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More than a dozen Lake Forest College students, recent alumni, and Associate Professor of Biology Shubhik DebBurman and Professor of Psychology Robert Glassman joined 30,000 neuroscientists from around the world in Chicago for the 40th Annual Society for Neuroscience (SfN) meeting October 17-21. SfN is the world's largest organization of scientists and physicians devoted to advancing understanding of the brain and nervous system.

Neuroscience has become a research focus for Lake Forest science majors within the College’s psychology and biology faculty research labs and at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science’s medical research labs, where students pursue academic year internships and participate in a newly developed summer research fellowship program.

Several Foresters presented research at the conference, which addressed the latest medical breakthroughs about the brain and innovations in neuroscience education.

Students who shared their research at the conference included Kayla Ahlstrand '12, Pete Sullivan '12, Alina Konnikova '11, Danny Sanchez '11, Natalie Simak ’11, Keith Solvang '11, Natalie Simak ’11, Carlos Becerra ’10, Daryn Cass ’10, Michael Fiske '10, Jaime Perez '10, and Cristina Velasquez ’10. Eight students submitted research posters that covered research topics such as addiction biology, neurodegenerative diseases, neuroendocrinology, and neurodevelopmental biology. They had the opportunity to discuss the implications of their research with graduate students, postdoctoral students, and scientific leaders.

The experience of presenting research was important to students. Daryn Cass’10, who presented her senior thesis on addiction biology research done at Rosalind Franklin, says, “By presenting at SfN, I was able to share my work with others in my field of research and get new ideas and feedback.” Daniel Sanchez ’11, who presented Parkinson’s disease research conducted in Professor DebBurman’s lab, added, “What helped me the most in presenting at SfN was the fact that many researchers in the field, some whose papers were cited in my poster, praised the work that I had been conducting. I felt a sense of accomplishment knowing that my work was acknowledged by many respected researchers.”

Several other students and alumni co-authored research presented at the meeting, including Ray Choi ’09, Stephanie Valtierra ’08, Chris Hartley ’08, Michael White ’07, Michael Zorniak ’07, and Sara Herrera ’05.

Presenters also highlighted innovative curricular and co-curricular practices at the College. Professor Glassman talked about how his First-Year Studies course integrates discourse between neuroscience and religion. Professor DebBurman shared how his advanced cell biology course provides students opportunities to engage in original research experiences in molecular neuroscience. Eukaryon editors Michael Fiske’10 and Alina Konnikova’11 discussed how an undergraduate journal can have a positive impact on science curriculum and a student centered community.

Recent alumni now pursuing PhDs in neuroscience at major research universities also attended the meeting. D'Anne Duncan '04 and Lokesh Kukreja '08, PhD students at Northwestern University, co-authored presentations on multiple sclerosis and neurodevelopment, respectively. Emily Venheim '09, a PhD student at University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, presented her senior thesis work she conducted last year at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. Lital Silverman ’08, a PhD student at University of Alabama-Birmingham, and Michael Zorniak ’07, a PhD student at University of Wisconsin-Madison, also attended the meeting.

Following the conference, several biology and psychology alumni who are pursuing biomedical careers or graduate degrees in the Chicago area joined the Lake Forest contingent. They included Isaac Holmes’05, who is in his last year of medical studies at Rush Medical College; Brian Kinsman’09, a research technician at the Center for Systems Biology of Oxygen Sensing at the University of Chicago; Silvia Skripkauskaite’05, a research program manager in the department of radiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health; Jenny Riddle ’07, a research laboratory manager in the department of pharmacology at Rush University Medical Center; Ryne Debo ’08, who is completing a master’s degree in Clinical Laboratory Sciences at Rush University; and Stephanie Valtierra ’08, a research technologist at Rosalind Franklin who is applying for PhD programs in neuroscience this year.

Students cited many reasons why the experience of attending the conference was so valuable: to get feedback on their research, to interact with other attendees, to be exposed to the professional world of science, and to gain perspective on their research, to name a few. “Undergraduates should attend meetings like SfN because it gives them the opportunity to observe and appreciate others’ work,” says Kayla Ahlstrand ’12. “It’s one thing to read an article, but another to actually meet and question the author in person. With endless rows of posters and rooms full of presentations, attending SfN can open undergraduates’ eyes to how much research is being done all over the world.”

The list of College-related research and teaching presentations at the 2009 meeting:

Research done at Lake Forest College:

R. B. Glassman, C. P. Hartley ’08, C. Velasquez ’10
Bimodal occipital EEG gamma spectrum during visual choice RT: Artifact or scanning cognitive code?

A. Konnikova ’11, R. Choi ’09, D. Sanchez ’11, K. Ahlstrand ’12, P. Sullivan ’12, S. K. DebBurman
Evaluating autophagic regulation of alpha-synucleinpathotoxicity properties in budding yeast

J. Perez ’10, A. Ayala ’10, M. White ’07, S. K. DebBurman
Unexpected complexity in endocytosis-mediated regulation of alpha-synuclein localization, accumulation, and toxicity in budding yeast

M. P. Fiske ’10, K. Solvang ’11, S. Valtierra ’08, M. White ’07, S. Herrera ’05, M. Zorniak ’07, A. Konnikova ’11, S. K. DebBurman
Investigating the contribution of serine phosphorylation& alanine-76 to alpha-synuclein aggregation, membrane association, and toxicity in two yeast models

Research done at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science:

D. K. Cass ’10, S. R. Blume, K. Y. Tseng
Cortical metabolic neuroadaptation after repeated cocaine injection and withdrawal depends on the postnatal age by which drug exposure onset is given

M. Padival, E. R. Venheim ’09, J. Rosenkranz
Repeated stress increases the in vivo excitability of neurons in the lateral nucleus of the amygdala of rats

D. Park, S. Sammut, E. Sunu, M. Park, S. Blume, K. Tseng, A. West
Inhibition of soluble guanylylcyclase reverses electrophysiological and behavioral abnormalities associated with experimental parkinsonism

Research done at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine:

D. Duncan ’04, S. Miller
Innate immune functions of microglia and macrophages in acute TMEV infection in vivo

I. Rafalovich, S. Gallagher, L. Kukreja ’08, Y. Ma Regulation of midbrain dopaminergic neuron fate specification

Curricular Presentations:

M. P. Fiske ’10, A. Konnikova ’11, S. Davis ’09, P. Smith, S. K. DebBurman
Eukaryon: An undergraduate scholarship journal that supports inquiry-based pedagogy & strengthens a community of undergraduate scholars

R. B. Glassman, C. R. Albright, D. A. Hogue
Reasoned neuroscience and religion conversations: Chicago’s Zygon Center and a Lake Forest College freshman course

S. K. DebBurman, M. P. Fiske ’10
Design of an advanced biology course wherein undergraduates propose, conduct, and publish original neuroscience research