2025 Eleventh Annual Rutgers Brain Health Institute Symposium

The 2025 Eleventh Annual Rutgers Brain Health Institute (BHI) Symposium will be held on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, at the Busch Student Center in Piscataway, NJ. Highlights include a keynote lecture by Moses V. Chao, PhD, talks by BHI faculty on their cutting-edge research programs, two-minute flash talks by trainees, an update on the federal funding landscape from Lewis Burke, a Brain Art Exhibition, and a trainee poster session.
Registration is now open, with an early registration deadline of November 1, 2025.

Brain Art Exhibition

We will hold a Brain Art exhibition to celebrate the artist in the researcher. We invite Rutgers trainees to submit artwork related to neuroscience, brain, or mental health research. Whether it is a research image captured in the lab, or a de novo creation inspired by neuroscience, let your creativity shine! We will select up to 20 pieces to display during the symposium. Based on the number and quality of submissions, we will select three winners for prizes: 1st place: $200, 2nd place: $150, 3rd place: $100. Below are the 2024 award-winning art pieces.

Agenda

Time	Speaker	Affiliation
8.15 AM	Registration and Continental Breakfast
8.45 – 9.00 AM	Welcome Remarks- Dr. Brian Strom	Chancellor of Rutgers Health
9.00 – 9.15 AM	BHI Updates- Gary Aston-Jones	Director of BHI
9.20 – 9.30 AM	Detlev Boison, PhD- Professor What Turns a Healthy Brain into a Diseased Brain?	RWJMS- Neurosurgery/BHI
9.35 – 9.45 AM	David Barker, PhD- Assistant Professor Reversing the Lasting Impacts of Traumatic Stress on Pain and Fentanyl Use Through Lateral Habenula Inhibition	RU-NB- Psychology/BHI
9.50 – 10.00 AM	Juan Mena Segovia, PhD- Associate Professor Multiplexed Motor Functions of the Midbrain	RU-Newark- CMBN
10.05 – 10.15 AM	Ioana Carcea, MD, PhD- Assistant Professor Mechanistic Links Between Social Isolation and Glucose Homeostasis	NJMS- Pharm, Phys, Neuro/BHI
10.20 – 10.35 AM	Coffee/Tea Break
10.40 – 10.50 AM	Luciana Mascarenhas Fonseca, PhD- Assistant Professor Rethinking Early Cognitive Markers of Dementia: From Traditional Testing to Intraindividual and Momentary Approaches	RWJMS-Psychiatry/BHI/IFH/KKARC
10.55 – 11.05 AM	Suchismita Ray, PhD- Associate Professor Addiction Neuroimaging, Motivation, and Interventions (ANMI) Lab: Past, Present, and Future Directions	SHP- Health Informatics/BHI
11.10 – 11.20 AM	Morgan Firestein, PhD- Assistant Professor Prenatal Origins of Neurodevelopment	RWJMS-Pediatrics/BHI/CHI/RUCARES
11.30 – 12.30 PM	Keynote– Moses V. Chao, PhD Mysteries of Neurotrophic Factors	NYU Grossman School of Medicine
12.30 – 1.30 PM	Hot Buffet Lunch
1.30 – 1.40 PM	Hyung Jin Ahn, PhD- Assistant Professor Vascular and Pathological Mechanisms of Motor Dysfunction in AD/ADRD	NJMS- Pharm, Phys, Neuro/BHI
1.45 – 1.55 PM	Pabitra Sahoo, PhD- Assistant Professor Local Translation in Regeneration, Trauma, and Developmental Disorders	RU-Newark- Biology
2.00 – 2.10 PM	Miriam Bocarsly, PhD- Assistant Professor Brain Insulin Signaling Rescues Striatal Dopamine Deficits in Overweight Mice	NJMS- Pharm, Phys, Neuro/BHI
2.15 – 3.00 PM	Special presentation: “Current Federal Funding Landscape”	Lewis Burke
3.15 – 4.15 PM	Two-Minute Trainee Flash Talks	Top 25 poster submissions
4.15 – 5.30 PM	Trainee Poster Session
4:00 – 5.30 PM	Wine and Cheese & Reception Awards Ceremony

Pictures from the 2024 Tenth Annual BHI Symposium

The 2024 BHI Symposium marked the 10th anniversary of the Rutgers Brain Health Institute, a milestone for celebrating a decade of innovation, collaboration, and groundbreaking advancements in neuroscience. Held on November 14–15 at the Douglass Student Center, the two-day event brought together more than 300 academic leaders, researchers, trainees, and industry professionals. Learn more

2025 Eleventh Annual Rutgers Brain Health Institute Symposium

Keynote Speaker

Moses V. Chao, PhD

Trainee Poster Session

Two-Minute Flash Talks

Agenda

8.15 AM

Registration and Continental Breakfast

8.45 – 9.00 AM

Welcome Remarks- Dr. Brian Strom

Chancellor of Rutgers Health

9.00 – 9.15 AM

BHI Updates- Gary Aston-Jones

Director of BHI

9.20 – 9.30 AM

Detlev Boison, PhD- Professor What Turns a Healthy Brain into a Diseased Brain?

RWJMS- Neurosurgery/BHI

9.35 – 9.45 AM

David Barker, PhD- Assistant Professor Reversing the Lasting Impacts of Traumatic Stress on Pain and Fentanyl Use Through Lateral Habenula Inhibition

RU-NB- Psychology/BHI

9.50 – 10.00 AM

Juan Mena Segovia, PhD- Associate Professor Multiplexed Motor Functions of the Midbrain

RU-Newark- CMBN

10.05 – 10.15 AM

Ioana Carcea, MD, PhD- Assistant Professor Mechanistic Links Between Social Isolation and Glucose Homeostasis

NJMS- Pharm, Phys, Neuro/BHI

10.20 – 10.35 AM

Coffee/Tea Break

10.40 – 10.50 AM

Luciana Mascarenhas Fonseca, PhD- Assistant Professor Rethinking Early Cognitive Markers of Dementia: From Traditional Testing to Intraindividual and Momentary Approaches

RWJMS-Psychiatry/BHI/IFH/KKARC

10.55 – 11.05 AM

Suchismita Ray, PhD- Associate Professor Addiction Neuroimaging, Motivation, and Interventions (ANMI) Lab: Past, Present, and Future Directions

SHP- Health Informatics/BHI

11.10 – 11.20 AM

Morgan Firestein, PhD- Assistant Professor Prenatal Origins of Neurodevelopment

RWJMS-Pediatrics/BHI/CHI/RUCARES

11.30 – 12.30 PM

Keynote– Moses V. Chao, PhD Mysteries of Neurotrophic Factors

NYU Grossman School of Medicine

12.30 – 1.30 PM

Hot Buffet Lunch

1.30 – 1.40 PM

Hyung Jin Ahn, PhD- Assistant Professor Vascular and Pathological Mechanisms of Motor Dysfunction in AD/ADRD

NJMS- Pharm, Phys, Neuro/BHI

1.45 – 1.55 PM

Pabitra Sahoo, PhD- Assistant Professor Local Translation in Regeneration, Trauma, and Developmental Disorders

RU-Newark- Biology

2.00 – 2.10 PM

Miriam Bocarsly, PhD- Assistant Professor Brain Insulin Signaling Rescues Striatal Dopamine Deficits in Overweight Mice

NJMS- Pharm, Phys, Neuro/BHI

2.15 – 3.00 PM

Special presentation: “Current Federal Funding Landscape”

Lewis Burke

3.15 – 4.15 PM

Two-Minute Trainee Flash Talks

Top 25 poster submissions

4.15 – 5.30 PM

Trainee Poster Session

4:00 – 5.30 PM

Wine and Cheese & Reception Awards Ceremony

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Detlev Boison, PhD- Professor
What Turns a Healthy Brain into a Diseased Brain?

David Barker, PhD- Assistant Professor
Reversing the Lasting Impacts of Traumatic Stress on Pain and Fentanyl Use Through Lateral Habenula Inhibition

Juan Mena Segovia, PhD- Associate Professor
Multiplexed Motor Functions of the Midbrain

Ioana Carcea, MD, PhD- Assistant Professor
Mechanistic Links Between Social Isolation and Glucose Homeostasis

Luciana Mascarenhas Fonseca, PhD- Assistant Professor
Rethinking Early Cognitive Markers of Dementia: From Traditional Testing to Intraindividual and Momentary Approaches

Suchismita Ray, PhD- Associate Professor
Addiction Neuroimaging, Motivation, and Interventions (ANMI) Lab: Past, Present, and Future Directions

Morgan Firestein, PhD- Assistant Professor
Prenatal Origins of Neurodevelopment

Keynote– Moses V. Chao, PhD
Mysteries of Neurotrophic Factors

Hyung Jin Ahn, PhD- Assistant Professor
Vascular and Pathological Mechanisms of Motor Dysfunction in AD/ADRD

Pabitra Sahoo, PhD- Assistant Professor
Local Translation in Regeneration, Trauma, and Developmental Disorders

Miriam Bocarsly, PhD- Assistant Professor
Brain Insulin Signaling Rescues Striatal Dopamine Deficits in Overweight Mice