Catherine S. Woolley, PhD.
William Deering Chair in Biological Sciences, Professor, Departments of
Neurobiology and Neurology
Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine
Northwestern University
Talk Title: Brain
Estrogens and Epilepsy: Evidence for latent sex differences
in mechanisms of
neuromodulation
Catherine S.
Woolley, PhD is the William
Deering Chair in Biological Sciences and Professor of Neurobiology and
Neurology at Northwestern University. She received her PhD from Rockefeller
University in 1993 where she worked with Bruce McEwen and completed
postdoctoral training
with Philip Schwartzkroin in the Department of
Neurological Surgery at University of Washington. In 1998, she moved to
Northwestern to establish
her own laboratory as an Assistant Professor. Since
then, her research has been supported continuously by the National Institutes
of Health (NINDS,
NIDA, NIMH), as well as through the Alfred P. Sloan
Foundation, the W. M. Keck Foundation, and the Northwestern University Women’s
Health Research Institute. Dr. Woolley is currently a Councilor of the Society
for Neuroscience, a Senior Editor at The Journal of Neuroscience, and she is
the founding Director of Northwestern’s undergraduate Neuroscience program.
Dr. Woolley’s
research focuses on identification of chemical neuromodulators in the brain and
understanding how neuromodulators influence brain physiology and behavior. Her
lab uses a wide variety of approaches in their work including molecular
biology, biochemistry, light and electron microscopy, in vitro and in vivo
electrophysiology, and behavioral analysis, primarily in rats and mice. Current
projects focus on neurosteroid estrogens (estrogens produced in the brain) and
the surprising discovery of ‘latent’ sex differences in molecular and circuit-level
mechanisms operating in the brain.
Zina Trost, PhD.
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Medical/Clinical sychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham,
Birmingham, AL
Talk Title: 'Mostly Pain but also Blood’: Emerging Applications of Virtual
Reality Technologies to Pain and Rehabilitation
Dr. Trost received her Bachelor’s in Psychology in 2003 from
Fordham University in New York City where she grew up. She received her
doctorate in Clinical Health Psychology from Ohio University in Athens, OH where she first began to explore her
interests in chronic pain and illness. During her internship at the University
of Washington Medical Center Dr. Trost further developed interests in the area
of rehabilitation, particularly factors that influence individuals’ adjustment
to traumatic injury. Dr. Trost completed her postdoctoral fellowship at McGill
University in Montreal and has developed longstanding collaborative research
programs with colleagues in the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Canada.
After 3
years at the University of North Texas, she joined the faculty at the
University of Alabama at Birmingham in August 2015. Her current research
addresses how individuals cope with pain and injury. Her research uses both
clinical and laboratory paradigms and falls into three categories:
1. The mechanisms and impact of psychological constructs such as pain-related
fear, catastrophizing, and perceptions of injustice among individuals with
pain, injury, or illness.
2. Adapting virtual reality and gaming technologies (including augmented
reality and simulation) to aid in pain coping and rehabilitation for
individuals
with chronic pain and physical trauma.
3. Interpersonal processes in the context of pain and illness -- specifically,
how pain sufferers communicate their pain and how this is interpreted/responded
to in their social environment. Dr. Trost’s work to develop and expand
promising virtual applications has been supported by a number of national and
international awards including those from the American Pain Society,
International Association for the Study of Pain, and
most recently the NIH,
Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, and the Department of Defense. In 2016, Dr Trost
received the John C. Liebeskind Early Career Scholar Award from the American
Pain Society, which recognizes early career achievements that have made outstanding
contributions to pain scholarship.
Emily Ansell, PhD.
Associate Professor in Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Syracuse University
Talk Title: The highs and lows of cannabis: Effects across
modalities and use patterns
Dr. Ansell is an Associate Professor in Psychology and the
Program for Neuroscience at Syracuse University. She received her PhD in
clinical psychology from the Pennsylvania State University and completed a
postdoctoral fellowship in Psychiatry at the Yale University School
of
Medicine. She subsequently received a career development award from NIDA and
was appointed as an Assistant Professor at Yale before moving
to Syracuse
University in 2016. Her research has been funded by the American Foundation for
Suicide Prevention, the National Institutes of
Health (NIDA, OBSSR, OWHR), the
Peter McManus Foundation, and the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation
(BBRF). In 2015 she was awarded
the Families for BPD Research Young Investigator
award from BBRF. Her research focuses on how stress dysregulation
increases risk for
maladaptive outcomes (e.g., psychopathology, suicide
attempts, drug and alcohol use, disordered eating) and how substance use,
particularly recreational cannabis use, influences psychological states,
sensory processing, and behavior. Her research employs
multi-method
experimental and neuroimaging approaches as well as intensive repeated
assessments in naturalistic settings via smartphone
and sensor technology.
2018 Symposium Internal Speakers
Kenneth
Renner, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Biology
Talk Title: “Rapid
steroid effects in the CNS: A role for organic cation transporters?”
Ken Renner earned his Ph.D. in neuroendocrinology from the
University of Kansas. He received postdoctoral training at Rockefeller
University in neuroendocrinogy and the University of Kansas in analytical
chemistry. He joined the Department of Biology at the University of South
Dakota in 1994 after serving as a faculty member in the Biomedical Sciences
Department, Missouri State University. Dr. Renner worked with rodent models for
over 30 years with an emphasis on understanding the interactions of steroid
hormones and monoamine neurotransmitters in modulating behavior. His current
research is focused on exploring the role(s) of monoamines in aggression
and memory using invertebrate models.
Jazmine
Yaeger
Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Biology
Talk Title: "Advantages of a New Model of Social Defeat for
Translational Affective Disorder Experiments: Recent Progress"
After completing her B.S., where she double majored in
Biology and Psychology, Jazmine D.W. Yaeger joined the lab of Dr. Kenneth
Renner at the University of South Dakota in 2014. Here, her studies focused on aspects of
aggression, memory, and monoaminergic signaling using a mantis shrimp
model. Upon completion of her M.S.,
Jazmine started as a Ph.D. student in the lab of Dr. Cliff Summers, where she
researches the role of the neuropeptide orexin in anxiety and depression. In 2017, Jazmine was awarded a position in
USD’s Neuroscience and Nanotechnology Network (USD-N3) program. Jazmine’s research interests surround the
incorporation of nanoparticle delivery systems in alternative therapeutic
approaches for the treatment of affective disorders.
Brian Burrell, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Basic Biomedical Sciences
Talk Title: “Habituation and Cannabinoids: A New
Idea for How “Gate Control”-Based Therapies to Treat Pain Might Be Made to Work”
Dr. Burrell’s
research focuses on how changes at the cellular/synaptic level produce changes
in behavior. Most recently, his lab has focused on synaptic plasticity
mediated by endocannabinoids and how these transmitters modulate both
nociceptive (pain-sensing) and non-nociceptive circuits from the synaptic to
behavioral level. These experiments are carried out using Hirudo
verbana (the medicinal leech) as a model system, taking
advantage Hirudo’s well-described “simple” central nervous
system that facilitates recording from identifiable synapses. Burrell's
research is currently funded by the NINDS. He is also Director of
the HHMI-funded Inclusive Science Initiative, co-Director of the NSF-funded
Neuroscience, Nanotechnology, and Networks graduate student training grant
(USD-N3), and co-Director of the NIDA-funded Summer Program for Undergraduate
Research in Addiction (SPURA).
Preston
Long
Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Psychology
Talk Title: “Pain Experience and Pain Management Decisions”
Preston Long is originally from
Arizona where he completed his undergraduate studies at Northern Arizona
University with a B.S. in psychology. Afterwards, he relocated to Ashland,
Oregon where he earned a M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. There he
specialized in the non-pharmaceutical treatment of chronic pain providing
therapeutic care at an out-patient clinic. Preston now resides in Vermillion
where he recently completed a M.A. in Human Factors psychology. He continues at
the University of South Dakota working on his doctoral research which regards
the impacts of chronic pain on decision making.
Kory Zimney, PT, DPT
Assistant Professor
Physical Therapy
Talk Title: "Pain Neuroscience Edition - Helping Patients Understand Why They Hurt"
Kory Zimney, PT, DPT has been practicing physical therapy
since 1994 following his graduation from the University of North Dakota with
his Masters in Physical Therapy. He completed
his transitional DPT graduate from the Post Professional Doctorate of Physical
Therapy Program at Des Moines University, Class of 2010. At this time, he is in
the candidacy phase in the PhD PT program at Nova Southeastern University.
Dr. Zimney is currently an Assistant Professor within the
Department of Physical Therapy at the University of South Dakota, Senior
Faculty with International Spine and Pain Institute (ISPI), and researcher with
Therapeutic Neuroscience Research Group and USD Center for Brain and Behavior
Research. His primary teaching, research, and treatment focus is with pain
neuroscience, therapeutic alliance, and evidence-based practice for orthopedic
injuries of spine and extremities. He
has published multiple peer reviewed research articles in these areas. Past
work experiences have been with various community-based hospitals working in
multiple patient care areas of inpatient, skilled rehab, home health, acute
rehab, work conditioning/hardening and outpatient.
He has completed the Advanced Credentialed Clinical
Instructor program through the American Physical Therapy Association and is a
Certified Spinal Manual Therapist (CSMT) and assisted in the development of the
Therapeutic Pain Specialist (TPS) through the ISPI certification program; and
has a Certification in Applied Functional Science (CAFS) through the Gray
Institute.
Harry Freeman, Ph.D.
Professor
Counseling and Psychology in Education
Talk Title: "Attachment, Romance and Love During Young Adulthood: What's Oxytocin Got to do With it?"
For over two decades, Dr. Freeman's work has centered on
the nature and psychology of attachment relationships to parents and peers
during adolescence and young adulthood. One strand within this work is to
better understand how attachment preferences change over time and what factors
predict change. Through a series of
studies in my lab, we have gained insight into the process of romantic
attachment formation and how this process occurs differently based on early and
ongoing family relationships. More
recently we have developed a new conceptual framework and measurement tool to
explore this process in diverse cultural contexts (i.e., Egyptian and Nigerian
adolescents and young adults).
Preliminary analysis of this data has supports the notion that romantic
attachment formation shares many features across diverse social environments, a
finding that has led to a second strand of work: biological markers of attachment
preference. The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) is a logical choice given its strong
connection - in both animal and human studies - to social recognition, mate
selection, and long-term pair bonding. Currently, we just completed our first
wave of data collection on a pre-post crossover challenge study to examine the
role of intranasal OT in modulating attachment preference in parent, friend,
and romantic relationships.
Etienne Z. Gnimpieba, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor
Biomedical Engineering
Talk Title: "Attachment, Romance and Love During Young Adulthood: What's Oxytocin Got to do With it?"
Dr. Etienne Z. Gnimpieba is an Assistant Professor Research
of bioinformatics in the University of South Dakota (USD) Biomedical
Engineering program. As faculty, Dr. Gnimpieba is involved in multiple research
activities, including computational systems biology, and advanced cyber
infrastructure development for data analysis for bioscience and biomedicine
knowledge discovery. He has published articles in Nucleic Acid Research,
Molecular Cancer Research (AACR), Molecular Biosystems journal (RSC
Publishing), Faseb journal, and several conference proceedings related to
computer science usage in Bioscience and Biomedicine. Before Dr. Gnimpieba
joined USD faculty, he received a PhD in biotechnology and bioinformatics, an
MS in computational engineering in Informatics and Mathematics for Integrative
Biology, and an MS in computer science specialized on systems modeling,
artificial intelligence, and human-machine interface. His research focuses on
systems and data integration in life science research, including the
development of intuitive data acquisition and management systems for relevant
knowledge discovery. The long-term goal is to develop a new decision-support
knowledge base for predictive and precision bioscience and biomedicine. Dr.
Gnimpieba’s industry experience includes the development of data analysis
workflows for clinical and biotechnology applications. For example, he worked
with ABBOTT Pharma to develop a Systems Biology framework to study a drug
mechanism using big data from High Throughput sequencing technologies. He is
currently a data science Advisor at INANOVATE Inc., a biotechnology company
specializing in therapy and diagnosis systems development. Working with
INANOVATE, he is developing new predictive systems for cancer and related
disease diagnoses, using data science tools. Dr. Gnimpieba is the Educational
Director of the SDBRIN (South Dakota Biomedical Research Infrastructure
Network). He has mentored over 30 students in small research projects (high
school, undergraduate, graduate, postdoc), and trained over 200 students
through hands-on workshops such as the annual Bioinformatics Undergraduate
Workshop Series. Dr. Gnimpieba’s educational goal is to bridge the gap between
STEM disciplines.
