Community Groups
HBI Community Groups gather diverse researchers in ongoing scientific conversations. These groups support HBI’s mission to enliven a network of meaningful relationships spanning the range of disciplines contributing to brain science. Often these groups are initiated and managed by postdoctoral fellows and graduate students. HBI provides planning, communications support and funds for refreshments.
Neural Development Club
This group facilitates discussion-based journal clubs, research-in-progress talks, and round table discussions on methods and other topics. Their aim is to foster a thriving community of developmental neurobiologists by offering a forum for sharing expertise, receiving feedback on ongoing work, and expanding our understanding of brain development. NDC welcomes anyone with an interest in neural development, including students, post-docs, technicians, and faculty, from any department, working in any model system. Meetings are currently held in person at the HMS Campus.
Group coordinators: Jessica Dixon (graduate student, lab of Lisa Goodrich, Harvard Medical School), Dániel Barabási, PhD (postdoctoral fellow, lab of Florian Engert, Harvard), and Janet Song, PhD (postdoctoral fellow, lab of Chris Walsh, Boston Children’s Hospital)
CONTACT: NDCatHMS@gmail.com
gNeuro
gNeuro is a forum for neuroscientists, gastroenterologists, immunologists, chemists, microbiologists, engineers and many others who are focused on the neurobiology of the gut to share ideas, tools, and the latest advances in this exciting field. As a joint initiative of the Harvard Brain Science Initiative (HBI) and the Harvard Digestive Disease Center (HDDC), any member of the academic community across New England is invited to participate and welcome to join.
Group coordinators: Amy Shepherd, PhD (postdoctoral fellow, lab of Meenakshi Rao) and Meenakshi Rao, MD, PhD (Assistant Professor, Boston Children’s Hospital)
In First-Person
This series features clinicians and patients discussing the lived experience of people with neurological and psychiatric disorders. We hope to spark conversations on the human impact of basic science research & inspire new patient-centered research ideas.
Group coordinators: Akshay Jaggi, (MD/PhD student, lab of Bob Datta, Harvard Medical School), Jill Jones (MD/PhD student, lab of Maria Lehtinen, Boston Children’s Hospital), and Sophia Renauld (MD/PhD student, lab of David Ginty, Harvard Medical School).
Axon Biology
This group seeks to bring together Harvard-based scientists who have a special interest in studying axon biology in the context of health and disease. They plan to establish a platform for researchers to share their latest discoveries, get constructive feedback, exchange cutting-edge techniques, form long-lasting collaborations, and meet some new friends.
Group coordinators: Gabriela Carrillo, PhD (postdoctoral fellow, lab of Elizabeth Engle, Boston Children’s Hospital) and Veselina Petrova, PhD (postdoctoral fellow, lab of Clifford Woolf, Boston Children’s Hospital)
Neuroendocrine Dialogues
This group convenes laboratories from Harvard and neighboring institutions with an interest in exploring how cross talk between the nervous and endocrine systems impacts feeding behaviors and metabolism, reproductive functions, social behaviors, sleep, circadian rhythms, stress signaling and much more—with awareness of the role of sex differences in all of this.
Group coordinator: Rajae Talbi, PhD (postdoctoral fellow, lab of Victor Navarro, Brigham and Women’s Hospital)
Chronobiology and the Brain
This group welcomes anyone interested in neuroscience and chronobiology (with diverse perspectives, ranging from theoretical to translational) across the Boston academic community to meet and discuss ongoing research and issues in a collaborative setting. These dinner seminars feature research presentations highlighting work-in-progress or nascent projects, and/or a timely review of an important topic in chronobiology. They aim for lively discussion and hope to build an interdisciplinary learning community.
Group coordinator: Jonathan Lipton, PhD (Assistant Professor, Boston Children’s Hospital)
Academia-Industry Dialogs
This forum gathers academic and industry scientists to discuss best practices, protocols and challenges with new technologies (such as iPSCs, CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, and 3D-culturing) to generate improved predictive models of neurological disease. In facilitated discussion we seek to find ways how academia and industry can better address the challenges of translation of the basic research findings into transformative therapies. We invite all members of the Boston area academic and research community interested in the novel research in neurological disease to join in this series of discussions.
Group coordinators: Evgenii Kegeles (graduate student, lab of Zhigang He, Boston Children’s Hospital), Daniela Di Bella, PhD (postdoctoral fellow, lab of Paola Arlotta, Harvard), and Elisa Pavarino (graduate student, lab of Gabriel Kreiman, Boston Children’s Hospital).
Banner image taken by Celia Muto.