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Neuroscience Retreats

Robin Chemers Neustein Professor
Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Blue Hill at Stone Barns
Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture
Pocantico Hills, New York 10591
Monday, May 16, 2022
9:30 a.m.-9pm
 
The 2022 Rockefeller University Neuroscience Retreat will be held on Monday, May 16, 2022 from 9:30am – 9:00pm at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, located at Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture in Pocantico Hills in Westchester County, New York. The goal of the retreat is to provide an informal atmosphere to foster scientific and social interactions among the Rockefeller neuroscience community.

We are excited to announce that Dr. Ardem Patapoutian has accepted our invitation to give the plenary lecture at this year’s retreat. Dr. Patapoutian is an HHMI Investigator and Professor at The Scripps Research Institute. He is also the recipient with David Julius of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. More information about Dr. Patapoutian’s groundbreaking work on mechano- and somato-sensation can be found at his lab website. The retreat will also feature talks from Rockefeller Professors Vanessa Ruta and Michael Young, as well as short talks by students and postdocs.

The beautiful grounds of Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture will be open during free time for self-guided tours. There will be several breaks during the day for you to enjoy the surroundings.

Preliminary Schedule
Monday, May 16, 2022
8:30 a.m. Bus Departure from The Rockefeller University
9:30 – 10:00 a.m. Check-in and Continental Breakfast – HayBarn

Morning Session I – HayLoft
10:00 – 10:20 a.m. Short Talk 1 – Elias Scheer, Graduate Fellow, Bargmann Lab
10:20 – 10:40 a.m. Short Talk 2 – Christin Kosse, Postdoctoral Fellow, Friedman Lab
10:40 – 11:00 a.m. Short Talk 3 – Michalina Hanzel, Postdoctoral Associate, Hatten Lab
11:00 – 11:30 a.m. Coffee Break/Free Time – HayBarn

Morning Session II – HayLoft
11:30 a.m. – 12:05 p.m. Faculty Talk 1 – Michael W. Young, Vice President, Academic Affairs, Richard and Jeanne Fisher Professor, Laboratory of Genetics
12:05 – 12:25 p.m. Short Talk 4 – Yuriria Vazquez Zuniga, Research Associate, Freiwald Lab
12:25 – 12:45 p.m. Short Talk 5 – Trevor Sorrells, Research Associate, Vosshall Lab
12:45 – 2:45 p.m. Buffet Lunch – Main Dining Room / Terrace & Free Time / Guided Farm Tours (staggered departures during lunch)

Afternoon Session – HayLoft
2:45 – 3:05 p.m. Short Talk 6 – Fatma Ezgi Hacisuleyman, Postdoctoral Associate, R. Darnell Lab
3:05 – 3:25 p.m. Short Talk 7 – Nakul Yadav, Visiting Student, Rajasethupathy Lab
3:25 – 4:00 p.m. Faculty Talk 2 – Vanessa Ruta, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Gabrielle H. Reem and Herbert J. Kayden Associate Professor, Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Behavior
4:00 – 4:30 p.m. Coffee Break/Free Time – HayBarn

Plenary Lecture – HayLoft
4:30 – 5:30 p.m. Plenary Lecture – Ardem Patapoutian, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Professor, The Scripps Research Institute
5:30 – 6:30 p.m. Cocktail Reception – Main Dining Room / Terrace
6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Seated Dinner – HayLoft
9:00 p.m. Bus Departure from Blue Hill at Stone Barns

Blue Hill at Stone Barns
Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture
Pocantico Hills, New York 10591
Monday, May 13, 2019
9:30am-9pm
 
8:00 – 8:30 a.m. Bus Departure from The Rockefeller University 9:15 – 10:15 a.m. Check-in and Continental Breakfast – HayBarn 10:15 – 11:15 a.m. Morning Session I – HayLoft
10:15 – 10:35 a.m. Identification of a Brainstem Circuit in the Regulation of
Energy Homeostasis
Marc Schneeberger Pane Postdoctoral Fellow, Friedman Lab

10:35 – 10:55 a.m. The Taste of Blood
Veronica Jove
Graduate Fellow, Vosshall Lab

10:55 – 11:15 a.m. Singing in the Brain: Molecular Convergence in Vocal Learning
Songbirds and Humans
Gregory Gedman
Graduate Fellow, Jarvis Lab

11:15 – 11:45 a.m. Coffee Break/Free Time – HayBarn 11:45 – 1:00 p.m. Morning Session II – HayLoft
11:45 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. Large-scale Optical Recording of Neuroactivity at Depth in
Scattering Brains Alipasha Vaziri Associate Professor
Laboratory of Neurotechnology and Biophysics

12:20 – 12:40 p.m. Localized Protein Degradation Regulates Maintenance and
Plasticity of Synapses
Kai Liu
Research Associate, Steller Lab

12:40 – 1:00 p.m. Glia-dependent Glutamate Spillover Triggers Repetitive
Behavior in C. elegans
Menachem Katz
Research Associate, Shaham Lab

1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Buffet Lunch – Main Dining Room / Terrace
Free Time / Guided Farm Tours (staggered departures during lunch)

3:00 – 4:20 p.m. Afternoon Session – HayLoft

3:00 – 3:20 p.m. The Dynamics of Group Raids in a Predatory Ant
Vikram Chandra
Graduate Fellow, Kronauer Lab

3:20 – 3:40 p.m. Back Me Up? Co-transmitted Neurotransmitters
Independently Regulate Reversals During C. elegans Off-food Foraging
Aylesse Sordillo
Graduate Fellow, Bargmann Lab

3:40 – 4:00 p.m. Mechanisms Underlying Chronic Social Isolation Induced
Sleep Damage
Wanhe Li
Research Associate, Young Lab

4:00 – 4:20 p.m. Top-Down Cortical Control of Learned Overconsumption
Sarah Stern
Postdoctoral Associate, Friedman Lab

4:20 – 4:45 p.m. Coffee Break/Free Time – HayBarn

4:45 – 5:45 p.m. Plenary Lecture – HayLoft

Cortical Activity Reflects a Rich Movement Landscape That Animals Explore during Decision-making
Anne Churchland Associate Professor
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

5:45 – 6:45 p.m. Cocktail Reception – Main Dining Room / Terrace 6:45 – 9:00 p.m. Seated Dinner – HayLoft
9:15 p.m. Bus Departure from Blue Hill at Stone Barns

Blue Hill at Stone Barns
Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture
Pocantico Hills, New York 10591
Monday, May 8, 2017
9:30am-9pm
 
This year’s neuroscience retreat will be held as a one-day event at Blue Hill at Stone Barns located at Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture in Pocantico Hills in Westchester County, New York. Sited on the former dairy farm of the Rockefeller Family, Stone Barns is devoted to sustainable agriculture. The goal of the retreat is to provide a casual atmosphere to foster scientific and social interactions for the Rockefeller Neuroscience coMunity.
 
TRANSPORTATION AND PARKING
The University will provide round-trip bus transportation from campus. Four buses will arrive on campus on a staggered scheduled starting at ~ 8:00 am. The buses will be available for loading between 8:10 am and 8:30 am on the University’s main driveway inside the 66th Street gate. Each bus will depart as soon as it is filled. The last bus will be held until 8:45 am to accoModate parents who need to drop their children at the Child and Family Center.
 
For those who wish to drive, please find driving directions here. Free parking is available on-site.
 
THE PROGRAM
We are excited to announce that Dr. Sheena Josselyn, has accepted our invitation to give the plenary lecture at this year’s retreat. Dr. Josselyn is a Senior Scientist in the Neurosciences & Mental Health program at the Hospital for Sick Children, and an Professor in the departments of Psychology, Physiology and the Institute of Medical Sciences at the University of Toronto in Canada. She is known for her work on mechanisms of memory formation and retrieval. The retreat will also feature two new faculty members, Priya Rajasethupathy and Erich Jarvis, and seven short talks by students and postdocs. We will not be having a poster session this year.
 
THE SCHEDULE
8:30 Bus Departure from The Rockefeller University
 
9:30–10:00 Check-in and Continental Breakfast – HayBarn
 
10:00-11:00 Morning Session I – HayLoft
 
10:00-10:20 Short Talk 1: Laura Duvall, Postdoctoral Associate, Vosshall Lab
“Neuropeptide Y-like Regulation of Host-seeking in Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes”
 
10:20-10:40 Short Talk 2: Julien Azimzadeh, Biomedical Fellow, Hudspeth Lab
“Shedding Light on Hair Cells: Things Are Heating Up”
 
10:40-11:00 Short Talk 3: Georgia Rapti, Research Associate, Shaham Lab
“It Takes Two to Tango with Elegance: Glia and Pioneer Neurons Orchestrate Brain Assembly in C. elegans”
 
11:00-11:30 Coffee Break/Free Time – HayBarn
 
11:30-12:45 Morning Session II – HayLoft
 
11:30-12:05 Faculty Talk 1: Priya Rajasethupathy, Jonathan M. Nelson Family Assistant Professor, Laboratory of Neural Dynamics and Cognition
“Circuit Mechanisms of Top-down Memory Processing: Toward Generalization, Abstraction, and Creativity in Memory”
 
12:05-12:25 Short Talk 4: Sofia Axelrod, Postdoctoral Associate, Young Lab
“Blood-brain Barrier Integrity Is Required for Sleep”
 
12:25-12:45 Short Talk 5: Julia Sliwa, Research Associate, Freiwald Lab
“A Dedicated Network for Social Interaction Processing in the Primate Brain”
 
12:45-2:45 Buffet Lunch/Free Time/Guided Farm Tours – Dining Room/Terrace
 
2:45-4:00 Afternoon Session – HayLoft
 
2:45-3:05 Short Talk 6: Jonathan Green, Graduate Fellow, Maimon Lab
“How Does a Fly Know Where It Is Heading?”
 
3:05-3:25 Short Talk 7: Siegfried Weisenburger, Postdoctoral Associate, Vaziri Lab
“Large Volume Functional Imaging in the Mouse Brain”
 
3:25-4:00 Faculty Talk 2: Erich Jarvis, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Professor, Laboratory of Neurogenetics of Language
“Evolution of Brain Pathways and Genes for Vocal Learning and Spoken Language”
 
4:00-4:30 Coffee Break/Free Time – HayBarn
 
4:30-5:30 Plenary Talk: Sheena Josselyn – HayBarn, Senior Scientist, Program in Neurosciences and Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Professor, Departments of Psychology and Physiology, University of Toronto
“Making, Breaking and Linking Memories”
 
5:30-6:30 Cocktail Reception/Free Time – Dining Room/Terrace
 
6:30-8:30 Seated Dinner – HayLoft
 
9:00 Bus Departure from Blue Hill at Stone Barns
 
FREE TIME AND FARM TOURS
Farm Tours: During lunch there will be 30-minute farm tours guided by Stone Barns docents, and departing from the courtyard. Two guides will conduct the tours starting at 12:50pm, 1:20 pm, and 1:55 pm. Space is limited to 50 guests, 25 people per guide per tour, and the tours will depart as soon as filled. We recoMend that those interested go on the tour first and have lunch afterwards. There will be plenty of fresh food for those returning from the tours.
 
Blue Hill has also generously opened their gift shop just for our group from 1:00 – 2:30pm. The store is located under the Archway you entered through this morning and has many unique items for your shopping pleasures (the jams are delicious!).
 
REGISTERING FOR THE RETREAT
The registration system for this event can be accessed here. Please be sure to sign up for a seat on the bus if you require transportation to/from Blue Hill at Stone Barns. The University is paying $300 for each registered attendee at this retreat. If you registered but are unable to attend, please send an email to neuroretreat@mail.rockefeller.edu by Monday, April 15, 2017 to cancel your participation. Cancellations without an explanation, such as medical or family emergency, sent to us after April 15, 2017 will result in a $300 charge to your personal or laboratory account.
 
QUESTIONS
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the organizers.
 
This event is made possible by generous support from the Shelby White and Leon Levy Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior; the Kavli Neural Systems Institute; President Rick Lifton, and The Rockefeller University.
Wave Hill
A public garden & cultural center
West 249th Street and Independence Avenue (main entrance)
Riverdale, Bronx, NY 10471-2899
Monday, May 18, 2015
9:30am-9pm
 
This year’s neuroscience retreat will be held as a one-day event on Monday, May 18, 2015 at Wave Hill in Riverdale in the Bronx, New York from 9:30am-9pm. Wave Hill is a 28-acre public garden and cultural center in the Bronx overlooking the Hudson River and Palisades. Its mission is to celebrate the artistry and legacy of its gardens and landscapes, to preserve its magnificent views, and to explore human connections to the natural world through programs in horticulture, education and the arts.
 
The goal of the retreat is to provide an informal atmosphere to foster scientific and social interactions among the Rockefeller neuroscience coMunity.
 
2015 Rockefeller University Neuroscience Retreat Event Photos
Photos from the event can be viewed HERE.
 
REGISTERING FOR THE RETREAT
The registration system for this event can be accessed HERE. Please register as early as possible because this event is very popular and fills quickly. We maintain a waiting list once the limit of 150 registered attendees has been reached. The registration system will ask you if you want a seat on the bus going to or returning from Wave Hill. Parking is limited, and you must sign up for a spot if you plan to drive your own car. The University is paying $300 for each registered attendee at this retreat. If you registered but are unable to attend, please send an email to neuroretreat@rockefeller.edu by Friday May 1, 2015 to cancel your participation. Cancellations without an explanation, such as medical or family emergency, sent to us after May 1 will result in a $300 charge to your personal or laboratory account.
 
THE PROGRAM
Faculty talks will be given by Mary Beth Hatten, who studies the developmental wiring of neural circuits using the cerebellum as a model, and Tim Ryan, who studies the molecular basis of synaptic transmission in the maMalian brain. Our plenary speaker will be Massimo Scanziani, an HHMI Investigator at UCSD who studies the balance of excitation and inhibition in cortical circuits.
 
Six short talks by students and postdocs will be selected from submitted abstracts. The deadline for abstract submissions is April 1, 2015, and you will be notified by April 15, 2015 if your abstract has been selected for a short talk. We will not be having a poster session this year.
 
THE SCHEDULE
8:30 Bus Departure from The Rockefeller University
 
9:30-10:00 Arrival, Check-in, and Continental Breakfast
 
10:00-10:20 Short Talk 1: Aakanksha Singhvi (Research Associate/Shaham Lab)
“Glial Cues and Neuronal cGMP Together Regulate Sensory Neuron Receptive Ending Shape and Function”
 
10:20-10:40 Short Talk 2: Daibhid O Maoileidigh (Postdoctoral Associate/Hudspeth Lab)
“A Hair Bundle’s Function can be Controlled by its Mechanical Load”
 
10:40-11:00 Short Talk 3: Anmo Kim (Postdoctoral Associate/Maimon Lab)
“Visual Efference Copy in Flying Drosophila”
 
11:00-11:20 Coffee Break/Free Time
 
11:20-12:05 Faculty Talk 1: Tim Ryan
“The Biology of Axonal and Synaptic Power Supplies”
 
12:05-12:25 Short Talk 4: Erica Korb (Postdoctoral Fellow/Allis Lab)
“The Role of Brd4 in Transcriptional Regulation, Memory Consolidation, and Seizure Susceptibility”
 
12:30-2:30 Buffet lunch/Free time/Self-guided Garden Tours
 
2:30-2:50 Short Talk 5: Raphael Cohn (Graduate Fellow/Ruta Lab)
“Circuit Mechanisms for Flexible Sensory Processing in Drosophila”
 
2:50-3:10 Short Talk 6: Alicia Guemez Gamboa (Postdoctoral Associate/Gleeson Lab)
“PCDH12 is Mutated in a Human Brain Wiring Syndrome and Mediates Axonal Self-Repulsion in a Cofilin-Dependent Fashion”
 
3:10-3:55 Faculty Talk 2: Mary Beth Hatten
“Changes in Chromatin Remodeling Genes During Circuit Formation in Developing CNS”
 
4:00-4:30 Coffee Break/Free Time
 
4:30-5:30 Plenary Talk: Massimo Scanziani (UCSD)
 
“Cortical Circuits of Vision”
 
5:30-6:30 Cocktail Reception/Free Time/Self-Guided Garden Tours
 
6:30-8:30 Seated Dinner
 
9:00 Departure
 
FREE TIME AND SELF-GUIDED GARDEN TOUR
Wave Hill will be closed to the public on this day, but the grounds are open for self-guided tours. There will be garden docents posted around the property who can answer any questions you may have.
 
TRANSPORTATION AND PARKING
The University will provide round-trip bus transportation, leaving from the 66th Street and York Avenue gate at 8:30AM on Monday, May 18, 2015. The buses will be lined up along the driveway by Founders Hall and/or along York Avenue near the 66th Street gate and we will start loading at 8:15am. Buses will depart as soon as they are full. The last bus will be held for departure until 8:45am to accoModate latecomers and parents who are dropping children off at the Child and Family Center or local schools. We will be departing Wave Hill at 9PM the same day and return to the Rockefeller campus. Travel time is approximately 30 – 45 minutes, depending on traffic.
 
For those who wish to drive or take public transportation, please find directions here. Wave Hill is easily accessible by Metro North, and MTA trains and buses. There is limited parking on-site at Wave Hill if you plan to drive your personal car. You need to register for a parking space and will be turned away if your name is not on the parking list.
 
QUESTIONS
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Neuroscience Retreat Coordinator, Linda Hanssler
 
This event is made possible by generous support from the Shelby White and Leon Levy Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, a program of the Leon Levy Foundation, and President Marc Tessier-Lavigne.
Blue Hill at Stone Barns
Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture
630 Bedford Road
Pocantico Hills, New York 10591
Monday, May 13, 2013
9:30am-9pm
 
This year’s neuroscience retreat will be held as a one-day event at Blue Hill at Stone Barns located at Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture in Pocantico Hills in Westchester County, New York. Sited on the former dairy farm of the Rockefeller Family, Stone Barns is devoted to sustainable agriculture. The goal of the retreat is to provide a casual atmosphere to foster scientific and social interactions for the Rockefeller Neuroscience coMunity.
 
REGISTERING FOR THE RETREAT
The registration system for this event can be accessed here. Please be sure to sign up for a seat on the bus if you require transportation to/from Blue Hill at Stone Barns. The University is paying $300 for each registered attendee at this retreat. If you registered but are unable to attend, please send an email to neuroretreat@mail.rockefeller.edu by Monday, April 15, 2013 to cancel your participation. Cancellations without an explanation, such as medical or family emergency, sent to us after April 15 will result in a $300 charge to your personal or laboratory account.
 
THE PROGRAM
We are excited to announce that Rod MacKinnon and Vanessa Ruta will speak at the retreat and that Dr. Carla Shatz, Director of BioX at Stanford University, has accepted our invitation to give the plenary lecture at this year’s retreat. Dr. Shatz is a pioneer in the development and plasticity of the maMalian nervous system. Six short talks will be contributed by students and postdocs. We will not be having a poster session this year.
 
THE SCHEDULE
8:30 Bus Departure from The Rockefeller University
 
9:30-10:00 Arrival, Check-in, and Continental Breakfast
 
10:00-10:20 Short Talk 1: David Simon (Postdoctoral Fellow, Tessier-Lavigne Lab)
“A Caspase Cascade Regulating Developmental Axon Degeneration”
 
10:20-10:40 Short Talk 2: Conor McMeniman (Postdoctoral Fellow, Vosshall Lab)
“Impaired Multimodal Perception of Host Sensory Cues in Mosquito Carbon Dioxide Receptor Mutants”
 
10:40-11:00 Short Talk 3: Alina Patke (Research Associate, Young Lab)
“Mutation of the Human Circadian Clock Gene Cry1 in Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder”
 
11:00-11:20 Coffee Break/Free Time
 
11:20-12:05 Faculty Talk 1: Rod MacKinnon
“Mechano-sensitive Ion Channel Gating”
 
12:05-12:25 Short Talk 4: Yevgeniy Sirotin (Levy Neuroscience Fellow)
“Independent Representation of Intensity in Rodent Olfaction”
 
12:30-2:30 Buffet lunch/Free time/5 Guided Farm Tours (staggered departures during lunch)
 
2:30-2:50 Short Talk 5: Pinar Ayata (Visiting Fellow, Heintz Lab)
“Decoding 5hmC as an Active Chromatin Mark in the Brain and Its Link to Rett Syndrome”
 
2:50-3:10 Short Talk 6: Steven Flavell (Postdoctoral Associate, Bargmann Lab)
“Serotonin and PDF are Opposing Neuromodulators that Control a Bistable Behavior in C. elegans”
 
3:10-3:55 Faculty Talk 2: Vanessa Ruta
“Tracing Innate and Adaptive Olfactory Circuits in Drosophila”
 
4:00-4:30 Coffee Break/Free Time
 
4:30-5:30 Plenary Talk: Carla Shatz (Stanford University)
“Surprise at the Synapse: MHC Class I, Pruning and Plasticity”
 
5:30-6:30 Cocktail Reception/Free Time/2 Guided Farm Tours (departing at 5:30 p.m.)
 
6:30-8:30 Seated Dinner
 
9:00 Departure
 
FREE TIME AND FARM ACCESS
Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture will be closed to the public on this day, but the grounds are open for self-guided tours. There will be several breaks during the day for you to enjoy the surroundings. The Blue Hill gift shop will be opened up for our group during the lunch break (still to be confirmed!). 30 minute guided tours for groups of 20 participants will be available during the two hour lunch break and at the beginning of the cocktail hour. If you are interested in joining one of these tours, please be sure to sign up when you register.
 
TRANSPORTATION AND PARKING
The University will provide round-trip bus transportation, leaving from the 66th Street and York Avenue gate at 8:30AM on Monday, May 13. The buses will be lined up along York Avenue near the 66th Street gate and we will start loading at 8:15am. Buses will depart as soon as they are full. The last bus will be held for departure until 8:45am to accoModate latecomers and parents who are dropping children at the Child and Family Center or local schools. We will be departing Stone Barns at 9PM the same day and return to the Rockefeller campus. Travel time is approximately 45 – 60 minutes, depending on traffic.
 
For those who wish to drive, please find driving directions here. There is unlimited on-site free parking.
 
QUESTIONS
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Leslie Vosshall/Jill Benz.
 
On behalf of the Neuroscience Retreat CoMittee:
Cori Bargmann
Torsten Wiesel
Bruce McEwen
George Reeke
Sid Strickland
Mike Young
Leslie Vosshall
 
This event is made possible by generous support from the Shelby White and Leon Levy Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior and President Marc Tessier-Lavigne.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Brooklyn, New York
Monday, May 23, 2011
9:30am-9pm
 
NEW: Check updates below on bus departure time and on-site parking. Also please bring a valid I.D. as the bartenders may be checking ID at the bar.
 
This year’s neuroscience retreat will be held as a one-day event at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden located in the Prospect Heights section of Brooklyn, NY. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is an urban garden known for its stunning horticultural displays and its research and educational activities in the plant sciences. The goal of the retreat is to provide a casual atmosphere to foster scientific and social interactions for the Rockefeller Neuroscience coMunity.
 
REGISTERING FOR THE RETREAT
The registration system for this event can be accessed at this link. Please be sure to sign up for a seat on the bus if you require transportation to/from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
 
IMPORTANT: The University is paying $300 for each registered attendee at this retreat. If you registered but are unable to attend, please send an email to neuroretreat@mail.rockefeller.edu by Friday, April 15, 2011 to cancel your participation. Cancellations without an explanation, such as medical or family emergency, sent to us after April 15 will result in a $300 charge to your personal or laboratory account.
 
THE PROGRAM
 
Seven short talks will be contributed by postdocs and neuroscience fellow Diego Laplagne. Faculty talks will be given by Torsten Wiesel, President Emeritus, and two of our newly recruited neuroscience faculty members, Daniel Kronauer and Gaby Maimon. Dr. Wiesel has been active worldwide in science since he retired from research in 1992 and will give us his perspectives on efforts to organize and develop scientific institutions. Dr. Maimon joined RU and founded the Laboratory of Integrative Brain Function in January 2011. His group will use neurophysiology and behavior to study sensory and motor processing in the fly. Dr. Kronauer will be joining the Rockefeller CoMunity in July 2011 as Assistant Professor, Head of the Laboratory of Insect Social Evolution. We are excited to announce that Rockefeller’s new President, Dr. Marc Tessier-Lavigne, has accepted our invitation to give the evening plenary lecture at this year’s retreat. Dr. Tessier-Lavigne, a world leader in the study of brain development, will be establishing the Laboratory of Brain Development and Repair on campus this spring. He has pioneered the identification of the molecules that direct the formation of connections among nerve cells to establish neuronal circuits in the maMalian brain and spinal cord. Learn more about Dr. Tessier-Lavigne’s research here.
 
We will not be having a poster session this year.
 
THE SCHEDULE
8:30 Bus departure from Rockefeller University
 
9:30-10:00 Arrival, check-in, and continental breakfast
 
10:00-10:20 Short Talk 1: Jennifer Warner-Schmidt (Greengard Lab)
“Depression and p11: From Molecules to Mood”
 
10:20-10:40 Short Talk 2: Diego Laplagne (Leon Levy Neuroscience Fellow)
“A Study on Rat Vocal CoMunication, or, Why New Yorkers Should be Glad They Don’t Hear Ultrasounds”
 
10:40-11:00 Coffee break/Free time in the garden
 
11:00-11:45 Faculty Talk 1: Gaby Maimon
“Vision in Flying Fruit Flies”
 
11:45-12:30 Faculty Talk 2: Daniel Kronauer
“Invasion of the clones: Parthenogenetic reproduction and global spread of the ant Cerapachys biroi”
 
12:30-2:00 Buffet lunch/Free time in the garden
 
2:00-2:20 Short Talk 3: Aaron Steiner (Hudspeth Lab)
“The Zebrafish Lateral Line as a Model for Hair Cell Regeneration”
 
2:20-2:40 Short Talk 4: Masato Yano (R. Darnell Lab)
“HITS-CLIP as a Tool to Study Neural Development”
 
2:40-3:00 Short Talk 5: Eric Schmidt (Heintz Lab)
“Using Bac-TRAP to Identify and Characterize a Neocortical Cell Population that Mediates Responses to Antidepressant Treatment”
 
3:00-3:40 Coffee break/Free time in the garden
 
3:40-4:00 Short Talk 6: Elizabeth Glater (Bargmann Lab)
“The Genetic and Neuronal Basis of Food Preference Behavior in Caenorhabditis elegans
 
4:00-4:20 Short Talk 7: Lindy McBride (Vosshall Lab)
“Evolutionary Genetic Analysis of Mosquito Preference for Human Scent”
 
4:20-4:50 Special Remarks: Torsten Wiesel
 
4:50-5:00 Break
 
5:00-6:30 Cocktail Reception/Free time in the garden
 
6:30-8:00 Buffet Dinner
 
8:00-9:00 Evening Talk: Marc Tessier-Lavigne: “Axon Guidance at the Midline Choice Point”
 
9:00 Departure
 
FREE TIME AND GARDEN ACCESS
 
Brooklyn Botanic Garden is closed to the public on this day so our group will have exclusive access to the grounds. There will be many breaks during the day for you to enjoy the surroundings.
 
TRANSPORTATION AND PARKING
 
The University will provide round-trip bus transportation, leaving from the 66th Street and York Avenue gate at 8:30AM on Monday, May 23. The buses will be lined up along the Founders Hall driveway inside the 66th Street gate and we will start loading at 8:15am. Buses will depart as soon as they are full. The third bus will be held for departure until 8:45am to accoModate latecomers and parents who are dropping children at the Child and family Center. Buses will be dropping us at 1000 Washington Avenue in Brooklyn.
 
We will be departing the Garden at 9PM the same day. Travel time is approximately 45 – 60 minutes, depending on traffic.
 
There will be three buses chartered for transportation to the retreat and, based on past history, two buses chartered for return to the University that evening. If you want a seat on the bus for either direction, please indicate this on the on-line registration form. Bus cancellations should be sent to neuroretreat@mail.rockefeller.edu and must be received by April 15, 2011.
 
*NEW* To accoModate parents dropping children at the CFC, the third bus will be held to load after 8:30am and depart at 8:45am. The first two buses will start loading at about 8:15am and will depart at around 8:30am.
 
If you wish to take the public transportation, the MTA Subway will bring you to the Prospect Heights/Park Slope area of Brooklyn. The subway options are: the 2 or 3 line to Eastern Parkway-Brooklyn Museum, the B or Q line to Prospect Park Station, or the 4 or 5 line to Franklin Avenue.
 
For those who wish to drive, there is unlimited paid parking on-site at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for $10 per vehicle. If you plan to drive, the cost of parking is your responsibility. Detailed directions and maps can be found here.
 
*NEW* If you are driving your own vehicle, please enter the BBG parking lot at 900 Washington Avenue. Even though the garden is closed to the public on this day, parking lot attendants are expecting members of our group.
 
QUESTIONS
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us Leslie Vosshall/Jill Benz.
 
On behalf of the Neuroscience Retreat CoMittee:
Cori Bargmann
Torsten Wiesel
Bruce McEwen
George Reeke
Sid Strickland
Mike Young
Leslie Vosshall
 
This event is made possible by generous support from the Shelby White and Leon Levy Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior and by Sir Paul Nurse and President Marc Tessier-Lavigne.
Wave Hill
A Public Garden & Cultural Center
Riverdale, The Bronx, New York
Monday, June 1, 2009
9:30am-9pm
 
This year’s neuroscience retreat will be held as a one-day event at Wave Hill in Riverdale in the Bronx. The goal of the retreat is to provide a casual atmosphere for scientific and social interactions for the Rockefeller Neuroscience coMunity.
 
*NEW PHOTOS OF THE RETREAT* Thanks to all for participating in a great event on June 1st. Daniel Andor has posted a Flickr photo set of this event. The next retreat will be held in 2011!
 
REGISTERING FOR THE RETREAT
*NEW* The registration system for this event can be accessed at this link. Please be sure to sign up for a seat on the bus or to be added to the list for an on-site parking space. Garden tours are now open to everyone and will be provided by docents stationed around the gardens.
 
IMPORTANT: The University is paying $300 for each registered attendee at this retreat. If you registered but are unable to attend, please send an email to neuroretreat@mail.rockefeller.edu by Friday May 22, 2009 to cancel your participation. Cancellations sent to us less than one week before the event will result in a $300 charge to your personal or laboratory account.
 
THE PROGRAM
Plenary talks will be given by Paul Greengard and our newest neuroscience faculty member, Winrich Freiwald. We are excited to announce that Matthew A. Wilson, Sherman Fairchild Professor of Neuroscience and Picower Scholar at the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at M.I.T. has accepted our invitation to be the guest outside speaker at this year’s retreat. Dr. Wilson has been a leader in multiunit recording technology as applied to the hippocampal place cells in rodents as well as the recapitulation of activity patterns from waking activity during sleep. The overall research interests of his lab are finding out how memories are formed and retrieved. Learn more about the work of Matt Wilson here.
Seven short talks have been selected by the coMittee from abstracts submitted by students and postdocs.
 
*NEW* By popular demand, we WILL be having a poster session this year. Please email Jill Benz by Tuesday May 26, 2009 if you will be bringing a poster. Posters will be on display throughout the day and poster presenters will be available during the cocktail hour prior to dinner.
 
THE SCHEDULE
The Garden is closed to the public on the day of our event, and there will be many breaks during the day for you to enjoy the surroundings. Wave Hill will be offering guided tours of the gardens (details below).
 
*NEW* You can download the Program for the retreat here.
 
The final schedule of events is:
9:30-10:00 ARRIVAL/COFFEE
 
10:00-10:20 Short Talk 1: Joseph Dougherty (Heintz Lab)
“Translational profiling of serotonergic neurons identifies candidate genes for autism”
 
10:20-10:40 Short Talk 2: Dragana Rogulja (Young Lab)
“A search for molecular mechanisms of sleep in Drosophila melanogaster”
 
10:40-11:10 COFFEE BREAK/FREE TIME IN GARDEN
 
11:10-11:30 Short Talk 3: Manuel Castellano-Munoz (Hudspeth Lab)
“Efferent control of electrical and mechanical properties of hair cells”
 
11:30-12:15 Paul Greengard, Vincent Astor Professor and Head of Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience
“p11: a predictor of vulnerability to depression”
 
12:15-2:00 BUFFET LUNCH/FREE TIME IN GARDEN
 
2:00-2:20 Short Talk 4: Soledad Miranda-Rottman (R. Darnell Lab)
“The splicing factor Nova2 regulates efferent innervation of the mouse cochlea”
 
2:20-2:40 Short Talk 5: Eve-Ellen Govek (Hatten Lab)
“The role of RhoE (Rnd3) in cerebellar granule cell neurogenesis”
 
2:40-3:00 Short Talk 6: Anne Schaefer (Greengard Lab)
“Neuronal loss of the epigenetic regulators GLP and G9a causes a mental retardation-like syndrome”
 
3:00-3:40 COFFEE BREAK/FREE TIME IN GARDEN
 
3:40-4:00 Short Talk 7: Manuel ZiMer (Bargmann Lab)
“Neurons detect increases and decreases in oxygen levels using distinct guanylate cyclases”
 
4:00-4:45 Winrich Freiwald, Assistant Professor and Head of Laboratory
“Taking apart the neural machinery of face processing”
 
5:00-8:00 COCKTAILS (OPEN BAR)AND POSTER SESSION
 
5:00-6:00 GUIDED TOURS OF WAVE HILL GROUNDS (Docents available throughout the garden to answer questions)
 
6:15-8:00 HORS D’OUVRES AND DINNER
 
8:00-9:00 Plenary Talk: Matthew A. Wilson, Picower Center and M.I.T.
“Hippocampal memory reactivation”
 
9:00 Departure
 
FREE TIME AND GARDEN TOURS
Wave Hill is closed to the public on this day and so our group will have exclusive access to the grounds. We have prograMed lots of breaks so that attendees can enjoy the surroundings in between the scheduled talks.
 
*NEW* There was very strong interest in the guided garden tour, so we decided to open this to everyone. The University will sponsor expert garden docents who will be stationed around the garden to answer any questions you may have. Docents will be available from 5-6pm.
 
GETTING THERE
The University will provide round-trip bus transportation, leaving from the 66th Street and York Avenue gate at 8:45AM on Monday June 1. Assembled on York Avenue outside the front gate. Buses will be lined up along York Avenue. We will be departing the Garden at 9PM the same day. Travel time is approximately 35 minutes. Buses will be chartered according to the number of people who sign up for bus transportation. If you want a seat on the bus, please indicate this on the on-line registration form.
 
If you wish to take the public transportation, both MetroNorth and the MTA Subway will bring you to the Riverdale area. Wave Hill provides free shuttle van service between the front gate and the Metro-North Railroad Riverdale station and the terminus of the #1 subway train at West 242nd Street.
 
*NEW* For those who wish to drive, there is limited parking on-site at Wave Hill. Detailed directions and maps can be found here. You need to be on the list for parking spaces. Drivers who show up without informing us first will be turned away and will need to find on-street parking elsewhere, which will be almost impossible to find. Do not drive to Wave Hill unless you have confirmed with us that you are on the parking list!
 
QUESTIONS
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact: Leslie Vosshall or Jill Benz
 
On behalf of the Neuroscience Retreat CoMittee:
Cori Bargmann
Torsten Wiesel
Bruce McEwen
George Reeke
Sid Strickland
Mike Young
Leslie Vosshall
 
This event is made possible by generous support from the Shelby White and Leon Levy Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior and by President Paul Nurse.
The Garden Terrace Room
New York Botanical Garden
Bronx, New York
Monday, May 21, 2007
9:30am-9pm
 
This year’s neuroscience retreat will be held as a one-day event at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. The goal of the retreat is to provide a casual atmosphere for scientific and social interactions for the Rockefeller Neuroscience coMunity.
 
REGISTERING FOR THE RETREAT
The registration system for this event is closed, but we have a few open spots. If you wish to attend, email neuroretreat@rockefeller.edu.
 
THE PROGRAM
Drs. Jeff Friedman and A. James Hudspeth will present plenary talks. Seven short talks have been selected by the coMittee from abstracts submitted by students and postdocs.
 
This year, Dr. Elizabeth Spelke of Harvard University will join us as an outside speaker to delivery a plenary lecture discussing her studies on cognitive and language development in human infants. Her work was recently profiled in The New Yorker.
 
THE SCHEDULE
Based on past feedback, we will be offering fewer talks and more time for casual interactions at this year’s retreat. The Garden is closed to the public on the day of our event, and there will be many breaks during the day for you to enjoy the surroundings. From 5-6PM, Shelby White and the Leon Levy Foundation are sponsoring a private tour of the Enid Haupt Conservatory for Rockefeller neuroscientists.
 
The schedule of events is:
9:30-10:00 ARRIVAL/COFFEE
 
10:00-10:20 Matthieu Louis (Vosshall Lab)
“Making sense of graded olfactory stimuli”
 
10:20-10:40 Steve Lockless (MacKinnon Lab)
“Structural and thermodynamic properties of selective ion binding in a K+ channel”
 
10:40-11:10 COFFEE BREAK/FREE TIME IN GARDEN
 
11:10-11:30 Stephanie Schneider (Hatten Lab)
“Lrp12 defines a preplate cell population in the embryonic forebrain”
 
11:30-12:15 A.J. Hudspeth
“How hearing happens”
 
12:15-2:00 BUFFET LUNCH
 
2:00-2:20 Myriam Heiman (Greengard Lab)
“Novel physiological properties of striatal neurons revealed using BACarray transcriptional profiling”
 
2:20-2:40 Matteo Ruggiu (R. Darnell Lab)
“Alternative splicing and the synapse: the splicing factory NOVA regulates the formation of the neuromuscular junction”
 
2:40-3:20 COFFEE BREAK/FREE TIME IN GARDEN
 
3:20-3:40 Russell Romeo (McEwen Lab)
“Stress during adolescence leads to depressive-like behaviors and changes in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function in adulthood”
 
3:40-4:00 Maxwell G Heiman (Shaham Lab)
“A protein pair required for dendrite morphogenesis in C. elegans”
 
4:00-4:45 Jeffrey Friedman
“Leptin and a Neural Circuit Regulating Feeding Behavior”
 
5:00-8:00 COCKTAILS (OPEN BAR)
 
5:00-6:00 TOUR OF ENID HAUPT CONSERVATORY
 
6:15-8:00 HORS D’OUVRES AND DINNER
 
8:00-9:00 Plenary Talk: Dr. Elizabeth Spelke (Harvard University)
“Steps Toward a Neurobiology of Thought”
 
9:00 Departure
 
GETTING THERE
The University will provide round-trip bus transportation, leaving from the 66th Street and York Avenue gate at 9AM on Monday May 21 and departing the Garden at 9PM the same day. Travel time is approximately 35 minutes. Three buses with a total capacity of 150 passengers have been chartered. If you want a seat on the bus, please indicate this in the on-line registration form.
 
If you wish to take the public transportation, both MetroNorth and the MTA Subway have stops near the garden.
 
For those who wish to drive, there is free parking on-site at the Garden. Enter at the Moshulu Gate and ask the guard to direct you to the Garden Terrace Room. The physical address of the venue is 2900 Southern Boulevard, which you will be able to use for internet directions. Click HERE for text directions to the New York Botanical Garden.
 
QUESTIONS
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact: Leslie Vosshall by email or phone (x7236).
 
On behalf of the Neuroscience Retreat CoMittee:
Cori Bargmann
Torsten Wiesel
Bruce McEwen
George Reeke
Sid Strickland
Mike Young
Leslie Vosshall
Edith Macy Conference Center
Briarcliff Manor, New York
May 14-15, 2005
 
This year’s neuroscience retreat will be held at the Edith Macy Conference Center which is located in Westchester County in the town of Briarcliff Manor, New York. The goal of the retreat is to provide a casual atmosphere for scientific and social interactions for the Rockefeller Neuroscience coMunity.
 
THE PROGRAM
Drs. Cori Bargmann and Stanislas Leibler will present plenary talks. Short talks by students and postdocs (15 minutes) will be mixed with longer talks (25 minutes) by Heads of Laboratories. A Saturday night poster session will be followed by a cocktail reception.
 
**NEW** Click here to see the final schedule of events.
 
POSTERS
We encourage students and postdocs to bring posters for the poster session/cocktail reception on Saturday night. Please email Leslie Vosshall as soon as possible if you will be bringing a poster so that a poster board can be reserved for you.
 
**NEW** RECREATION POSSIBILITIES AND POLICY ON ALCOHOL
The Edith Macy Conference Center has a swiMing pool and hiking trails on the property available to all attendees. The Conference Center does not permit outside food or alcohol in the rooms. Any guests found drinking outside alcohol on the premises will be assessed a $750 service charge. We are making a cash bar available Saturday night from 6PM-9PM and 11PM-. The University is sponsoring an open bar during the Saturday night poster session from 9PM-11PM.
 
GETTING THERE
The University will provide round-trip bus transportation, leaving from the 66th Street and York Avenue gate at 9AM on Saturday May 14 and departing the conference center at 6:30PM on Sunday May 15. Travel time is approximately 45 minutes. Three buses with a total capacity of 150 passengers have been chartered. You do not need to reserve a seat on the bus, but arrive early to make sure you get a spot.
 
If you wish to take the train, the closest station is Pleasantville, but you will need to arrange for taxi transportation from the station to the Edith Macy Conference Center.
 
For those who wish to drive, click here for directions to the Edith Macy Conference Center. Free parking is available. Click here for a map of the grounds of the Edith Macy Conference Center.
 
OVERNIGHT ARRANGEMENTS
 
**NEW** ** Rooming lists updated to reflect last-minute changes as of 12PM May 12, 2005
Click here to see the final rooming lists.
 
If your name is not on this list, you do not have a room! As of May 12, 2005 we have space for an additional 7 people. Contact Leslie Vosshallto be placed in a room.
 
**NEW** HOLs will attend the conference at the Edith Macy Conference Center but will be lodged nearby at Tarrytown House, 49 East Sunnyside Lane, Tarrytown, NY. (T) 914-591-8200. Check-in time at Tarrytown House is 4PM, so we suggest you bring your bags to the Edith Macy Conference Center and check into Tarrytown House only after the evening events. If you are not driving yourself, a car service will be available starting at 10PM and as late as 1AM to carry you and your bags to Tarrytown House. On Sunday, May 15 Breakfast will be served at Tarrytown House from 7AM-9AM and a shuttle bus will depart Tarrytown House for the Edith Macy Conference Center at 9:15AM.
 
**NEW** Directions from Edith Macy Conference Center to Tarrytown House: : Exit the Conference Center and turn right (west) onto Chappaqua Road. Turn right on Pleasantville Road and proceed until you intersect Route 9A. Take Route 9A South until you see the entrance to the Saw Mill Parkway. Merge onto the Saw Mill Parkway South. Get off exit 22 (Tarrytown/Rt. 119). At the end of the exit, make a right turn onto Rte. 119 West. Go to intersection of Rte. 119 and Rte. 9 and turn left onto Rte. 9 south. Go to the third traffic light (approx. 1 mile) and turn left onto East Sunnyside Lane. Tarrytown House Estate & Conference Center is the Second Entrance on the left.
 
**NEW** Click here for general directions and maps for Tarrytown House.
 
The University will cover transportation, lodging, and food expenses for all University affiliates, but other charges such as telephone and other incidentals will be collected in cash by the hotels directly. Unfortunately, we cannot accoModate family members or guests at the Edith Macy Conference Center.
 
QUESTIONS
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact: Leslie Vosshall-X7236 Leslie.Vosshall@mail.rockefeller.edu
 
On behalf of the Neuroscience Retreat CoMittee:
Torsten Wiesel
Bruce McEwen
George Reeke
Sid Strickland
Mike Young
Leslie Vosshall
Mohonk Mountain House
May 2-4, 2003
 
207 Attendees–23 Labs–17 Lab Heads
 

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Contact Us

Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behavior
HHMI – The Rockefeller University
1230 York Avenue
Box 63
New York, NY 10065

Leslie Vosshall