Iowa Neuroscience Institute

05/18/2026

Great to see our University of Iowa Department of Biology colleagues' work highlighted! Cathy Yea Won Sung studies how immune cells contribute to hearing loss caused by certain medications that can affect hearing as a side effect, while Anne Martin examines how the brain forms early connections and their link to neurodevelopmental disorders.

Cathy Yea Won Sung and Anne Martin, who joined CLAS last fall, are advancing research in hearing loss and brain science with support from the National Institutes of Health and the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust.

05/15/2026

Congratulations, Christina! We are excited to support your research this summer as an INI Summer Scholar!

Christina Yu, an undergraduate majoring in Neuroscience and a student in the Iowa Sciences Academy, received 2nd Place at the 2026 Quick Pitch Challenge! The University of Iowa Office of Undergraduate Research Quick Pitch Challenge is a communication competition that challenges undergraduate students from all majors to present their research or creative work to a general audience in three minutes.

Congratulations, Christina! 🎉

05/11/2026

A scientific first for our neurosurgery colleagues! Joel Berger and team recorded responses from single neurons in the human insula.

Your brain is listening — even when you aren’t. 🧠

New research shows that neurons in the human insula respond to sound during passive listening, revealing a whole new dimension to how we process the world around us.

Learn more through the link in the comments.

05/04/2026

Shout out to our postdocs for organizing a fantastic retreat on Friday focused on community building, connecting with resources, and sharing science! Congratulations to Allysa Jones, who won the Best Blitz prize in the Data Blitz and Maddie Mocchi, who won the Best Neuro Art prize!

04/23/2026

Great news for INI Director Ted Abel!

🎉Congratulations to Ted Abel, PhD, on being named the first president and provost distinguished fellow at . The new role within the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost will allow Abel to have an even greater impact on the implementation of the university’s strategic plan, with a focus on faculty success, recognition, and collaboration across disciplines. He will begin May 1.

11/19/2025

Who’s sticking around until the very end of ? Don’t miss Nanosymposium presentations this afternoon from the Berger and Nourski Labs
NANO052: Auditory Processing at Multiple Scales (SDCC Rm 24A, 1-4:15 p.m.)

3:15 p.m.
The human insula reimagined: Single neurons respond to simple sounds during passive listening
Joel Berger

3:45 p.m.
Differential processing of clear and spectrally degraded speech in the human cortex revealed by intracranial electrophysiology
Kirill Nourski

4 p.m.
Intracranial electrophysiology of cortical responses to speech in delirium
Emily Dappen, Nourski Lab

Society for Neuroscience

11/19/2025

Final poster session coming up this afternoon. Here's your lineup of Iowa neuroscientists:

A26
PSTR425.08
Investigating the behavioral and molecular effects of excess neonatal testosterone in wild-type mice
Pravda Quinones, Abel Lab

A36
PSTR425.18
Ino80e overexpression rescues male-specific DNA damage in direct pathway striatal neurons of 16p11.2 hemideletion mice
Benjamin Kelvington, Abel Lab

A30
PSTR425.12
Investigating the effects of neonatal testosterone dysregulation on development and behavior in wild-type mice
Emily Hagan, Ferri Lab

OO15
PSTR471.01
Hippocampo-cortical contributions to the structured organization of task knowledge
Bettina Bustos, Jiefang Jiang Lab

XX3
PSTR479.01
Transcranial magnetic stimulation to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex modulates single neuron activity in humans
Charles Dickey, Berger & Boes Labs

Society for Neuroscience

11/19/2025

Last day . Let's do this! These Iowans will bring some of last night's party energy (and maybe even some dance moves?) to their posters. You'll never know unless you stop by!

E48
PSTR382.27
Leveraging Molecular Chaperones as Therapeutic Tools Against Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias
Utsav Mukherjee, Abel Lab

CC7
PSTR402.18
Sleep deprivation selectively reactivates hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons
Yutong Wang, Abel Lab

U5
PSTR396.07
Interactions between the cerebellum and medial prefrontal cortex in rule-based category learning and rule-switching in rats
Stuti Gupta, Freeman Lab

DD8
PSTR403.07
Investigation of sleep stage-specific changes in human forebrain single neuron activity
Matthew Banks, Berger Lab

KK22
PSTR409.13
Ethanol exposure in adolescent female mice induces behavioral deficits and decreases serotonin and microglial marker expression in the raphe nuclei
Gabrielle Bierlein-De La Rosa, Marcinkiewcz Lab

J14
PSTR387.04
Divergent immune pathways in in EAE and OSE models of optic neuritis: transcriptomic insights into demyelination disorders
Stephanie Joachim, Gramlich Lab

Society for Neuroscience

11/19/2025

What a night! Thanks to all who joined us to celebrate Iowa Neuroscience and the connections we have cultivated across the neuroscience community. Who looks as cool in shades as Ben and Ted? Show us your party pics!

11/19/2025

It's party time ! Head over to The Prado Restaurant for the Friends of Iowa social, going on until 10 p.m.