Society for Neuroscience Oregon/SW Washington Chapter

The Oregon/Southwest Washington Chapter is the local group affiliated with the Society for Neuroscience. Our goal is to be a networking resource for neuroscience students, postdoctoral scholars and faculty throughout the region. Our annual meeting in the spring brings together scientists to share projects, network with elected officials and government entities, and engage with colleagues from across the state.

Our 2024 meeting will take place at McMenamin's Edgefield in Troutdale, OR, on March 8 and 9, 2024. The deadline to register for the meeting was Feb. 28.

Friday, Mar. 8, 1 - 9 p.m.

Mini-symposium on Neuroinflammation and the Aging Brain

1 p.m. | Mini-sypmposium keynote: Treatment strategies to prevent and reverse cognitive decline associated with aging and traumatic brain injury 
Susanna Rosi, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator, Altos Labs Bay Area Institute
Adjunct Professor, Departments of Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science and Neurological Surgery
University of California, San Francisco

1:40 p.m. | Environmental challenges, immune and neuroinflammatory measures, and behavioral and cognitive measures in animal models
Jacob Raber, Ph.D., Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience, OHSU 
 
2:05 p.m. | Thrombin generation: gate keeper or grim reaper of the blood-brain barrier
Owen McCarty, Ph.D., FAHA, Professor and Chair, Biomedical Engineering, OHSU 
 
2:30 p.m. The influence of maternal nutrition, metabolic state and inflammation on child risk for psychiatric disorders
Elinor Sullivan, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, OHSU

2:55 p.m. Understanding the role of microglial cells in motor neuron vulnerability in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
Bahareh Ajami, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology and Behavioral Neuroscience, OHSU 
 
3:20 p.m. | Break

3:40 p.m. Ferroptosis drives microglial cell death following white matter injury in the aging brain
Philip Adeniyi, Ph.D., Post Doctoral Fellow, OHSU 

4:05 p.m. | Will chronic inhibition of dual leucine zipper kinase (DLK) be neuroprotective and restore neuronal function in aged demyelination?
Katie Emberley, Department of Neurology, Jungers Center for Neurosciences Research, OHSU

4:20 p.m. | Elevated expression of a5-integrin by myeloid cells in motor areas provides a potential target for therapeutics in ALS
Audie Chiot, Departments of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology and Behavioral Neuroscience, OHSU

4:35 p.m. | Role of peripheral inflammation in driving central nervous system inflammatory signature in pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s Disease
Paula Sanchez Molinam, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, OHSU

4:50 p.m. | Poster Session I and Networking Social Hour

Elias M. Wisdom, OHSU
Jay C. Adams, Oregon State University
Kaitlyn Kim, Oregon State University
Rachel Morrill, OHSU
Ibrahim A. Abou-Seada, Oregon State University
Benjamin Bui, Legacy Research Institute
Mariel Kristine Micael, Vollum Institute
Will Liguore, Oregon National Primate Research Center
Kaylee Ha, OHSU
William S. Griesar, Ph.D., and Jeff Leake, Portland State University

6 p.m. | Dinner

6:45 p.m. | Meeting Keynote: Determinants and mechanisms of neuroinflammation-induced memory deficits in aging
Ruth M. Barrientos, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health
Ohio State University College of Medicine

Saturday, Mar. 9, 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.

7 a.m. | Continental Breakfast

8 a.m. | Las neuronas son bacanes: Interdisciplinary neuroscience in Valparaiso Chile
William S. Griesar, Ph.D., and Jeff Leake Department of Psychology, Portland State University

8:30 a.m. | The mouse olfactory bulb tracks breathing rhythms and place  
Matt Smear, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Oregon
 
9 a.m. | Effects of amyloid beta peptides on platelet hemostatic function and procoagulant platelet generation
Yiheng Zhang, Department of Biomedical Engineering, OHSU

9:15 a.m. | T cell receptor-based cell therapy for central nervous system injury
Taitea Dykstra, OHSU

9:30 a.m. | Effects of TFEB gene therapy on hippocampal-dependent learning and molecular signaling in obese female and male 5xFAD mice
Danielle Osborne, Legacy Research Institute

9:45 a.m. Structural insight into heteromeric assembly in epithelial sodium channels
Isabelle Baconguis, Ph.D., Assistant Scientist, Vollum Institute 

10:15 a.m. | Poster Session II

Kadi Rae Smith, Portland State University
Natalie Robison, Portland State University
Emilee Brnusak, Portland State University
Connor Hilts, OHSU
Benjamin Zimmerman, OHSU
Brooke Rogers, OHSU
Olivia Monestime, OHSU
Joshua Karpf, Oregon National Primate Research Center
Opal Stayer-Wilburn, Oregon National Primate Research Center
Anahit Grigorian, Oregon National Primate Research Center
William S. Griesar, Ph.D., and Jeff Leake, Portland State University

11:15 a.m. | Electrophysiological characterization of immortalized ovine hypothalamic kisspeptin neurons
Anna Nielson, Oregon State University

11:30 a.m. | Assessing the role of inattention, response latency, and perseveration in predicting behavioral flexibility in rhesus macaques
Daniel Smith, Oregon National Primate Research Center

11:45 a.m. | Impact of ketamine and novelty on cue-induced reinstatement of cocaine self-administration in rats
Angela Gonzalez, Washington State University

12 noon | Molecular mechanisms of maternal care in a mouthbrooding cichlid fish
Suzy Renn, Ph.D., Professor of Biology, Reed College 

12:30 | Lunch

1 p.m. | Awards and Adjournment

Abstract submissions

Awards will be given for the best student and postdoctoral posters and talks. Submit your abstract to Larry Sherman no later than Friday, Mar. 1, 2024.

The poster boards are 4 feet tall by 6 feet wide. Please make sure your poster will fit in this space.

Please follow these guidelines when submitting your abstract:

  • Use Arial font, 12 point. 
  • The first line should be the title, and should be BOLD.
  • The following line should be the author list, with the presenting author listed first (and also BOLD).
  • The next line should include the affiliations of all of the authors (name of institution, city, state, country).
  • The body of the abstract should be a single paragraph, 2,300 characters (including punctuation but not spaces).

Here is a sample:

PV-expressing cells in the mouse spinal dorsal horn gate the transmission of innocuous tactile input to lamina I 

A. DICKIE1, K. A. BOYLE1, T. YASAKA2, V. E. ABRAIRA3, A. L. ZIMMERMAN3, D. D.GINTY3, M. A. GRADWELL4, R. J. CALLISTER4, B. A. GRAHAM4, D. I. HUGHES1;
1Univ. of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom; 2Dept. Immunol., Kagoshima Univ., Kagoshima, Japan; 3Harvard Med. Sch., Boston, MA; 4Univ. of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia

Chronic pain presents a major unmet clinical problem. ...

Location

McMenamin's Edgefield Winery Ballroom
2126 SW Halsey Street
Troutdale, OR 97060
Ph.: 503 669-8610

We have a small block of rooms for participants who would like to stay the night, Friday, March 8. Individual reservations for the group room block are required no later than Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. Please indicate you are with the OHSU Society for Neuroscience group when booking your room.

McMenamins Edgefield is a unique facility featuring 114 overnight rooms. Some guest rooms are equipped with private baths, however the majority of the guest rooms are European style with bathrooms located in the hall. Please note, there are no televisions or telephones in the guest rooms and all rooms are non-smoking.

Thank you for your interest in becoming a member of the Society for Neuroscience Oregon/SW Washington Chapter.

There is no fee or eligibility requirements associated with joining our membership, and the term is for three academic years. If you are not a member of the national SfN, we do ask that you have a sponsor to join our Chapter. A sponsor is a current Chapter member or member of the national organization. The purpose of having a sponsor is to ensure there is a mentoring relationship upon your membership commencement. If you don't have a sponsor, please indicate so in the form and we can help!

Benefits of membership are: 1) a discount to the annual Chapter meeting; 2) the ability to nominate and vote for members to the board; 3) submit an abstract to the annual Chapter meeting at no cost; 4) join members-only networking events; 5) include on your CV.

If you have any questions, please contact Kate Stout (stoutk@ohsu.edu).

An artistic depiction of two brains talking to each other

Contact us

Kate Stout
Program Coordinator, OHSU Brain Institute
503-494-0885

Larry Sherman, Ph.D.
President, SfN OR/SWW Chapter
Professor, Oregon National Primate Research Center, OHSU