneously. If their popularity is any indication, next year will be even more exciting.

To view the Brain Awareness Fair video, click here.







8th Annual Neuroscience Retreat   
The Friedman Brain Institute held its 8th Annual Neuroscience Retreat on May 20th at the New York Academy of Medicine. This year's agenda spanned all disciplines represented at the Friedman Brain Institute, including Neuroscience, Neurology, Psychiatry, Neurosurgery, Genetics and Pharmacology.

We were honored to have Miriam Merad, MD, PhD Professor, Oncological Sciences, Medicine and Hematology and Medical Oncology deliver the keynote address on "Macrophage-neuronal crosstalk in the CNS and the periphery". We also heard talks by our junior faculty, including Ian Maze, PhD from the Department of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics and Anne Schaefer, MD, PhD from the Department of Neuroscience. In addition, presentations by postdoctoral fellows and graduate students highlighted the exciting research conducted across the Friedman Brain Institute.

The afternoon poster session and reception provided a great venue for lively discussions between faculty, fellows and students. This was followed by the award ceremony for the best oral presentations (Catherine Peña, PhD and Virginia Gao), the best poster presentation (Philipp Homan, Diane Damez-Werno and Lorna Farrelly) and "Call for Images" (1st Place Image - Candice Chapouly, 2nd Place Image - Joshua B. Bederson, MD, Anthony B. Costa, PhD, Steven Philemond, MPH, and Jillian Beroza, 3rd Place Image - Alan Seifert).

In addition, Dr. Nestler, along with the Neuroscience Graduate Training Program Directors, George W. Huntley and Stephen Salton, presented the BRAIN Award (Best Record of Achievement In Neuroscience) to PhD student, Lucy Bicks. The BRAIN Award, which launched last year, is a yearly neuroscience award recognizing outstanding academic achievement of a PhD student after completing their year 1 Core courses and research rotations.  

The Story Collider, originally organized for Brain Awareness Week by Paula Croxson and Daniela Schiller, was such a success that it was staged again for the retreat. Researchers Usman Hameedi and Casey Lardner again shared personal stories of their experiences in science. The addition of this event was a great success. 
 
Organizing Committee:
Scott Russo, PhD (Neuroscience), Kristina Simonyan, MD, PhD (Neurology and Otolaryngology), Marie Kopp, Maribel Maldonado, Jenny Rivera and Veronica Szarejko.


Retreat Organizer, Scott Russo (Neuroscience) talking with Paul Kenny, Chairman, Department of Neuroscience

Keynote speaker, Miriam Merad (Oncological Sciences, Medicine and Hematology and Medical Oncology) talking to other Friedman Brain Institute members.



Graduate students, Casey Lardner and Usman Hameedi share their personal stories of "Studying the #Brain".
 Retreat Organizer, Kristina Simonyan (Neurology and Otolaryngology) with Eric Nestler, Director, Friedman
Brain Institute awarding Philipp Homan,
Appointments
Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD, appointed Dean for Academic and Scientific Affairs
 
Please join us in congratulating Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD, for his appointment as Dean for Academic and Scientific Affairs at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS). As Dean for Academic and Scientific Affairs, Dr. Nestler will oversee the ISMMS basic research enterprise and all aspects of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and will provide a bridge for the educational programs of the Graduate School and the Department of Medical Education. Dr. Nestler's broad scope of responsibilities will include significant involvement in strategic planning and goal attainment, program development, faculty recruitment and retention, research grant portfolio growth, and integration of the scientific enterprise into the larger School and Mount Sinai Health System.  

Marta Filizola, PhD, appointed Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Marta Filizola, PhD, as Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS). An internationally recognized leader in the computational biophysics of membrane proteins, she has particular expertise in applying computational and theoretical chemistry methods to biochemical and biomedical problems, as well as drug discovery. As Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Dr. Filizola will direct the academic and administrative functions of the PhD and Masters programs, as well as the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, and will work collaboratively with the Dean of Medical Education in directing the MD/PhD program. While serving as Dean, Dr. Filizola will continue her own leading research program.
     

Paul J. Kenny, PhD named Chairman of The Fishberg Department of Neuroscience
Paul J. Kenny, PhD, named Chair of the Department of Neuroscience. As a world-renowned investigator in the neurobiology of obesity and drug addiction, Dr. Kenny's expertise is an ideal fit with his new department. His multidisciplinary studies use behavioral paradigms, physiological and circuit analyses, and molecular characterization of neurobehavioral disorders to uncover new signaling cascades that may play a role in addiction-like behaviors.  Since his recruitment to ISMMS in 2014 from The Scripps Research Institute in Florida, Dr. Kenny has continued to build on his compelling scientific vision and strong administrative skills, and will be a true asset to the Department of Neuroscience.  Dr. Kenny will continue to serve as Director of the Mount Sinai Experimental Therapeutics Institute.

Constantinos G. Hadjipanayis, MD, PhD, joins Mount Sinai as Professor and Chair of Mount Sinai Beth Israel's Department of Neurosurgery
Constantinos G. Hadjipanayis, MD, PhD, joins Mount Sinai as Professor and Chair of Mount Sinai Beth Israel's Department of Neurosurgery. He has also been appointed as Director of Neurosurgical Oncology for the Mount Sinai Health System and Director of the Brain Tumor Nanotechnology Laboratory in The Tisch Cancer Institute at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Both as a neurosurgeon and a National Institute of Health-funded scientist, Dr. Hadjipanayis is recognized as a neuro-oncology pioneer who has led a number of clinical trials for patients with malignant brain tumors

Promotions
Tanvir F. Choudhri, MD
Appointed President of the
Mount Sinai Faculty Council.
Reade De Leacy, MD
Appointed Assistant Professor  
of Neurosurgery and Radiology and Director of the Neurointerventional Spine Program. Dr. De Leacy is a 2015  
Mount Sinai Neuroendovascular  
Surgery Fellow Alumni.
Ronit Gilad, MD
Appointed Chief of
Mount Sinai Brooklyn.

Zachary L. Hickman, MD
Appointed Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, Director of Neurosurgery at Elmhurst Hospital Center, and Director of the Neurosurgery  
Trauma Program.
Christopher Kellner, MD 
Appointed Instructor of Neurosurgery and Director of the Intracerebral Hemorrhage Program in the Cerebrovascular Center. Dr. Kellner
was elected to the World
Neurosurgery's Editorial Board.
J Mocco, MD, MS
Appointed Director of the
Neurosurgery Residency Program.

Soriaya Motivala, MD
Appointed Co-Chief of
Mount Sinai Brooklyn.
Fedor E. Panov, MD
Appointed Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Director of the Adult Surgical Epilepsy Program. Dr. Panov is a 2014 Mount Sinai Neurosurgery Resident Alumni.
Raj K. Shrivastava, MD
Appointed Associate Director of the Neurosurgery Residency Program.
Anne Schaefer, PhD
Dr. Schaefer has been promoted to Associate Professor of Neuroscience on the Investigator Track.  Dr. Schaefer is a nationally and internationally recognized investigator in the fields of Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroepigenetics and has published her work in top-tier scientific journals including Science, Nature, Cell, Neuron, and Nature Neuroscience.  The highly innovative nature of Dr. Schaefer's research earned her the prestigious NIH Director's Award in 2012, the Cure Challenge Award from Cure Epilepsy, the NARSAD Young Investigator Award, and the Harold and Golden Lamport Research Award from Mount Sinai. Additionally, she was named a Kavli Frontiers in Science Fellow by The National Academy of Sciences in 2015.
Awards and Honors

  • Ahmed Awad, MD, Neurosurgery Associate Researcher in the Cerebrovascular Center, was the recipient for of the American Academy of Neurological and Orthopedic Surgeons' Best Abstract Research Award for his abstract, "Morbidity and Mortality in Adults Undergoing Resection of Supratentorial Meningioma."
  • Joshua B. Bederson, MD, Professor of Neurosurgery and Neurosurgery System Chair at Mount Sinai Health System, removes a large solid calcified and partially cystic tumor from brain with the latest technology. See the video.
  • Jean-Vianney Haure-Mirande, PhD, BrightFocus Foundation Fellowship Awardee, 2016-2018.
  • Eric K. Oermann, MD, Neurosurgery Resident, was selected to be the first Verily (Google Life Sciences) Clinical Fellow, where he will be developing revolutionary projects in machine learning and surgery. Dr. Oermann was also recognized as one of Forbes Magazine's "30 Under 30" health care innovators, for his work in machine learning with medical data. 
  • Maitane Ortiz-virumbrales, PhD, Druckenmiller Fellowship Awardee. NYSCF, 2016.
  • Coro Paisan-Ruiz, PhD, Assistant Professor of Neurology, was awarded the Irma T. Hirschl / Monique Weill-Caulier Trust Research Award.
  • Anne Schaefer, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Neuroscience, wins the Harold and Golden Lamport Research Award, honoring Mount Sinai's best junior faculty.
  • Jeremy Steinberger, MD, Neurosurgery Resident, was the recipient of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons' Integra Foundation Award for his abstract "Morbidity and Mortality of Meningioma Resection Increases in Octogenarians." 
  • Hongyan "Jenny" Zou, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Neurosurgery and Neurosciences, and Roland Friedel, PhD, were the recipients of the Nash Family Research Scholar Award, for "Utilizing Methylation Reporter to Assay Locus-Specific Methylation Dynamics in Glioblastoma." 

NIH: Center for Scientific Review, Radiation Therapeutics and Biology Study Section
It is a ple asure to announce that Dr. Costas G. Hadjipanayis has accepted the invitation to serve as a member of the Radiation Therape utics and Biology Study Section, Center for Scientific Review. Members are selected on the basis of their demonstrated competence and achievement in their scientific discipline as evidenced by the quality of research accomplishments, publications in scientific journals, and other significant scientific activities, achievements and honors.

NARSAD 2016 Young Investigator Award  
Kristen Brennand, PhD

Dr. Brennand will explore a possible new route to treating schizophrenia, focusing on a gene mutation associated with the illness. Dr. Brennand will use a technology called hiPSC to reprogram stem cells from four individuals with mutations in the NRXN1 risk gene. Her team will characterize aberrant NRXN1 expression in neurons and astrocytes derived from patients with deletions in the gene and then restore NRXN1 expression to normal levels, to better understand the mechanisms that produce schizophrenia.
Olivier Berton, PhD

Dr. Berton will test the potential for combining drug therapy with deep brain stimulation for cases of depression that do not respond to psychotherapy and antidepressants. Deep brain stimulation has already shown promise but the relief it provides is not always consistent. Dr. Berton will try to make these effects stronger and more stable by giving patients a drug that alters genetic activity in neurons that is usually changed by deep brain stimulation itself.
Leon Levy Fellows
We are pleased to announce that  Drew Kiraly, MD, PhD and James Young, MD, PhD have been selected as Mount Sinai's second Leon Levy Fellows through the Leon Levy Neuroscience Fellowship Program at Mount Sinai. 
         Drew Kiraly, MD, PhD               James Young, MD, PhD     

Established by the late Wall Street investment genius and prolific philanthropist Leon Levy's foundation, The Leon Levy Fellowship in Neuroscience at Mount Sinai is an innovative plan for strengthening the entry and retention of physician-scientists into significant research careers in the brain sciences.

Drs. Kiraly and Young were chosen based on their individual outstanding medical education performance, their accomplishments to date in the lab and their demonstrated commitment and likelihood to become academic and translational leaders in the field of neuroscience.  The Leon Levy Neuroscience Fellowship Program provides the Leon Levy Fellows with protected research time, intensive mentoring and seed money for research, thereby eliminating the long
delay between research training and protected time for research experienced by most individuals during their clinical training.

Neurosurgery Education
  • Travis Ladner, MD, and Frank J. Yuk, MD, matched for the 2016-2017 Neurosurgery Residency Program. Dr. Ladner obtained his undergraduate and medical degree from Vanderbilt University and Dr. Yuk obtained his undergraduate from Johns Hopkins University and medical degree from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
  • Hekmat Zarzour, MD, Mount Sinai Neurosurgery Resident Alumni '16 will join the Department of Neurosurgery at Thomas Jefferson University as an Assistant Professor.
  • Farid Hamzei-Sichani, MD, PhD, Mount Sinai Neurosurgery Resident Alumni '16 will join the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Toronto as a Clinical Fellow in Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery under Andres Lozano, MD.
  • Branko Skovrlj, MD, Mount Sinai Neurosurgery Resident Alumni '16 will join the North Jersey Spine Group as a Junior Partner.
  • Hazem Shoirah, MD, was accepted into the 2016 Neuroendovascular Surgery Fellowship.
  • Kaitlin Reilly, MD and Pavis Laengvejkal, MD, were accepted into the 2016 Neurocritical Care Fellowship.
  • Moshe Mizrahi, MD, Mount Sinai Neurocritical Care Fellowship Alumni '16 will join as a Neurointensivist and Critical Care EEG as Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Cincinnati.
New Grants
PI/Dept.
Agency
Title/Description
Ahmed Awad, NEUROSURG
The Bee Foundation

"Using Genetic Variants to Identify Molecular Pathways Leading to Intracranial Aneurysm Formation in Humans."
Joseph Buxbaum, PSY
 NIMH
  "Supplement - 1/4-The Autism Sequencing Consortium: Autism gene discovery in >20,000 exomes"
Joseph Buxbaum, PSY

Human Frontier Science Program
 "Deciphering brain oxytocin circuits controlling social behavior"
Joseph Buxbaum, PSY
 NIMH
 "Supplement - Population-Based Autism Genetics & Environment Study"
Joseph Buxbaum, PSY
 NIMH
 "Development of Behavioral and Neural Biomarkers for Autism Spectrum Disorder Using a Genetically Defined Subtype"
Joseph Buxbaum, PSY
 Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative
 "Integrating large scale whole exome data with whole genome data"
Michelle Ehrlich, NEUROL
XDP Foundation at Massachusetts General Hospital
iPSC approach to X-linked dystonia parkinsonism.
Marta Filizola, PST
 NIH/NIMH
 "Enhanced Molecular Dynamics Methods to Investigate GPCR Ligand Binding";R21 MH107053; 03/01/16-02/29/18
Marta Filizola, PST
 Tri-Institutional Therapeutics Discovery Institute, Inc. (TDI)
 "A Novel, Non-activating Integrin αVβ3 Antagonist to Treat Renal, Hematologic, Neoplastic, Bone, and/or Fibrotic Diseases"; 01/20/16-01/20/17
Marta Filizola, PST
 NSF XSEDE (Resource Allocations)
 "Computational Studies of Membrane Protein Complexes"; MCB080077; 07/01/16-06/30/17
Samuel E Gandy, NEUROL
Cure Alzheimer's Fund
Does CNS insulin resistance exist?: Generation and characterization of iPSC-derived brain cells from Donohue's syndrome patients
Samuel E Gandy, NEUROL
The May and Samuel Rudin Foundation
Collaborative Alzheimer's iPSC Program (with Scott Noggle, NYSCF).

Samuel E Gandy, NEUROL

MERIT Review Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 2016-2020
Proneurogenic Treatment for Amyloid or Tau-Based Neurodegeneration.
Noam Harel, NEUROL/RADIOL
New York State Spinal Cord Injury Board
"Combined Motor Cortex and Spinal Cord Stimulation to Promote Arm and Hand Function After Chronic Cervical Spinal Cord Injury"
Thomas Hildebrandt, PSY
NIMH
"Reward Systems and Food Avoidance in Adolescents with Low Weight Eating Disorders"
Paul Kenny, NEU
NIH
Nicotinic receptors and alcohol reinforcement
Paul Kenny, NEU
NIH
Role of MicroRNA's in the Mechanisms of Drug Dependence
Alexander Kolevzon, PSY
Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative
"Developing Scalable Measures of Behavior Change for ASD Treatments"
Ian Maze, PST
NIH
Roles for histone monoaminylation in cocaine-induced transcriptional and behavioral plasticity
Ian Maze, PST
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Mechanistic Neuroepigenetics
Ian Maze, PST
ISMMS FBI Research Scholar Partners
Function of a novel 'reader' of neuronal chromatin in Trisomy 21 associated Alzheimer's disease
Hirofumi Morishita, PSY
NIH/NEI R01
Regulation of adult visual cortex plasticity by endogenous nicotinic modulators.
Hirofumi Morishita, PSY
NIH/NEI R01
Proteolytic Regulation of Inhibitory Circuits to Gate Cortical Plasticity
Hirofumi Morishita, PSY
NIH/NIMH R21
Mechanisms regulating developmental critical period for establishing attention
Hirofumi Morishita, PSY
Mindich Child Health and Development Institute Pilot Project Grant
Novel tooth matrix biomarker for Neurodevelopmental Susceptibility.
Rachel Saunders-Pullman , NEUROL

NIH - U01
Evaluation of glucocerebrosidase pathway biomarkers in Parkinson Disease
Junqian Xu, RADIOL/NEU
Paula Croxson, NEU
ISMMS FBI Research Scholar Partners
Exploring the functional and metabolic imaging features of neuroplasticity in brainstem and spinal cord
Jenny Zou, NEUROSURG/NEU
Roland Friedel, NEUROSURG/NEU
ISMMS FBI Research Scholar Partners
Utilizing methylation reporter to assay locus-specific methylation dynamics in Glioblastoma
Lab News
Brennand Lab  (Neuroscience)
 
Publications:  I would like to congratulate Aaron Topol and Brigham Hartley for their fruitful collaboration with Gang Fang, Shijia Zhu and others, which cumulated in a recent publication in Cell Reports (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27117414).

Grants: We would like to thank the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation for an Independent Investigator Award and the Brain Research Foundation for a seed grant, which will support early studies of a NRXN1 hiPSC cohort, work spearheaded by graduate student Erin Flaherty.

New personnel: We would like to welcome Nadine Schrode, PhD as a new post-doctoral scientist, co-mentored with Pamela Sklar, as well as our SURP students Khalifa Stafford and Joanna Urli (mentored by Gang Fang) and our undergraduate students Alyssa Altheimer and Hamza Muhammad.

The Seaver Autism Center will be hosting the 20 th Annual Advances in Autism Conference on Sunday, September 25, 2016. For more information, please email.  
 
The Seaver Autism Center welcomes four new Seaver Fellows:
  • Drew Kiraly, MD, PhD (Mentor: Eric Nestler)
  • Yuji Kajiwara, PhD (Mentors: Joseph Buxbaum; Dorothy Grice; Elodie Drapeau)
  • Magdalena Janecka, PhD (Mentor: Avi Reichenberg) 
  • Elisa Nabel (Mentor: Hirofumi Morishita)
Recent publications:
Clark Lab (Neurology)

Dr. Uraina Clark was one of 11 women honored with a Suffrage Science award from the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre in the United Kingdom. The awards were presented at a ceremony held on International Women's Day, March 8, 2016 at the Royal Society in London.  The official press release can be found here.

Recent Publications:

Clark US, et al., High early life stress and aberrant amygdala activity: Risk factors for elevated neuropsychiatric symptoms in HIV+ adults.
Kristen Dams-O'connor (Rehabilitation Medicine)

Recent Publications:

McKee AC, et al., The first NINDS/NIBIB consensus meeting to define neuropathological criteria for the diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

This publicatiom was supported by our NINDS-funded U01: Late Effects of Traumatic Brain Injury Project (Gordon & Dams-O'Connor).
Devi Lab (Pharmacological Sciences)

Awards/Honors:
Erin Bobeck received a Young Scientist Award from the Neuropharmacology division of American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at the Experimental Biology 2016 meeting. 
Dr. Devi has been selected for the INRC Founders' Lectureship; this award is to honor the scientific integrity and vision of our society's founders by choosing an individual who represents those ideals and has helped create the intellectual foundation of our current thinking in the field.  Dr. Devi will deliver the lecture at the 2016 Annual International Narcotics Research Conference in Bath, United Kingdom.

Recent Publications:
Ehrlich-Gandy Lab (Neurology)
 
Recent Publications:
 
Striatal diseases: Dystonias and Huntington's Disease:
Alzheimer's disease: 
Filizola Lab  (Pharmacological Sciences)
 
The lab thanks Assistant Professor Davide Provasi, postdocs Yi Shang, Kristen Marino, and Sebastian Schneider for helping run a successful hands-on graduate course on 'Computer-Aided Drug Design' (BSR3101)
 
Dr. Filizola is appointed Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
 
Dr. Filizola is awarded the International Society of Quantum Biology and Pharmacology (ISQBP) Loew Lectureship 2016.
 
Recent Publications:
Frangou: Psychosis Research Program (Psychiatry)
 
Our lab was awarded a Swiss National Science Foundation grant to support our new member, Dr. Dominik Moser.

We would like to welcome two post-docs to our team, Dr. Gaelle Doucet and Dr. Dominik Moser. Read more about them here.

Recent Publications

Our lab in the News

Medical Student Essay Prize on Psychosis: The 2015 Prize goes to Justin Key for his essay "The Price of Believing". 
Goate Lab (Neuroscience)

 
 
At the recent Charleston Conference on Alzheimer's Disease, 15 top early career investigators from around the country were selected to attend the conference and present novel ideas for grant proposals. Two junior faculty from Mount Sinai (Panos Roussos and Towfique Raj) were invited to attend the conference.  
 
For more information, visit the CCAD website  
 
Han Lab  (Pharmacological Sciences)
Hof Lab (Neuroscience)

The Hof lab congratulates Dr. Merina Varghese on her appointment as instructor in the Department of Neuroscience.

We also wish the very best to Tuyen Nguyen who successfully defended her PhD under the mentorship of Drs. Fan (Queen's College) and Hof.

We welcome a new MS student Lizette Couto, and our summer students, Pauline Lesage, Praveen Nagoda Satarasinghe, Taisa Vasilkova, and Rachel Meierovitch.  
 
Dr Hof received an award from the Prader-Willi Research Foundation to study the neuropathology of Prader-Willi syndrome.
 
Recent publications:
Kenny Lab (Neuroscience) 

Dr. Kenny was a speaker at:
  • Yale Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program Seminar Series, January 2016, "Mechanisms of Nicotine Addiction."  Invited speaker.
  • UT Southwestern Dallas, Obesity and Diabetes Seminar Series, April 2016, "Mechanisms of Compulsive Eating."  Invited Speaker.
  • Cold Spring Harbor Labs, Workshop on Schizophrenia, June 2016. Invited Speaker.
  • Cold Spring Harbor Labs, Advanced Techniques in Molecular Neuroscience, July 2016.  Invited Speaker. 
Maze Lab (Pharmacological Sciences) 

The Maze Lab welcomes Ryan Bastle, post-doctoral fellow, who earned his PhD in Neuroscience from Arizona State University, where his research focused on miR-495 in the nucleus accumbens: A post-transcriptional regulator of addiction-related gene expression and cocaine abuse-related behavior in rats
Morishita Lab (Psychiatry)
The Morishita lab is pleased to welcome the following new lab members in the last one year: Dr. Ramon Guirado (postdoc), Ms. Lucy Bicks (PhD student), Ms. Giulia Taccheri (master student), Ms. Sarah Lopez (Associate Researcher), Ms. Priscilla Yevoo (Associate Researcher).

Congratulations to Dr. Mari Sajo for her competitive renewal of Knights Templar Eye Foundation Award, Elisa Nabel for receiving Seaver Graduate Student Fellowship, Milo Smith for being awarded Systems and Developmental Biology and Birth Defects (SDBBD) Training Grant, and Lucy Bicks for being awarded NIMH T32 fellowship.

Dr. Morishita was elected to an associate member of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP).

Recent publications: 
  • Sajo, M, et al., Lynx1 limits dendritic spine turnover in the adult visual cortex, Journal of Neuroscience. (In press)
NARC Lab ( Psychiatry)
 
Preparations are underway for the fall launch of Mount Sinai's role as "ABCD-USA Consortium: NYC Research Project" (NIH 1U01DA041174-01). NARC is one of 19 consortium sites across the country that participates in this complex, comprehensive and careful longitudinal project of Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development.  Led by NARC (and Brain Imaging Center) Chief Rita Goldstein PhD, the Mount Sinai site will recruit 500 children from local schools in 2016 and 2017. These 9- and 10-year olds will join the national vanguard of 11,111 children undergoing standardized repeated brain imaging, social, behavioral, cognitive and clinical measurements supported by multiple bioassays as they progress through  adolescence over 10 years. Assessment of family and other environmental background factors along with corresponding developments in social functioning, substance use and psychopathological symptoms will contribute to a robust and completely unique resource for examining the influences of risk and protective factors during natural brain development. Numerous resources with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai including Zahi Fayad PhD, TMII and the Department of Radiology have mobilized to prepare for this major undertaking.
 
With Lazar Fleysher PhD, Anna Zilverstand PhD has implemented her neurofeedback methods for use at the TMII 3T Skyra MRI. Ongoing work now underway will examine the potential facilitative effects of providing real-time feedback of fMRI-measured brain changes during learning in human volunteers with histories of cocaine dependence. Working as well with Muhammad Parvaz PhD, EEG and cognitive changes after neurofeedback or sham training during fMRI are also being followed.
 
NARC's postdoctoral fellows Gabriela Gan Dr. rer.nat (PhD), Maki Koyama PhD and Rebecca Preston-Campbell PhD- who recently won a NIDA women and Sex/Gender Differences Research Junior Investigator Award- are moving on to new challenges. We selfishly hope the burden of our appreciation for their efforts and good wishes for their new positions lead to new opportunities for continued collaborations. We also wish Dr. Anna Zilverstand a joy-filled maternity leave, and look forward to her returning with wonderful pictures and stories.

Recent Publications:

Konova AB, Goldstein RZ. (2016). In SJ Wilson (Ed.), Handbook on the cognitive neuroscience of addiction. Wiley-Blackwell. (In press).
 
Mackey S, ... Goldstein RZ. , et al., (2016). Genetic imaging consortium for addiction medicine: From neuroimaging to genes. In H. Ekhtiari & M. Paulus (Eds.), Progress in Brain Research. Neuroscience for Addiction Medicine: From Prevention to Rehabilitation - Methods and Interventions, Vol. 224, pp. 203-223. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
 
Moeller SJ, et al., (2016). Neuroscience of inhibition for addiction medicine: from prediction of initiation to prediction of relapse.

Moeller SJ and Goldstein RZ., (2016). Assessing drug choice in human addiction: Costs, benefits, and findings from current research paradigms. In Segal G and Heather N (Eds.), Addiction and Choice. Oxford University Press. (In press).
 
Parvaz MA, et al., (2016). Objective and specific tracking of anhedonia via event-related potentials in individuals with cocaine use disorders.

Parvaz MA, et al., (2016). Prefrontal gray matter volume recovery in treatment-seeking cocaine-addicted individuals: a longitudinal study. Addiction Biology (In Press).
 
Parvaz MA, et al., (2016). Abstinence reverses EEG-indexed attention-bias between drug-related and pleasant stimuli in addicted individuals. Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience (In Press).
 
Zilverstand A, et al., (2016). Neuroimaging cognitive reappraisal in clinical populations to define neural targets for enhancing emotion regulation.

Zilverstand A, et al., (2016). Cognitive interventions for addiction medicine: Understanding the underlying neurobiological mechanisms
Nestler Lab (Neuroscience)

Drew Kiraly has been named as the Research Chief Resident for the coming academic year in the Department of Psychiatry. In this role he will be working with the administration to develop and expand the teaching curriculum for neuroscience, will be actively involved in recruiting new physician-scientists to the program, and will generally work to try to facilitate the research experience of all residents in the program.

Catherine Peña was honored with a New Investigator Award from the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology. She will present her work on early life stress in a special symposium at the meeting in Montreal this August.

Recent Publications:
Russo Lab (Neuroscience)

Dr. Georgia Hodes just left us to start a tenure track faculty position at Virginia Tech.

Recent Publications:
  • Golden SA, et al., and Russo SJ., Basal Forebrain projections to the lateral habenula modulate aggression reward.
 Schiller Lab (Neuroscience)

The Schiller lab welcomes new members: Jingchu Hu, visiting graduate student, Qi Lin, research coordinator, and Philipp Homan, postdoctoral fellow.
Simonyan Lab (Neurology and Otolaryngology)

Dr. Simonyan has been invited to serve as a member of the working group that is charged with updating the NIDCD's Strategic Plan for 2017-2021. Dr. Simonyan will be working on advising the NIDCD's Director on prioritizing research in Voice, Speech and Language for the next 5 years. 
Slesinger Lab (Neuroscience)

Please welcome Dr. Xiaofan Li, a new postdoctoral fellow in the Slesinger lab.  She worked with Dr. Tim Jegla in the Department of Biology at Pennsylvania State University on the activation of voltage-gated potassium channels.  She is investigating the subcellular mechanism underlying methamphetamine-dependent plasticity in the reward pathway.

Congratulations to Dr. Ian Glaaser for being awarded a NRSA F32 Post-doctoral fellowship from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and to Robert Rifkin for a NRSA F30 Pre-doctoral dual degree fellowship from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Recent Publications:
 Rudebeck Lab (Neuroscience)

Peter Rudebeck was awarded an NIMH BRAINs award which will start in July 2017 and Frederic Stoll received a Postdoctoral award from the Philippe Foundation.

The Rudebeck Lab also welcomes a number of new team members: Megan Young, who joins the lab as a postdoctoral fellow in early July and volunteers Teona Pagan and Octavia Martin.

Recent Publications:
(Medicine, Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine)

AW Varga joined us on on Jan 1, 2016. He is a physician scientist with a PhD in neuroscience and clinical training in neurology and sleep medicine. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the newly expanded Mount Sinai Integrative Sleep Center (MSISC). He does research on sleep, memory, and risk for neurodegenerative disease in both human subjects (at the MSISC sleep laboratory at 11 East 26th St) and in mice in my lab in Annenberg 21-44.

Ward Pettibone, a new technician, started working on July 1 and Korey Kam , a post-doc, starts work on July 25.

Recent Publications:
  • Varga AW, et al., (2016) Reduced Slow-Wave Sleep is Associated with High Cerebrospinal Fluid Aβ42 Levels in Cognitively Normal Elderly. Sleep. (In Press)
Xu Lab   (Radiology / Neuroscience)

Dr. Junqian Xu and Dr. Paula Croxson (co-PIs) were awarded the Richard and Susan Friedman Research Scholar Award by the ISMMS FBI Research Scholar Partners for their project, titled " Exploring the functional and metabolic imaging features of neuroplasticity in brainstem and spinal cord ".
 
We congratulate Joo-won Kim (post-doc) for his Trainee educational stipend and the Diffusion & Perfusion study group selection of his poster, titled "Non-linear distortion correction in human optic nerve diffusion-weighted image" in the 24th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM); and a travel grant for his poster, titled "reproducible quantitative cervical spinal cord MRI for progressive MS", to the 32nd Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS).
 
We congratulate Alan Seifert (post-doc) for his outstanding poster award and travel stipend for his abstract, titled "Myelin density measurement by ZTE in the D2O-exchanged spinal cord is unaffected by tissue fixation" to the 2016 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) - in vivo Magnetic Resonance; and his third place winner image, titled "Human brainstem in six shades colormap", in FBI's 5th annual "Call for Images" competition.
 
We congratulate Benjamin Ely (graduate student in neuroscience, co-mentored with Vilma Gabbay and Emily Stern) for his NIMH F31 NRSA predoctoral fellowship award, titled "Delineating the reward circuitry of anhedonia"; and the acceptance and a full travel stipend to the Open Science Grid (OSG) User School 2016.
 
We congratulate Joseph Borrello (graduate student in lab rotation) for his Summa cum laude Award and New Entrant educational stipend for his oral presentation, titled "Towards accurate spinal cord morphometry with in situ grid phantom calibrated gradient non-linearity correction" in the 24th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM).

Recent Publications:
Zachariou Lab (Neuroscience)

Mrs. Claire Polizu, a UCLA undergraduate student, returns to the Zachariou lab to continue her summer research project on cellular mechanisms of neuropathic pain. Mrs Polizu is a recipient of the Irene and Eric Simon Brain Research Foundation Award, for the summer of 2016. Congratulations Claire!

Mrs. Valeria Cogliani is leaving the Zachariou lab to pursue her graduate degree in Clinical Psychology. Valeria completed her Master's thesis last year and continues her research project on pain killers addiction mechanisms until August 2016. We'll miss you Valeria.

Mrs. Vicky Mitsi gave a talk at the "Phosphorylation and G protein signaling" Gordon Conference at the University of New England. Vicky presented her findings on the role of RGS4 in depression vulnerability.

Recent Publications:
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