CHRONICLES |
| The Seventh Annual Southern Califronia Learning & Memory Symposium, was held in the UCLA Neuroscience Research Building Auditorium, June 4, 2008. |
| The Dynamics of Neural Microcircuits Symposium for 2008 was held in the NRB Auditorium, Thursday, May 8, 2008, 9 AM-6 PM. The event was very well attended. (Pictures) |
The Department of Neurobiology Annual Scientific Retreat for 2008 was held at the Calamigos Ranch in Malibu on Saturday, April 12, 2008. Once again, the ranch provided a very nice pastoral setting for scientific talks and socializing. During the after lunch break, the Faculty team won the softball competition and tied the series 3-3, after embarrasing the Postdoc and Student team. The weather was warm and clear, and breakfast, lunch, and dinner were all quite good. Thank you to Brenda, Leah, and the Retreat Committee, Josh Trachtenberg, Josh Neman, Jaion Maiz, and David Rouso. (pictures) (batting lesson with laugh track) |
| Neurobiology Faculty lunch with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center investigators, Tursday, March 20, 2008. |
The Special Seminar, Evolution of Hox Genes in Mammalian Pattern Formation, was given by Chih-Hsin Chen, on January 31, 2008. |
The symposium Plasticity of GABA-mediated Inhibition was held in the NRB auditorium on Friday, January 25, 2008. |
| Alcino Silva presented "Mechanisms of Memory Function and Dysfunction: Implications For Treatments of Learning Disabilities" at Neurology Grand Rounds, Wednesday, January 9, 2008, at 9 a.m., in the Neurosciences Research Building Auditorium, Room 132. |
| On December 14, 2007, the Department of Neurobiology held its Holiday Party in the Kerckoff Grand Salon. This was a very festive and well-attended event. Congratulations to Eva, Fleur, and the rest of the staff. |
On November 16-17, 2007, the Architecture of Healing was presented by the UCLA History of Medicine Faculty and History & Special Collection, Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library, in the Neurosciences Research Building Auditorium. This international conference celebrated the opening of the new Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. This event was also supported by the UCLA Department of Neurobiology. |
On November 8, 2007, the Department of Neurobiology sponsored a Special Noon Seminar with Pascal Legendre, Research Director at INSERM. |
| On October 19, 2007, the Department of Neurobiology held its Fall Symposium 2007 in the California Room of the UCLA Faculty Center. The event was a great success with record-setting attendance and a warm reception afterwards. (program) (pictures) |
| The International Society for the History of the Neurosciences 12th Annual Meeting was held at UCLA on June 19-June 23, 2007. |
| The Synaptic Physiology Affinity Group, Department of Neurobiology, and Department of Physiology sponsored Larry Trussell's Special Seminar at UCLA, May 18, 2007. |
| The Second Annual Neural Microcircuits Training Program Symposium "Dynamics of Neural Microcircuits" (schedule) was held at UCLA, May 17, 2007. (pictures) |
The Department of Neurobiology Annual Scientific Retreat was held at the Calamigos Ranch in Malibu on Saturday, April 21, 2007. The ranch provided a very nice pastoral setting for scientific talks and socializing. In the battle of the bat and softball, the Students & Postdocs team is now ahead in the series 3-2, after narrowly defeating the older and wiser Faculty & Staff team 8-7. Enriching the Retreat with a talk was new faculty member Bennett Novitch. The weather was cool and clear, and breakfast, lunch, and dinner were all quite good. Thank you to Brenda and the Retreat Committee, Josh Trachtenberg, Audrey Chen, and David Chow. (pictures) |
| The Neurobiology Holiday Party was held in the Faculty Center, December 13, 2006. A grand feast was warmly shared by colleagues and friends. |
| The Sawyer Scientific Symposium and Memorial Tribute was held at the UCLA Faculty Center, on Friday, October 20, 2006. Please see links for details. (Program) (Agenda) (Pictures) (Neurobiology In Memoriam) |
| Neuroscience 2006 (Society for Neuroscience), October 14-18, 2006, Atlanta, GA. |
| The Joint Neurobiology-Neurosciences IDP Graduation 2006 was held in the Gonda First Floor Conference Room. |
| The Fifth Annual UCLA Learning & Memory Symposium was held Wednesday, May 31, 2006, in the Neuroscience Research Building Auditorium. |
The Deparment of Neurobiology held its Annual Scientific Retreat on Saturday, May 6, 2006, at Aliso Creek, Laguna Beach. The day was rich with talks and posters, including talks by our four newest faculty members, James Bisley, Lars Dreier, Carlos Portera-Cailliau (primary in Neurology) and Baljit Khakh (primary in Physiology). The food was delicious and kudos go the the Graduate Student Organizing Committee and, of course, to Brenda, who made it all work. (directions) |
| The Neural Microcircuits Training Program Symposium (agenda) (program) was held at UCLA, April 24, 2006. (pictures) |
| The 3rd Conference on Neural Control of Behavior: Convergent Principles Derived from Divgergent Model Systems was held at UCLA, February 9-11, 2006. |
| The Deparment of Neurobiology was well represented in the Spring 2005 UCLA Undergraduate Science Journal. |
| We celebrated the New Year a little late. On January 6, 2006, the Department of Neurobiology co-sponsored the Neurobiology of Pain Minisymposium, organized by Distinguished Professor Jack Feldman. A reception followed. |
| On October 19, 2005, the Department of Neurobiology held a Faculty Retreat in the Faculty Center. Strategic planning and other issues were discussed. |
| On June 1, 2005, the annual UCLA Learning and Memory Symposium was held at the Louis Jolyon West Auditorium. |
| On May 14, 2005, the Joint Symposium on Neural Computation at UCLA was held at the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. |
| The Annual Neurobiology Retreat was held on the weekend of April 22-24, 2005, at the UCLA Lake Arrowhead Conference Center. Despite wet and cold weather with highs about 50-60, the retreat was an educational and social success. Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows were eligible for awards of $500 each for the best presentations. Despite excellent presentations all around, only three awards could be made. We are proud to announce the winners: Kristen Willeumier (graduate student), Movses Karakossian (graduate student), and Laura Anselmi (postdoctoral fellow). This is what happened at the softball game: Thanks to everyone who showed up for the softball game this Saturday at the retreat. The students won hands down, mainly because only two faculty members showed up. We split up into two four person teams, & called ourselves neurons & glia. Glia won 17-16 with Fred knocking in the winning run at the bottom of the 5th inning. Other great hitters during the game include: |
| On October 19, 2004, the Department of Neurobiology was proud to present a special seminar entitled "Brain, Behavior and Evolution," by George Paxinos, Ph.D., University of New South Wales, Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, Australia. |
| On October 6, 2004, the Department of Neurobiology held its Third Annual Symposium as a tribute to John Schlag, M.D., entitled "Space and Time in Vision and Action." Presenters included Dean Buonomano (UCLA), Rick Cai (University of Wisconsin--Madison), Paul Dassonville (University of Oregon), Sheila Nirenberg (UCLA), Junghyun Park (UCLA), Alexandre Pouget (University of Rochester), Dario Ringach (UCLA) and Madeleine Schlag-Rey (UCLA), with an introduction by Dr. Schlag. The Symposium was chaired by Dr. Marie-Francoise Chesselet. At the following dinner, tribute of a more personal nature was paid by Madeleine Schlag-Rey, Arne Scheibel, Jaime Villablanca, Alex Puget, Paul Dassonville and Rick Cai. Congratulations, Dr. Schlag! |
A tasteful graduation reception was hosted jointly on June 17, 2004, by the Neuroscience Graduate IDP and the Department of Neurobiology for their graduating Ph.D. students. Graduates included Supinder Bedi, Allison Bigbee, Rebecca Blanton, Alison Burggren, Chris Cain, Jessy Dorn, Richard DuBois, Jill Faulkner, Jeff Gotts, Sigi Hale, Jason Itri, Uma Karmarkar, Carrie Marder, Meghan O'Neil, Karen Palaszynski, David Rex, Mouhsin Shafi, Spencer Smith, Mark Verardo, Baldwin Way and Chris Woods. Congratulations! |
The Annual Neurobiology Retreat was held on the weekend of June 11-13, 2004, at the UCLA Lake Arrowhead Conference Center. The weather was perfect with highs about 80. Generally, two retreat awards are presented each year. For this retreat, six awards were presented, reflecting the high quality of presentations. Congratulations to Julia Herrmann, Mario Mata, Paul Dodson, Jose Maldonado, Brian Malone and Simona Patierno. Click here for retreat program, click here for retreat pictures. |
| A celebration of the life and work of DR. EMILIO E. DECIMA was held at the Faculty Center on March 31, 2004. Over 65 colleagues, friends, and family members, including wife Patricia Black-Decima, sons Juan Emilio and Agustin, daughters Lujan and Moira, mother-in-law Elisabeth Black, brother-in-law Jim Black, his wife Marilyn and son Jeremy, and cousin Isabel Tifft, gathered to honor and remember Dr. Decima. Special thanks go to Drs. Arnold Scheibel, Oscar Scremin, and Marie-Francoise Chesselet and to Eva Mellado for organizing this tribute and to Drs. Guillermo Pilar, Louis Goldberg, Francisco Morales, and Robert Rand for their moving tributes and to son Juan Emilio for sharing his memories. (Slide presentation and pictures from the memorial celebration, optimized for Windows Explorer) |
| 12TH Annual Samuel Eiduson Student Lecture, by Spencer Lavere Smith, "The Role of Spontaneously Firing Neurons and New Tools for Exploring Them", sponsored by the Interdepartmental Graduate Program for Neuroscience and the NeuroEngineering Program, UCLA, Tuesday, March 23, 2004, Louis Jolyon West Auditorium (C8-183 NPI), 4:00 P.M. Available as a live webcast. |
The 2nd Annual Symposium was a great success. Thank you to speakers Reggie Edgerton, Catia Sternini, Carolyn Houser, Kevin Sinchak on behalf of Paul Micevych, Jack Feldman, and Guido Zampighi for sharing their research and enthusiasm with us. Thank you also to our newest Faculty member Josh Trachtenberg. Here are a few pictures. |
| Neurobiology Postdoc Talks & Happy Hours |
| March 14, 2008, From the Postdocs, from the Bench Talks were given and the lab of Dr. Chesselet hosted the HAPPY HOUR. The food and drink was an assortment of Irish delights. Thanks to Dr. Chesselet, Miriam, and the rest of her lab, Ana Matynia and Serapio Baca, and the Neurobiology staff. (pictures will follow) |
| February 29, 2008, From the Postdocs, from the Bench Talks were given and Dr. Cooper hosted the HAPPY HOUR. The food was an eclectic and tasty assortment. Thanks to Dr. Cooper, Ana Matynia and Serapio Baca, and the Neurobiology staff. (pictures will follow) |
September 28, 2007, From the Postdocs, from the Bench Talks were held, and the Portera-Cailiau Lab hosted Happy Hour. The food was tasty selections from Lebanese cuisine, and the event was very well attended. Thank you to the Portera-Cailliau Lab, Ana Matynia and Serapio Baca, and the Neurobiology staff for making this happen. (pictures) |
| June 22, 2007, From the Postdocs, from the Bench Talks were held, and the Silva Lab hosted Happy Hour. |
| May 18, 2007, Dr. and Becky Harper hosted the Neurobiology Happy Hour. There were no From the Postdocs, from the Bench talks. The food was great and the mood was festive. Thank you for a great party. |
| March 23, 2007, Dr. Micevych hosted the Neurobiology Happy Hour following From the Postdocs, from the Bench talks by Kaiwen Kam (Feldman Lab) and Allison Bigbee (Havton Lab). The food was great and the mood was festive. Julie Ogi deserves a special thanks. (pictues) |
| February 23, 2007, Dr. Cooper hosted the Neurobiology Happy Hour following From the Bench of . . . Talks by Amos Gdalyahu (Trachtenberg Lab) and Salvatore Stella (Brecha Lab). The party was a hit. Dr. Cooper was a gracious host and all enjoyed the food and drink. Thank you to Dr. Cooper, Anna Matynia, Eva, Phuong, Julie, Kevin, Brenda, Lupe, and Art. (pictures) |
| November 3, 2006, the Sofroniew and Trachtenberg Labs, neighbors in the new Neursciences Research Building (NRB), hosted the Department of Neurobiology Happy Hour following From the Bench of . . . Talks by Postdocs Dan Ehninger (Silva Lab) and Sheila Fleming (Chesselet Lab). There was food and drink and lively discussions. Thanks go to Michale Sofroniew and Josh Trachtenberg and a special thanks goes to Rose Korsak for putting the Happy Hour together. |
| October 2006 Happy Hour and Talks will not be held due to the annual Neurobiology Symposium (in honor of Charles "Tom" Sawyer) and the Society for Neuroscience meeting. |
| September 29, 2006, the Chesselet Lab hosted the Department of Neurobiology Happy Hour in the Conference Room following From the Bench of . . . Talks by Assistant Researcher Bernhard Meurers (Chesselet Lab) and Postdoctoral Researcher Greg Villareal (Glanzman Lab). We dined on various treats including Chips and Dip, Pita rounds and a variety of hummus (tomato and basil, spicy, and regular), hot and spicy Thai Nuts, Fruit and Veggie Crudités, Cheese and Crackers and dessert (yummy pastries). We had an international exploration in beer: Mexican, Dutch and Belgian beer soothed our palates and quenched our thirst. For the sophisticated among us, there was good red and white wine. Thanks to the Chesselet Lab and to Bernhard Meurers and Miriam Hickey for service above and beyond the call of duty, and a very special thanks to Laury Mignon who made this all happen. (pictures) |
| August 25, 2006, the Harper Lab hosted the Department of Neurobiology Happy Hour preceded by From the Bench of . . . Talks by Assistant Researchers Paul Macey (Harper Lab) and Max Shao (Feldman Lab). Shrimp, sandwiches, wraps, dips, beer, wine, and other goodies were in abundance. Thank you, Dr. Harper and Becky. |
| April 21, 2006, the DeVellis Lab hosted the Department of Neurobiology Happy Hour in the NRB third floor common area following From the Bench of . . . Talks by posdocs Devin Jindrich (Edgerton Lab) and Spencer Smith (Trachtenberg Lab). The food was good and the company stimulating. |
| March 3, 2006, the Micevych Lab hosted the Department of Neurobiology Happy Hour in the Neurobiology Conference Room following From the Bench of . . . Talks by posdocs. The mood was Irish green and the food and drink were great! Paul introduced James Bisley. Thank you, Paul Micevych and Anna Matynia. |
| January 27, 2006, the Glanzman Lab hosted the Department of Neurobiology Happy Hour in the Gonda 2nd floor interactive space following From the Bench of . . . Talks by posdocs. It was cozy. Thank you, Mike Baca and Anna Matynia. |
| December 16, 2005, the Department Administration hosted a Holiday Party for the Department of Neurobiology in the Gonda 1st floor Conference Room. (Thank you, BRI!) Traditional and Mexican food and drink were featured together with ethnic desserts. It was great! Cudos to the staff who did a tremendous job. |
| November 2005 Happy Hour and Talks will not be held due to the Society for Neuroscience meeting. |
| October 28, 2005, the Otis Lab hosted Happy Hour for the Department of Neurobiology in the Neurobiology Conference Room. Happy Hour was preceded by talks from Michaela Bitzer, Ph.D. (Brecha Lab) and Consuelo Morgada-Valle, Ph.D. (Feldman Lab). |
| September 30, 2005, the Brecha Lab hosted a Back-to-School Happy Hour for the Department of Neurobiology in the Neurobiology Conference Room. |
| August 12, 2005, the Feldman Lab hosted Happy Hour for the Department of Neurobiology in the Neurobiology Conference Room. Appreciation goes to Leanne McKay and Eva Mellado. Happy Hour was preceded by talks from Laura Anelmi, Ph.D., and Arlene Hirano, Ph.D., both of the Brecha Lab. |
| July 8 , 2005, the Silva Lab hosted Happy Hour for the Department of Neurobiology in the Gonda first floor conference room. Special thanks to Tawnie and Eva. |
| June 10 , 2005, an Open House Happy Hour was hosted by the Department of Neurobiology administration staff and the research staff of the new Neuroscience Research Building labs of Drs. Sofroniew and Trachtenberg. |
May 6, 2005, a Cinco de Mayo Happy Hour was hosted by the Department of Neurobiology administration staff. A great time was had by all. Details and pictures to follow and a special thanks to Eva Mellado. |
March 18, 2005, Albert Ruiz-Morales and Spencer Smith gave "From the Bench" talks followed by the Trachtenberg Lab's hosting of the Department of Neurobiology Happy Hour with a St. Patrick's Day flavor. Thanks to Albert, Spencer, the Trachtenberg Lab and Eva Mellado. Here are a few pictures. |
February 25, 2005, Miriam Hickey and Salvatorre Stella gave "From the Bench" talks followed by the Ringach's Lab's hosting of the Department of Neurobiology Happy Hour. Thanks to Miriam, Sal, the Ringach Lab and Eva Mellado. Here are a few pictures. |
December 10, 2004, the Department of Neurobiology held its Holiday Party. Congratulations to Dr. Chesselet, Kristen Willeumier, Anna Matynia, Pierre-Olivier, Mario Mata, Eva Mellado, and Fred Hughes for organizing this well-attended and festive event. A combination of Lebanese food and individually-prepared favorites were delightful. Thank you to NPI for making its conference room available. |
November 5, 2004, Sirus Kohan, Anna Matynia and Christpher Richard gave "From the Bench of" talks followed by the Glanzman Lab's hosting of the Department of Neurobiology Happy Hour. While heady discussions filled the air, dips and chips and cheeses were washed down with beer and soda and wine. |
October 2004, no Happy Hour will be held during October due to the Third Annual UCLA Neurobiology Symposium and the Society for Neuroscience meeting also held this month. |
September 24, 2004, Leanne McKay, Rajesh Kumar, and Hongwei Dong gave "From the Bench of" talks followed by the Zampighi Lab's hosting of the Department of Neurobiology Happy Hour. Three different kinds of sandwiches with cheeses, cookies, brownies and assorted other goodies went fast. Here are a few pictures. |
August 13, 2004, the Harper Lab hosted the Department of Neurobiology Happy Hour. The shrimp were especially good and didn't last long. John Sinclair and Kevin Sinchak gave talks that preceded this Happy Hour. |
May 28, 2004, to kick off the Memorial Day Weekend, the Schweizer Lab hosted the Department of Neurobiology Happy Hour. The Happy Hour was a great success. The merriment spilled out into the hallways and resulted in calls for a larger conference room. Arnulfo Quesada, Brian Malone, and Paul Macey gave talks preceding the Happy Hour. These, too, were well attended and provided good overviews of what some of us are up to. |
| April 2, 2004, in 68-236 NPI, the deVellis Group hosted the Department of Neurobiology Happy Hour. |
| March 19, 2004, in the NB Conference Room (73-240 CHS), a St. Patrick's Day Happy Hour hosted by the Department of Neurobiology Administration and staff with assistance from Miriam Hickey in the Chesselet Lab. Everyone had a grand time. The homemade food was especially good. Special mentions go to Eva's barbecued pork and Brenda's ceviche. Thank you, Eva , Brenda, and the rest of the Neurobiology administrative staff, and thank you, Miriam! Here are a few pictures. |
| January 23, 2004, in the NB Conference Room (73-240 CHS) hosted by Reggie Edgerton. Celebrants were cheek to jowl and spilling out into the hallway to congratulate newlyweds Felix Schweizer and Stephanie White. Special congratulations to Felix! |
| December 19, 2003 -- The Holiday Happy Hour was hosted by Miriam Hickey and the Chesselet Lab in the 7th Floor Conference Room. A good time was had by all. Thank you, Miriam! |
| October and November 2003 -- No Happy Hours will be held during this time due to the Neurobiology Oktoberfest and the Society for Neuroscience meeting. Miriam Hickey has most graciously consented to coordinate happy hours for the rest of this year. Please contact her at extension 71782 if you would like to volunteer your lab or make any suggestions. |
| September 26, 2003 -- Thank you to all who came to welcome our new graduate students and Faculty Josh Trachtenberg. And thank you especially to the Schlags for generously hosting this event! |
updated 1/04/08
