Baltimore Brain Series

Overview

The Baltimore Brain Series (BBS) is a multi-institutional talk series coordinated between the National Institute on Drug Abuse/National Institute on Aging, the University of Maryland-Baltimore, and Johns Hopkins University, in which outstanding postdoctoral fellows and graduate students are competitively selected to present their ongoing research in neuroscience at one of the partnering institutions.

We aim to provide a collegial setting for extraordinary early career researchers to showcase their work and receive constructive feedback, as well as to foster inter-institutional collaborations within the Greater Baltimore Area neuroscience community. Participation not only allows for practice and honing of presentation skills, but it also opens up career opportunities. For example, a post-doctoral fellow who gave a talk with BBS was invited back to the institution for a faculty interview and chalk talk.

Application Submission Closed

We are not accepting applications for the Fall 2025 semester

Upcoming talks - Fall 2025

Renee Pepper, PhD (JHU)

Host: National Institute on Drug Abuse

October 24th

11:30AM-12:30 PM

Skoupocytosis: how homeostatic microglia contribute to neuronal proteostasis

Renee Pepper is a post-doctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in the synaptic biology laboratory of Associate Professor Shigeki Watanabe. Renee gained her PhD in 2020 from University of Tasmania, Australia, where she studied the requirement of glia to maintain brain function. Renee aspires to direct her foundations in glial biology to study glia-synapse interactions with sub-synaptic resolution.

Akshi (JHU)

Host: University of Maryland, Baltimore

October 28th

12:00-1:00 PM

Role of language modality in shaping the neural organization of language: Evidence from Deaf signers of American Sign Language

Akshi is a PhD candidate in Dr. Marina Bedny's lab in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences at Johns Hopkins University. She uses functional neuroimaging to study the neural basis of American Sign Language in Deaf signers and to investigate how diverse early life language experiences shape the neural systems that support language.

Neha Skandan (NIDA)

Host: Johns Hopkins University

October 29th

12:00-1:00 PM

Glucocorticoid receptor blockade reverses heroin and alcohol withdrawalinduced hyperalgesia in rats

Neha is a recent graduate of Johns Hopkins University, earning a B.S. in Molecular & Cellular Biology and B.A. in Public Health Studies. She is currently a Post-Baccalaureate Research Fellow at NIDA, working with Dr. Leandro Vendruscolo and Dr. George Koob. She is applying to MD-PhD programs with a focus on specializing in the neurobiology of pain and addiction.

Xinglin Zeng, PhD (UMB)

Host: National Institute on Drug Abuse

October 24th

11:30AM-12:30 PM

Normative Cerebral Perfusion Across the Lifespan

Xinglin is a postdoctoral researcher whose work focuses on advancing our understanding of brain metabolism in aging and Alzheimer’s disease, with a particular emphasis on cerebrovascular function, cerebral blood flow dynamics, blood–brain barrier integrity, and the glymphatic system.

Pathik Parekh, PhD (NIA)

Host: University of Maryland, Baltimore

October 28th

12:00-1:00 PM

From injury to repair: 3-Monothiopomalidomide (3-MP) shifts the phenotype of astrocytes and microglia in a mouse model of traumatic brain injury

Pathik is a post-doctoral fellow at National Institute on Aging (NIA), NIH in the Drug Design and Development Section (DDDS) of the Translational Gerontology Branch (TGB). His research focuses on developing and evaluating novel immunomodulatory imide drugs (IMiDs) as potential anti-inflammatory treatments for age-associated neurodegenerative disorders. Utilizing a variety of complementary cellular and in vivo models, his work aims to provide translational insights relevant to human health.

Belina Rodrigues, PhD (UMB)

Host: Johns Hopkins University

October 29th

12:00-1:00 PM

The role of amygdala-inferior frontal connectivity in linking childhood adversity to placebo analgesia

Belina is a postdoctoral researcher investigating how adverse childhood experiences shape placebo analgesia in chronic pain, integrating behavioral paradigms, psychological assessments, and neuroimaging to uncover affective and neural mechanisms.

Aidan Pham (UMB)

Host: National Institute on Drug Abuse

December 12th

11:30AM-12:30 PM

Timing matters: modeling the effects of gestational cannabis exposure on social behavior

Aidan is a Ph.D candidate in Dr. Margaret McCarthy's lab at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. His work seeks to investigate the processes by which developmental exposure to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) alters adolescent social behavior and deeply phenotyped social behavior using machine learning.

Hyopil Kim, PhD (JHU)

Host: University of Maryland, Baltimore

December 2nd

12:00-1:00 PM

Cell type-specific barcoding reveals the projectional architecture of the mouse midbrain dopaminergic system

Hyopil studied molecular and neural mechanisms related to autism-spectrum disorders during his PhD. He joined Dr. Justus Kebschull’s lab to learn and further develop barcoded connectomics technologies, and applies his tools to address connectopathy underlying neurological disorders including autism spectrum disorders.

Showkat A. Dar, PhD (NIA)

Host: Johns Hopkins University

December 10th

12:00-1:00 PM

Proteogenomic identification of novel RNA isoform changes in neurodegenerative diseases: unlocking new clinical biomarkers

Dr. Dar is a computational biologist in the Maragkakis Lab at the National Institute on Aging (NIA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), in Baltimore. They investigate RNA dynamics in neurodegeneration, aging, and age‑related disorders using high‑throughput multi‑omics and AI/ML‑driven computational methods to build disease models, identify biomarkers, and inform potential therapeutic interventions.

Patrick Parker, PhD (JHU)

Host: National Institute on Drug Abuse

December 12th

11:30AM-12:30 PM

Emergence of internally generated sound-like patterns in the brain after hearing loss

Patrick is a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Dwight Bergles’ lab in the Neuroscience Department at Johns Hopkins University. He studies the brain effects of hearing loss, and is particularly interested in spontaneous activity and changes in inhibition during sound processing. His expertise is in combining genetic and optical methods to explore brain physiology in living animal models. For his Ph.D., he studied astrocyte management of glutamate signaling in a model of familial hemiplegic migraine.

Phillip Witkowski, PhD (NIDA)

Host: University of Maryland, Baltimore

December 2nd

12:00-1:00 PM

Outcome expectancies in the orbitofrontal cortex drive goal-directed behavior

Phillip is a postdoctoral researcher at the National Institute on Drug Abuse. His work examines the neural mechanisms that underlie learning associations between choices and rewards, and how expectations for specific types of rewards shape decision-making.

Eliza Douglass-McMullan (UMB)

Host: Johns Hopkins University

December 10th

12:00-1:00 PM

Chronic alcohol potentiates prefrontal cortical control over the dorsolateral striatum

Eliza Douglass-McMullan is a fourth-year PhD student in Dr. Brian Mathur’s lab. Her thesis work seeks to investigate the impact of chronic alcohol exposure on disynaptic circuitry linking cognitive, affective, and action centers in the brain and the contribution of such circuit to alcohol-related behaviors to understand how inflexible drinking arises with AUD.

Contact

To obtain the Zoom link for virtual talks, or for any queries regarding the selection process, abstract submission or any other information on the BBS, please email our co-directors or any member of the organizing committee. We are happy to answer any questions!

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