2026 Twelfth Annual Rutgers Brain Health Institute Symposium
The 12th Annual Rutgers Brain Health Institute (BHI) Symposium will be held on Wednesday, December 2, 2026, at the College Avenue Student Center, New Brunswick, NJ.
The full‑day event will feature a keynote lecture by Dr. Joseph E. LeDoux from NYU, cutting‑edge research presentations from BHI faculty, a special panel focused on the Rutgers Women’s Brain Health Initiative, two‑minute trainee flash talks, a trainee poster session, and a Brain Art Exhibition.
Early Registration Deadline: November 6, 2026
Keynote Speaker
Joseph E. LeDoux, PhD
Professor Emeritus, New York University; Henry and Lucy Moses Professor, Professor of Neural Science and Psychology, Professor of Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Medical School; Elected Member, National Academy of Sciences; Elected Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
“The Troubled History of the Emotional Brain”
Emotions are at the heart of human experience. Unfortunately, the neuroscientific study of emotions has long been plagued by misunderstanding and arguments about what emotions are. Until we pin down what emotions are, we won’t be able to relieve the emotional problems that plague so many people. Our understanding of emotion in the brain is only as good as our conceptualization of what an emotion is. This lecture provides an overview of my fifty-year involvement in neuroscience, and particularly my efforts to bring emotional consciousness into the field through the study of the neural bases of fear conditioning. It is a personal, not an encyclopedic, overview of this topic. Other neuroscientists who worked on emotion during this time would likely tell their story differently.
Special Panel: Rutgers Women’s Brain Health Initiative
Join the special panel highlighting the Rutgers Women’s Brain Health Initiative (RWBHI). Dr. Gary Aston‑Jones, Director of BHI, and Dr. Ioana Carcea, who leads RWBHI, will provide an introduction to the initiative. Led by moderator Dr. Gloria Vanderham, panelists Drs. Gloria Bachman, Alopi Patel, Michal Schnaider Beeri, Anna Konova, and Troy Roepke will hold a collaborative dialogue on the initiative’s mission: closing knowledge gaps by supporting women’s brain health research and sharing research‑backed public information, drawing on Rutgers’ diverse research and clinical expertise.
Trainee Poster Session & Two-Minute Flash Talks
We are limited by the space at the center to 50 posters, so please submit your abstracts early. Only one poster from each PI’s lab. Abstract limit: 250 words.
We will select 25 poster presenters to give a two-minute flash talk presentation about their poster.
Step-by-step submission instructions:
Step 1: Download and complete the poster abstract Word template.
Step 2: If you would like to be considered for the Two-Minute Flash Talks, please submit one PowerPoint Slide that you will use for your flash talk.
Step 3: Submit your Word abstract file (and your flash talk PowerPoint slide if applying for flash talk) to bhi@bhi.rutgers.edu.
Submission Deadline: November 6, 2026.
Brain Art Exhibition
Showcase your creativity! 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! Up to 20 pieces will be selected for display during the symposium. Based on the number and quality of submissions, three winners will be selected to receive prizes: 1st Place: $200; 2nd Place: $150; 3rd Place: $100. Please submit your artwork by November 6, 2026. Learn more
Step-by-step submission instructions:
Step 1: Upload a high-definition image of your artwork to OneDrive (accessible via myRutgers portal)
Step 2: The image should be uploaded into a newly created folder with your name
Step 3: Share this folder with kuzhikev@bhi.rutgers.edu
Step 4: Include a caption for your artwork
Below are award‑winning artworks from the previous symposium art exhibition.
