HYBRID – Neuroscience Research Building (NRB) Auditorium and Zoom (unless noted)

Hope Center Monday Noon Seminars are organized by mini-series topic, typically with 4 seminars per topic. Each mini-series is an opportunity to hear from Washington University investigators as well as those at other institutions who are leaders in their fields.

Each spring, we solicit the community for topics to feature in the next academic year. We welcome suggested topics which are relevant to some research programs at Washington University, such that those investigators can give talks in the mini-series.

To see mini-series topics from previous seasons, visit the archives.

Have an idea for a mini-series topic? Let us know!

Mini-series: Leveraging -omics in Disease

Organizers, Carlos Cruchaga and Laura Ibanez (WashU Psychiatry)
Location: Fort Neuroscience Research Building Auditorium (NRB) and Zoom

  • VIRTUAL -only! March 18: Myriam Fornage (University of Texas Health, Houston)
  • March 25: Guoyan Zhao (WashU Genetics and Neurology)
  • April 1: Joseph Dougherty (WashU Genetics)
  • April 8: Michael Belloy (WashU Neurology)

Click here for Zoom links (WUSTL Key required)


2023/2024 Monday Noon Seminars

Mondays, 12-1p
October – May
Location: Fort NRB Auditorium/Needleman Library* and Zoom

(*noted below)

For inquiries contact the Hope Center.

Mini-series Topics

Environmental Determinants of Neurodevelopment and Neurologic Disease
Organizer: Nicole Brossier (WashU Pediatrics)

For inquiries contact the Hope Center.

  • October 2: Nicole Brossier (WashU Pediatrics) “Obesogenic Diet, Neurodevelopment and Pediatric Brain Tumor Formation”
  • October 9: Gabor Egervari (WashU Genetics/Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics) “Establishing the unexpected role of drug metabolites in substance use disorders”
  • CANCELLED – October 16: Paul Shaw (WashU Neuroscience) “Adaptive Sleep Mechanisms: Deciphering the Interplay between Neural Plasticity and Environmental Demands”
  • October 23: Deanna Barch (WashU Psychological & Brain Sciences) “The Enduring Impact of Poverty on Brain Development Risk for Mental Health Challenges”

Fluid Biomarkers of Neurologic Disease
Organizer: Suzanne Schindler (WashU Neurology)

Location: Connor Auditorium and Zoom

For inquiries contact the Hope Center at HopeCenter@email.wustl.edu.

  • November 6: Nicolas Barthelemy (WashU Neurology) “Tau modifications and their clinical utility for the diagnosis of AD and non-AD tauopathies”
  • November 20: Leslie Shaw (University of Pennsylvania) “Moving from Cerebrospinal Fluid to blood based biomarkers: Challenges and opportunities”
  • November 27: Hong Chen (WashU Biomedical Engineering) “Sonobiopsy for noninvasive molecular diagnosis of brain diseases”
  • December 4: Timothy Miller, Cindy Ly (WashU Neurology) “Novel approaches to biofluid biomarkers in motor neuron disease”
    Location: Connor Auditorium

PET Imaging in Genetic and Late Onset Alzheimer Disease
Organizer: Aisling Chaney (WashU Radiology)

Location: Connor/Holden Auditorium (noted below) and Zoom

For inquiries contact the Hope Center at HopeCenter@email.wustl.edu.

  • December 11: Patrick Lao (Columbia University) “A Multiple Biomarker Approach to Alzheimer’s Disease for Underrepresented and Underserved Groups”
    Location: Connor Auditorium
  • December 18: Julie Wisch (Ances lab, WashU Neurology) “Imaging the AT(N) in Genetic Forms of AD”
    Location: Connor Auditorium
  • January 22: Cyrus Raji (WashU Radiology) “Brain Health Imaging and Dementia Prevention”
    NOTE location: VIRTUAL only!
  • January 29: Nicole McKay (Benzinger lab, WashU Radiology) “PET Imaging in the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network’s Observational Study”
    Location: Holden Auditorium

Pathological Influences on Glia in Neurologic Disease
Organizer: Sarah Ackerman (WashU Pathology & Immunology)

Location: Fort Neuroscience Research Building (NRB) Auditorium and Zoom.

For inquiries contact the Hope Center at HopeCenter@email.wustl.edu.

  • February 12: Anusha Mishra (Oregon Health & Science University) “Astrocyte regulation of cerebral blood flow in health and disease”
  • February 19: Kyungdeok Kim (Kipnis lab, WashU Pathology & Immunology) “Meningeal lymphatics-microglia axis in regulation of synaptic physiology”
  • February 26: Valeria Cavalli (WashU Neuroscience) “Satellite Glial Cells in Sensory Neuron Function in Health and Disease”
  • March 4: Celeste Karch (WashU Psychiatry) “Genetic drivers of microglia dysfunction in dementias”

Leveraging -omics in Disease
Organizers: Carlos Cruchaga, Laura Ibanez (WashU Psychiatry)

Location: Fort Neuroscience Research Building (NRB) Auditorium and Zoom.

For inquiries contact the Hope Center at HopeCenter@email.wustl.edu.

  • March 18: Myriam Fornage (University of Texas Health, Houston) “Endophenotypes of Dementia as Target for Multi-omics Studies”
    • NOTE: This seminar will be virtual-only. Click on the button above or check your email for Zoom information.
  • March 25: Guoyan Zhao (WashU Genetics and Neurology) “Transcriptomic changes in Lewy body disease and Alzheimer’s disease linked to selective regional and neuronal vulnerability”
  • April 1: Joseph Dougherty (WashU Genetics) “Functional genomics of psychiatric genetic variants in the brain”
  • April 8: Michael Belloy (WashU Neurology) “Unravelling Alzheimer’s Disease across APOE, Sex, and Ancestry, through Human Genetics and Multi-Omics”

Brain Plasticity and Hearing Disorders
Joint mini-series with the Department of Developmental Biology
Organizer: Mayssa Mokalled (WashU Developmental Biology)

NOTE Location: Needleman Library (3907; South Building) and Zoom

For inquiries contact the Hope Center at HopeCenter@email.wustl.edu.

  • April 29: Lavinia Sheets (WashU Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery) “Fish School: What the zebrafish lateral line can teach us about sensory hair cell development, damage, and repair”
  • May 6: Daniel Polley (Harvard Medical School) “Inhibitory circuit plasticity – both a cause and therapeutic target for disordered sound perception”
  • May 13: Dennis Barbour (WashU Biomedical Engineering)
  • May 20: Keiko Hirose (WashU Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery)

Seminars also are listed on the ONR Calendar.