Upcoming Events News
25 YEARS OF NEUROSCIENCE AT ST. MARY'S
Hello from St. Mary's,
St. Mary's wants you to help us celebrate 25 years of neuroscience research at your alma mater. We hope you can help us celebrate in person on Friday, November 14, 2008. Even if you can't join us, we want to hear from you and your memories of doing research. We've pick this day because some of you will be attending the Society for Neuroscience meeting in Washington, D.C. beginning on Nov. 15. The day at St. Mary's is an unofficial Satellite Conference to the Society meeting. Formal invitations will be mailed in early September.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Our celebration in the afternoon and evening of Nov. 14 will include a keynote address by Dr. Catherine Rankin from the University of British Columbia, tours of the laboratories (including Schaefer Hall and new facilities in Goodpaster Hall), and a celebration of student research, past and present. The day will conclude with a College-hosted banquet Friday evening. The afternoon Neuroscience Session is a chance to meet colleagues, share your research, meet potential interns, and promote your work. (Think of it as a combined poster session and job fair.)
Preliminary Program
1:30 - 2:45 p.m. Registration and reception; Tour of facilities
2:45 - 4:15 p.m. Neuroscience Session (student posters; alumni posters, internship session and job fair)
4:30 - 5:45 p.m. Dr. Rankin's keynote address
6:00 - 8:30 p.m. Banquet
We want to hear from you. Please tell us about your time at St. Mary's and what you are doing now by answering the questionnaire HERE.
From its humble beginning in the psychology department, neuroscience research at St. Mary's has expanded to involve seven faculty members in three departments and scores of students. Neuroscience is a minor complete with an introductory course (NEUR201), and, for some, a student-designed major. Over the years, more than 100 students have participated in research or an internship in the neurosciences.
We look forward to hearing from you and hope that you can join us on Friday, November 14.,
Aileen Bailey (Psychology, since 1999)
Anne Marie Brady (Psychology, since 2004)
Eric Hiris (Psychology, since 2000)
John Ramcharitar (Biology, since 2007)
Linda Coughlin (Biology, since 1994)
Pam Mertz (Chemistry, since 2000)
Wes Jordan (Psychology, since 1982)
AY 08-09 Neuroscience Research Seminars TBA
News
The Second Annual Brain Bee was held on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2008. Participants included 10 teams and 5 individual contestants from 3 local high schools.
SMCM faculty, students and alumni attended and presented research at the Society of Neuroscience 2006 Annual Meeting Oct. 13 through Oct. 18 in Atlanta, GA.
Matthew Wiest was awarded a travel grant from the Biology Division of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) to present findings from his directed research experience (with Ron Saul), "Effect of a Neonatal Ventral Hippocampal Lesion on Working Memory in Rats," at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in Atlanta in October 2006. The travel grants (up to $250 each) are for undergraduate students presenting original research results at a regional or national, discipline-specific meeting during the fiscal year 2006 - 2007.
Gwen Calhoon was awarded a Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience (FUN) Student Travel Award to attend the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in Atlanta in October 2006. This competitive national award is given to about 10 undergraduate students each year. Gwen presented her SMP research at the meeting.
Meg MacFarland was the recipient of the inaugural Neuroscience Award. This book award is given to a graduating senior demonstrating superior depth of understanding, critical thinking, and research and communication skills in the field of neuroscience; and participation over and above what is expected in the SMCM Neurosciences program.
Two students presented research at the SYNAPSE meeting, April 1, 2006 (SYNAPSE = Symposium for Young Neuroscientists and Professors of the Southeast) at Davidson College, Davidson, NC. Gwen Calhoon presented her SMP work via a poster entitled "The Effects of Cognitive Intervention in Adolescence on Behavioral Abnormalities in a Rat Model of Schizophrenia" (authors Gwendolyn G. Calhoon, Anne Marie Brady). Ron Saul presented his directed research work via a poster entitled "Effect of a Neonatal Ventral Hippocampal Lesion on Working Memory in Rats" (authors Ronald D. Saul, Matthew K. Wiest, Anne Marie Brady).
Dr. Anne Marie Brady was awarded two grants to support summer research for undergraduate students who will spend 10 weeks collaborating with her on a project of common interest, the SOMAS (Support of Mentors and their Students in the Neurosciences) Award of $10,000 (includes a $3000 student stipend) which was one of six grants that was funded this year (out of 50 submitted proposals) and the CUR (Council on Undergraduate Research) Award of $4,500 (includes a $3000 student stipend). The students who will be working with Dr. Brady this summer are Ron Saul (a rising junior, currently a biology major, planning to do a self-designed major in neuroscience) and Cassie Ruiz (a rising senior, psychology major with a neuroscience minor).
In the project, they will be investigating potential cognitive deficits in a rat model of addictive behavior. Rats will be given repeated doses of methamphetamine, and then their behavior will be measured on a variety of learning and memory tasks. The eventual goal of this work is to understand the neurobiological mechanisms that may underlie the cognitive and behavioral impairments seen in drug-addicted humans.
SMCM faculty and students attended and presented research at the Society of Neuroscience 2005 Annual Meeting Nov. 12 through Nov. 16 in Washington, D.C. (students attended on the 12th and 13th). Angy Kallarackal was the only student who presented research and did so via a poster entitled "Olfactory Discrimination Learning in a Mouse Model of Neurofibromatosis" (co-authored by Dr. Aileen Bailey). Dr. Anne Marie Brady presented a poster of her research entitled "Methamphetamine Self-administration is Enhanced in the Neonatal Ventral Hippocampal Lesion Model of Schizophrenia" and Dr. Aileen Bailey presented a poster of her research entitled "192 IgG-saporin Lesions to the Nucleus Basalis Magnocellularis do not Disrupt the Retention of Learning Set Formation."