News & Announcements
Past news and announcements are shown below. Current news is shown on our homepage.
Amarylis Velez-Perez is a FLARE Application Award Winner
Amarylis Velez-Perez is a FLARE Application Award Winner
Current NSB Ph.D. student Amarylis Velez-Perez has been selected to attend The Endocrine Society's FLARE (Future Leaders Advancing Research in Endocrinology) Workshop on February 7-8, 2014 in New Orleans, LA.
https://www.endocrine.org/advocacy-and-outreach/flare/flare-workshop
Congratulations to Amarylis!
Luke Remage-Healey Speaks on Role of Estrogen in the Brain at National Neuroscience Meeting
Luke Remage-Healey Speaks on Role of Estrogen in the Brain at National Neuroscience Meeting
Recent research shows that estrogens can no longer be thought of as exclusively reproductive hormones, but instead they are made in the brain and play a powerful role in cognition, learning and memory, says neuroscience researcher and current NSB faculty member Luke Remage-Healey. He presented recent findings on the role of estrogens as neuromodulators in a talk at Neuroscience 2013, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego on Nov. 10.
Amarylis Velez-Perez joins Office of Professional Development Advisory Board
Amarylis Velez-Perez joins Office of Professional Development Advisory Board
Current NSB student Amarylis Velez-Perez has accepted an invitation to be part of a newly formed Office of Professional Development created by UMass Graduate School Dean John McCarthy. She is one of the students in the advisory board 'representing' neuroscience graduate student interests and needs.
The UMass Amherst Graduate School has created the Office of Professional Development to help train graduate students in portable skills that are essential for success regardless of discipline or line of work. The OPD also introduces students to a broad range of career options, both inside and outside the academy.
Daniel Vahaba paper published in Behavioural Brain Research
Daniel Vahaba paper published in Behavioural Brain Research
Current NSB student Daniel Vahaba had a paper accepted and published in the September 1st edition of the Behavioural Brain Research journal.
Vahaba, DM, Lacey, WH, Tomaszycki ML (2013). "DSP-4, a noradrenergic neurotoxin, produces sex-specific effects on pairing and courtship behavior in zebra finches." Behavioural Brain Research 252C: 164-175.
Rosie Cowell a recipient of the Cermak Award
Rosie Cowell a recipient of the Cermak Award
This summer, new NSB faculty member Rosie Cowell was awarded the "Cermak Award" by the Memory Disorders Research Society. This award is for a post-doctoral researcher (which she was at the time of nomination) to travel to the MDRS meeting and give a short lecture. It comes with travel award of $500. Congratulations to Rosie!
Lauri Kurdziel chosen for a Young Investigator Presentation
Lauri Kurdziel chosen for a Young Investigator Presentation
Current NSB student Lauri Kurdziel was chosen for a Young Investigator Presentation at the Pediatric Sleep Medicine Conference (November 2013).
NSB faculty member Rebecca Spencer and NSB student Lauri Kurdziel featured in the September 2013 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
NSB faculty member Rebecca Spencer and NSB student Lauri Kurdziel featured in the September 2013 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Sleep Research Finds Daytime Naps Enhance Learning in Preschool Children
In the current issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, research psychologist and NSB faculty member Rebecca Spencer, with student Kasey Duclos and current NSB student Laura Kurdziel, offer the first study results showing that classroom naps support learning in preschool children by enhancing memory. The findings have attracted international attention.
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/09/18/1306418110.abstract?sid=6d7...
The 14th annual symposium of the Center for Neuroendocrine Studies will be held Friday, October 25, 2013
The 14th annual symposium of the Center for Neuroendocrine Studies will be held Friday, October 25, 2013
The theme of this year's symposium is:
The Brain in Transition: Hormone Actions Throughout the Lifespan.
There is a superb lineup of speakers for this year's symposium, including Drs. Robert Denver, Steve McCormick, Cheryl Sisk, Alexander Kauffman, and Pauline Maki. See: http://www.umass.edu/cns/symposium.htm for more information.
In addition to speakers, there is a poster session forcontributed abstracts and five Career Development Workshops. Topics in the past have included: Finding a Graduate Program and Mentor, Navigating the Funding Mechanisms of the NIH and NSF, Work/Life Balance, Jobs Outside the Academy, and Disseminating Your Research.
Symposium organizers:
Jason Breves, PhD
Mary K Holder, PhD
Ben Pawlisch, PhD
Luke Remage-Healey, PhD (CNS Faculty advisor)
To register, visit the web site at
3rd annual Life Sciences Graduate Research Symposium 11/22/13
3rd annual Life Sciences Graduate Research Symposium 11/22/13
The 3rd annual Life Sciences Graduate Research Symposium will be held on Friday, November 22nd, 2013 in the Campus Center. Oral presentations will be held from 9:30am-4pm in Campus Center 101, followed by poster presentations on the 11th floor from 4:30-6pm.
The symposium showcases the diversity of graduate research in the life sciences at University of Massachusetts Amherst. The symposium provides a diverse forum to present new data or to prepare research to be presented to a broader audience.
Current graduate students are invited to submit abstracts for a 15 minute talk or for a poster presentation.
Awards will be presented for best talk and best poster at the end of the symposium.
Please submit your abstract (no more than 200 words) to cgagliar@cns.umass.edu no later than 11:59pm on Monday September 30th.Please include 'ABSTRACT' and note your program affiliation in the subject line of the email and note whether the presentation is a talk
or a poster.
Abstracts will be reviewed by October 7, and decisions emailed on October 8.
NSB Students Amanda Krentzel, Emily Manoogian and Amy Ryan Awarded 2014 Graduate Dissertation Research Grants
NSB Students Amanda Krentzel, Emily Manoogian and Amy Ryan Awarded 2014 Graduate Dissertation Research Grants
Current NSB students Amanda Kentzel, Emily Manoogian and Amy Ryan are recipients of 2014 Graduate Dissertation Grants awarded by the University of Massachusetts at Amherst Graduate School. These funds should assist Amanda, Emily and Amy in their research and progress towards their degrees. Congratulations to Amanda, Emily and Amy!