Conference Program
Building on the success of previous Precision Neuroscience Conferences hosted in Oslo, Norway in 2018, and Roanoke in 2016, the 2022 program features 29 prominent thought leaders in mental health, brain cancer, neurodevelopment, aging, neurodegeneration, and injury research.
Wednesday, May 25
7:30 – 8:15: Registration
8:15 – 8:30: Welcome and Conference Overview | Clive Bramham, M.D., Ph.D. and Michael Friedlander, Ph.D.
Session 1: Neurodevelopment
8:30 – 8:55: Michelle Olsen, Ph.D., Virginia Tech | “Astrocyte Dysfunction Contributes to Disordered Breathing in Rett Syndrome”
8:55 – 9:20: Anthony-Samuel LaMantia, Ph.D., Fralin Biomedical Research Institute – Virginia Tech | “The Odds of Small Things: Precision Analysis of Pathogenic Mechanisms in a Neurodevelopmental Disorder”
9:20 – 9:45: Catherine Limperopoulos, Ph.D., Children’s National Hospital | “Prenatal Origins of Neurophyschiatric Disorders: The Role of Quantitative Fetal MRI”
9:45 – 10:05: Break
10:05 – 10:30: Sharon Landesman Ramey, Ph.D., Fralin Biomedical Research Institute – Virginia Tech | “Intensive Early Interventions: Transforming Children’s Neurobehavioral Trajectories”
10:30 – 10:55: Ukpong Eyo, Ph.D., University of Virginia Health System| “Understanding Microglia as a Novel Target in Seizure Disorders”
10:55 – 11:20: Sharon Swanger, Ph.D., Fralin Biomedical Research Institute – Virginia Tech | “Synapse- and Cell-Type-Specific Dysfunction in a Dravet Syndrome Mouse Model”
11:20 – 12:30: Lunch and Keynote Speaker: Carol A. Mason, Ph.D., Columbia University | “Wiring the Eye to the Brain for Binocular Vision: Lessons from the Albino Visual System”
Session 2: Aging, Neurodegeneration, and Injury
12:30 – 12:55: Hilde Loge Nilsen, Ph.D., University of Oslo | “Base Excision Repair as a Risk Modulator of Parkinson’s Disease”
12:55 – 1:20: David Cifu, M.D., Virginia Commonwealth University Health| “Repetitive Concussions from Blast and Combat Exposure: Update from the Prospective, Longitudinal Study of the Long-term Impact of Military-Relevant Brain Injury Consortium, 2013-2021”
1:20 – 2:05: Break
2:05 – 2:30: Steve Finkbeiner, M.D., Ph.D., University of California San Francisco | “Finding Causes and Treatments for Neurodegenerative Disease with Stem Cells, Genomics, Robotics, and Artificial Intelligence”
2:30 – 2:55: Asta Kristina Haberg, M.D., Ph.D., Norwegian University of Science and Technology | “Building Blocks of Memory Across the Lifespan”
2:55 – 3:20: Clive Bramham, M.D., Ph.D., University of Bergen | “The Arc of Synaptic Memory: From Hub Protein to Retroviral-like Capsid”
3:20 – 3:45: Michelle Theus, Ph.D., Virginia Tech | “Eph/Ephrin Regulation of Neurovascular and Neuroimmune Health in Brain Injury Across the Age Spectrum”
3:45 – 4:30: Keynote Speaker: Jan H. J. Hoeijmakers, Ph.D., Professor of Molecular Genetics at Erasmus University Rotterdam, Principal Investigator, Global Faculty University of Cologne, and at Princess Maxima Center for Pediatric Oncology | “How DNA Damage Leads to Transcription Stress, Proteinopathies and Dementia: The Impact of Nutrition”
4:30 – 5:30: Clinical Panel | Tor Haugstad, M.D., Ph.D., Kathryn L. Holloway, M.D., Karen Johnston, M.D., M.Sc., Anita Kablinger, M.D., and Aashit K. Shah, M.D.
6:00 – 8:30: Reception at Center in the Square
Thursday, May 26
8:20 – 8:30: Welcome by Clive Bramham, M.D., Ph.D.
Session 3: Mental Health
8:30 – 8:55: Gretchen N. Neigh, Ph.D., Virginia Commonwealth University | “Adolescent Stress Causes Long-term Sex-specific Changes in Neural Metabolism and Behavior”
8:55 – 9:20: Shannon Farris, Ph.D., Fralin Biomedical Research Institute – Virginia Tech | “Mitochondrial Diversity at Social Synapses”
9:20 – 9:45: Jukka-Pekka Onnela, D.Sc., Harvard University | “Smartphone-based Digital Phenotyping in Mental Health”
9:45 – 10:15: Break
10:15 – 10:40: Anders Nykjaer, M.D., Ph.D., Aarhus University | “The Neurexin Receptor Sorcs1: Another Player in Autism Spectrum Disorder?”
10:40 – 11:05: Read Montague, Ph.D., Fralin Biomedical Research Institute – Virginia Tech | “Decoding Monoamine Signaling in Conscious Humans”
11:05 – 11:50: Keynote Speaker Joshua A. Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., National Institute of Mental Health, NIH | “A Framework for Precision Psychiatry: Integrating Dimensional and Diagnostic Approaches”
11:50 – 1:00: Lunch
1:00 – 2:00: Poster Talks
2:00 – 3:00: Break and Poster Viewing
Session 4: Brain Cancer
3:00 – 3:25: Eugene Hwang, M.D., Children’s National Hospital | “Immunotherapy: A Path Towards Fulfilling the Hope and Promise for Children with Brain Cancer”
3:25 – 3:50: Jennifer Munson, Ph.D., Fralin Biomedical Research Institute – Virginia Tech | “Interstitial Flow as a Driver of Glioblastoma Development”
3:50 – 4:15: Justin D. Lathia, Ph.D., Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic; Department of Molecular Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine | “Exploiting Sex Differences in Glioblastoma for Next Generation of Immunotherapies”
4:15 – 4:40: Rolf Bjerkvig, Ph.D., University of Bergen | “Deciphering Human Glioblastoma Invasion into Brain Organoids”
4:40 – 5:05: Rafael Davalos, Ph.D., Virginia Tech | “High Frequency Irreversible Electroporation for the Treatment of Malignant Glioma”
5:45: Dinner Reception, Hotel Roanoke
7:00: Dinner, Hotel Roanoke
Friday, May 27 (Social Activities)
8 a.m. – 12 p.m.: The Roanoke area is rich with recreational activities. To learn more, contact Carissa South, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute events coordinator, at carissas@vtc.vt.edu. Lunch will be provided.
Keynote Speakers
Joshua Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., Director, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH | “A Framework for Precision Psychiatry: Integrating Dimensional and Diagnostic Approaches”
Jan H. J. Hoeijmakers, Ph.D., Professor of Molecular Genetics at Erasmus University Rotterdam, Principal Investigator, Global Faculty University of Cologne, and at Princess Maxima Center for Pediatric Oncology | “How DNA Damage Leads to Transcription Stress, Proteinopathies and Dementia: The Impact of Nutrition”
Carol Mason, Ph.D., Professor of Pathology and Cell Biology, Neuroscience, and Ophthalmology; and Chair of Interschool Planning at Columbia University’s Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute | “Wiring the Eye to the Brain for Binocular Vision: Lessons from the Albino Visual System”
All Speakers and Panelists
Rolf Bjerkvig, Ph.D., University of Bergen | “Deciphering Human Glioblastoma Invasion into Brain Organoids”
Clive Bramham, M.D., Ph.D., University of Bergen | “The Arc of Synaptic Memory: From Hub Protein to Retroviral-like Capsid”
Ukpong Eyo, Ph.D., University of Virginia Health System| “Understanding Microglia as a Novel Target in Seizure Disorders”
Shannon Farris, Ph.D., Fralin Biomedical Research Institute – Virginia Tech | “Mitochondrial Diversity at Social Synapses”
Steve Finkbeiner, M.D., Ph.D., University of California San Francisco | “Finding Causes and Treatments for Neurodegenerative Disease with Stem Cells, Genomics, Robotics, and Artificial Intelligence”
Michael Friedlander, Ph.D., Fralin Biomedical Research Institute – Virginia Tech | Welcome and Conference Overview
Joshua A. Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., National Institute of Mental Health, NIH | “A Framework for Precision Psychiatry: Integrating Dimensional and Diagnostic Approaches”
Asta Kristina Haberg, M.D., Ph.D., Norwegian University of Science and Technology | “Building Blocks of Memory Across the Lifespan”
Tor Haugstad, M.D., Ph.D., Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital | Panelist
Jan H. J. Hoeijmakers, Ph.D., Professor of Molecular Genetics at Erasmus University Rotterdam, Principal Investigator, Global Faculty University of Cologne, and at Princess Maxima Center for Pediatric Oncology | “How DNA Damage Leads to Transcription Stress, Proteinopathies and Dementia: The Impact of Nutrition”
Kathryn L. Holloway, M.D., Virginia Commonwealth University | Panelist
Eugene Hwang, M.D., Children’s National Hospital | “Immunotherapy: A Path Towards Fulfilling the Hope and Promise for Children with Brain Cancer”
Karen Johnston, M.D., M.Sc., University of Virginia | Panelist
Anita Kablinger, M.D., Carilion Clinic | Panelist
Anthony-Samuel LaMantia, Ph.D., Fralin Biomedical Research Institute – Virginia Tech | “The Odds of Small Things: Precision Analysis of Pathogenic Mechanisms in a Neurodevelopmental Disorder”
Justin D. Lathia, Ph.D., Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic; Department of Molecular Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine | “Exploiting sex differences in glioblastoma for next generation of immunotherapies”
Catherine Limperopoulos, Ph.D., Children’s National Hospital | “Prenatal Origins of Neurophyschiatric Disorders: The Role of Quantitative Fetal MRI”
Read Montague, Ph.D., Fralin Biomedical Research Institute – Virginia Tech | “Decoding Monoamine Signaling in Conscious Humans”
Jennifer Munson, Ph.D., Fralin Biomedical Research Institute – Virginia Tech | “Interstitial Flow as a Driver of Glioblastoma Development”
Gretchen N. Neigh, Ph.D., Virginia Commonwealth University | “Adolescent Stress Causes Long-term Sex-specific Changes in Neural Metabolism and Behavior”
Hilde Loge Nilsen, Ph.D., University of Oslo | “Base Excision Repair as a Risk Modulator of Parkinson’s Disease”
Jukka-Pekka Onnela, D.Sc., Harvard University | “Smartphone-based Digital Phenotyping in Mental Health”
Sharon Landesman Ramey, Ph.D., Fralin Biomedical Research Institute – Virginia Tech | “Intensive Early Interventions: Transforming Children’s Neurobehavioral Trajectories”
Aashit K. Shah, M.D., Carilion Clinic | Panelist
Sharon Swanger, Ph.D., Fralin Biomedical Research Institute – Virginia Tech | “Synapse- and Cell-Type-Specific Dysfunction in a Dravet Syndrome Mouse Model”
Register for Precision Neuroscience
Conference Fees
- Regular registration fee is $275 USD
- Graduate students may attend for a discounted rate of $75 USD ($100 including up to two dinners)
Reserve your room at the Hotel Roanoke
- Single occupancy rooms are $169 per night
- Double occupancy rooms are $189 per night
- Hotel Roanoke charges $20 per each additional person, per day
Book your room online or call 866-594-4722.
Submit a poster abstract
Please submit your poster title, author(s), abstract, and contact information using this online submission form. Poster abstracts are due by April 1, 2022.