BHI

Center for NeuroMetabolism Special Seminar: Xiao Wang, PhD (University of Pennsylvania)
2026-08-26 10:00 - 11:00 (America/New_York) | CHI 3209, 89 French Street, New Brunswick
“Therapeutic Gene Editing for Metabolic Diseases: Toward a Platform for In Vivo Corrective Editing”
Guest Speaker: Xiao Wang, PhD
Assistant Professor, University of Pennsylvania
Date and Time: Wednesday, August 26, 2026, 10-11 AM EST
Location: CHI 3209, 89 French Street, New Brunswick
Zoom: https://rutgers.zoom.us/j/91458902759?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 914 5890 2759 | Password: [REDACTED]
Hosted by: Zhiping Pang, MD, PhD
Director, Center for NeuroMetabolism

Brink of Pink Symposium
2026-09-15 08:00 - 13:00
This year’s theme is Brain Health, Burnout, and Cognitive Resilience in the Workplace, featuring four 25-minute student-led panels:

Brain Health in Women – Hormones, stress, and cognitive load across a woman’s life and career
Brain Health in Men – Stigma, emotional suppression, and stress’s impact on mental health
The Aging Workforce – Cognitive longevity, neuroplasticity, and workplace support strategies
Clinicians, Caregivers & First Responders – Burnout, compassion fatigue, and mental resilience

Date and time: September 15, 2026, from 8 am-1 pm.
The symposium is seeking research staff and APPs who are passionate about brain health and interested in speaking as a panelist.
Here are a couple of links from last year’s event for reference:

AMWA Recap Article
Brink of Pink Symposium Webpage

2026 RARC Fall Symposium
2026-09-16 | Busch Student Center, Multipurpose Room 604 Bartholomew Rd, Piscataway, NJ 08854
This year marks RARC’s fifth anniversary. Join fellow researchers, clinicians, trainees, staff, and community partners to share new findings and innovative approaches in addiction science, connect with colleagues, and learn about the future of addiction research at Rutgers as we explore advancing research to real-world impact. Register Now
Keynote speaker: Dr. Yasmin Hurd
Director, Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai
Professor, Pharmacological Sciences
Professor, Neuroscience
Professor, Psychiatry
Professor, Artificial Intelligence and Human Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Date and Time: Wednesday, September 16, 2026, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Location: Busch Student Center, Multipurpose Room
604 Bartholomew Rd, Piscataway, NJ 08854
Registration Fees:
Faculty: $50
Trainees, including graduate students and postdoctoral fellows: $25
Staff: $25
Undergraduate students: Free
External attendees: $50
Note: Principal investigators are welcome to register and pay for their lab members through a single registration submission. The form includes a space to list additional attendees.
Please see the flyer and schedule for additional details.
Questions may be directed to rarc@bhi.rutgers.edu.
We hope you will join us as we celebrate five years of the Rutgers Addiction Research Center within the Brain Health Institute!

BHI Plenary Seminar: Jonathan Kipnis, PhD (Washington University in St. Louis)
2026-09-17 12:00 - 13:00
Plenary Speaker: Jonathan Kipnis, PhD
BJC Investigator, Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University in St. Louis
Dr. Kipnis focuses on the complex interactions between the immune system and the central nervous system to elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying these interactions in neurodegenerative, neurodevelopmental, and mental disorders as well as in physiology (including healthy aging). Learn more
Hosted by Mi-Hyeon Jang, PhD & Max Tischfield, PhD (Neurosurgery/RWJMS)
Learn more about the BHI Plenary Seminar Series

2026 NJACE and RUCARES Conference
2026-09-24 | Rutgers University Douglass Student Center 100 George Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
NJACE & RUCARES 3rd Annual Conference
Registration Deadline: September 10, 2026
Registration Fee: $20
Register Here: https://quikpayasp.com/rutgers/commerce_manager/payer.do?orderType=BHI_RUCARESAnnualConference
Date & Time: September 24, 2026, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Location: Rutgers University Douglass Student Center
100 George Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Keynote Speakers:
Dr. Brian Boyd
William C. Friday Distinguished Professor in Education
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Director, Frank Porter Graham (FPG) Child Development Institute
Dr. Xinyu Zhao
Professor, Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Public Health
University of Wisconsin-Madison

2nd Annual International Brain & Spine Tumor Symposium
2026-09-24 08:00 - 18:00
Attend the 2nd Annual International Brain & Spine Tumor Symposium to learn from national and international experts, at NJ’s only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Date and Time: Thursday, September 24th, 2026, 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
Location: Jack & Sheryl Morris Cancer Center
165 Somerset Street, New Brunswick, NJ
Virtual & In-Person Meeting
View agenda: https://cinj.org/sites/default/files/documents/Neuro-Symposium-Agenda-2026.pdf
Medical Students, Residents, Fellows, Graduate Students and Other Trainees Submit your Abstracts!
Register and Submit abstract: Please visit the website for more information, to complete registration & for abstract submission: https://cinj.org/education/2nd-annual-international-brain-and-spine-tumor-symposium
We invite all medical students, residents, fellows, and other trainees to submit an abstract of their original work. All submitted work will be reviewed by the selection committee, and exemplary abstracts will be selected for a presentation at the conference in either poster or oral presentation. All submitted abstracts are automatically considered for subject matter awards, which will be announced at the symposium.
Deadline for submission: September 3rd, 2026, at 11:59 PM EST.

Ira B. Black Memorial Lecture
2026-09-24 15:30 - 16:30 | East Lecture Hall
The Ira B. Black Memorial Lecture will take place on Thursday, September 24, at 3:30 pm in the East Lecture Hall. The title of the talk is “Neuron-glial interactions in health and disease: from cognition to cancer”. Light refreshments will be available in the Old Student Lounge following the lecture.

BHI Plenary Seminar: Scott J Russo, PhD (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai)
2026-10-01 12:00 - 13:00
Plenary Seminar: Scott J Russo, PhD
Professor of Neuroscience, Director of the Center for Affective Neuroscience and the Brain Body Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Dr. Russo’s lab studies the neural and immunological mechanisms of neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety to understand how the brain and body adapts to stress to control pathological behaviors in depression and anxiety. Learn more
Hosted by Yong Kim, PhD (Neurosurgery/RWJMS)
Learn more about the BHI Plenary Seminar Series

18th Annual Pioneers in Endocrinology Workshop: GLP-1 beyond Weight Loss
2026-10-13 10:00 - 15:00
Date and Time: Tuesday, October 13, 2026
Location: Douglass Student Center, 100 George Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Scientific Presentations: 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM (Trayes Hall B)
Randy J. Seeley, PhD
Dr. Randy J. Seeley is the Henry King Ransom Endowed Professor of Surgery, Internal Medicine, and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Michigan School of Medicine. He also serves as the director of the NIH-funded Michigan Nutrition Obesity Research Center (MNORC). His scientific work has focused on the brain-gut axis and its role in the regulation of energy balance and metabolism with a focus on new treatment strategies. He and his lab have worked to understand the actions of GLP-1 agonists and identify the molecular underpinnings of the potent effects of bariatric surgery on weight and metabolism.
Linda Rinaman, PhD
Dr. Linda Rinaman is a distinguished research professor in the Department of Psychology and the R. Bruce Masterton Professor of Neuroscience at Florida State University. She is coeditor in chief of Brain Structure and Function. Her current research using rodents includes anatomical and functional analysis of glucagon-expressing cells in the brain and periphery. This research is providing novel insight into the GLP-1 agonist effects on binge-type eating disorders, alcohol use disorder, and other substance use disorders.
Luncheon: 12:30–1:30 PM (in person, Trayes Hall A)
Poster Presentations: 1:30–3:00 PM (in person, Douglass Lounge)
Featuring the most current endocrine research at Rutgers
Sponsorships for this annual event are available. Please contact Dr. Dipak Sarkar at dipak.sarkar@rutgers.edu
The 18th Annual Pioneers in Endocrinology Workshop is organized by the following partners:
● The Rutgers Endocrine Program ● Department of Animal Sciences at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences ● Rutgers-RWJMS, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Nutrition ● The NExT Center, NJ Institute of Food Health and Nutrition.

BHI Plenary Seminar: Alain Dagher, MD, PhD (McGill University)
2026-11-19 12:00 - 13:00
Plenary Speaker: Alain Dagher, MD, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, McGill University
Dr. Dagher specializes in movement disorders and functional brain imaging. His research aims at understanding the function of the basal ganglia, with a particular emphasis on appetitive behaviours. This involves studying how we learn about rewards and punishments, and become motivated to engage in reward-seeking behaviour. Learn more
Hosted by Travis Baker, PhD (Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers-Newark)
Learn more about the BHI Plenary Seminar Series

12th Annual Rutgers Brain Health Institute Symposium
2026-12-02
Keynote Speaker: Joseph E LeDoux
Dr. LeDoux is Professor Emeritus at New York University, where he was a University Professor, Henry and Lucy Moses Professor, Professor of Neural Science and Psychology, and Professor of Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at NYU Langone Medical School. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His work has focused on the topics of emotion, memory, and consciousness and their interaction in the brain. Learn more
More information will be available soon!
Read the 11th Annual BHI Symposium recap

BHI Plenary Seminar: Lin Tian, PhD (Max Planck Florida Institute)
2026-12-10 12:00 - 13:00
Plenary Seminar: Lin Tian, PhD
Scientific Director, Max Planck Florida Institute
Dr. Tian’s lab focuses on technological innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration to uncover the connection between brain function and behavior in healthy and diseased states, such as neurological and psychiatric disorders. Learn more
Hosted by Miriam Bocarsly, PhD (Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience/NJMS)
Learn more about the BHI Plenary Seminar Series

BHI Plenary Seminar: Guo-Li Ming, MD, PhD (University of Pennsylvania)
2027-02-04 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Guo-Li Ming, MD, PhD
Perelman Professor of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania
Date and Time: February 4, 2027
Research in Dr. Ming’s laboratory centers on understanding molecular mechanisms underlying neurodevelopment and how its dysregulation may contribute to developmental neurological disorders. The lab uses a combination of experimental approaches that include molecular biology, biochemistry, mouse genetics, imaging, electrophysiology, electron microscopy, optogenetic manipulations, next generation sequencing, and behavioral tests to study neural development. Learn more
Hosted by Mi-Hyeon Jang, PhD (Neurosurgery/RWJMS)
Learn more about the BHI Plenary Seminar Series

BHI Plenary Seminar: David Ginty, PhD (Harvard Medical School)
2027-03-05 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: David Ginty, PhD
Edward R. and Anne G. Lefler Professor of Neurobiology and Department Chair
Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Date and Time: March 5, 2027
Using a range of advanced tools, the Ginty Lab is able to map how signals from the skin travel through the nervous system to encode touch perception. These circuits are what allow us to differentiate between textures, temperatures, and levels of pressure. Understanding how they develop and function provides insight into conditions such as chronic pain or autism, in which touch feels painful or becomes overwhelming. Learn more
Hosted by Mi-Hyeon Jang, PhD & Victoria Abraira, PhD (Neurosurgery/RWJMS)
Learn more about the BHI Plenary Seminar Series

8th Annual Neurosurgery Research Symposium
2027-03-17
Save the date for the 8th Annual Neurosurgery Research Symposium on March 17, 2027.

BHI Plenary Seminar: Malu G. Tansey, PhD (Indiana University School of Medicine)
2027-04-22 12:00 - 13:00
Plenary Speaker: Malu G. Tansey, PhD
James A. Caplin, M.D. Professor of Alzheimer’s Research, Professor of Neurology, Adjunct Professor of Microbiology & Immunology, Indiana University School of Medicine

Dr. Tansey’s lab focuses on the role of inflammation and immune system responses in brain health and neurodegenerative disease, with particular focus on central-peripheral neuroimmune crosstalk and the gut-brain axis. The long-term goal of the lab is to develop better therapies to prevent and/or delay these diseases.
Hosted by Pingyue Pan, PhD (NCB/RWJMS)
Learn more about the BHI Plenary Seminar Series

BHI Plenary Seminar: Ryohei Yasuda, PhD (Max Planck Florida Institute)
2027-05-06 12:00 - 13:00
Plenary Speaker: Ryohei Yasuda, PhD
Scientific Director, Max Planck Florida Institute
Dr. Yasuda’s research focuses on synaptic plasticity, the ability of synapses to change their connection strength. This process is thought to underlie learning and memory. Cascades of biochemical reactions in dendritic spines, tiny (~0.1 femtoliter) postsynaptic compartments emanating from dendritic surfaces, trigger diverse forms of synaptic plasticity. The Yasuda lab aims to elucidate some of the operation principles of such signaling networks in dendritic spines using various optical techniques. Learn more
Hosted by Huaye Zhang, PhD (Neuroscience and Cell Biology/ RWJMS)

Learn more about the BHI Plenary Seminar Series
