SfN-Sponsored Socials
All SfN-Sponsored Socials will be held at McCormick Place. These events are open to all registered annual meeting attendees.
Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Social
Chair:
Laura Blair
Co-Chair:
Nicole Liachko
Current and future Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia researchers, join us for an inclusive, purely social gathering that will bring together experts, early career investigators, postdocs and students interested in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias research. Stop by and mingle. Reconnect with old friends and make new ones. All are welcome to join!
Black/African Diaspora Neuroscience Social
Chair:
Jasmine Kwasa
Co-Chair:
Cory White
This social will bring together Black scientists of all nationalities and ethnicities to celebrate our collective and individual accomplishments since the turn of the century. Come build community and fellowship with other scholars of the African diaspora, learn a little Black Neuroscience History, and "shout out" colleagues and friends for their great work, inside and outside of the lab.
Breaking Barriers for Young Women in Science Social
Chair:
Ghazaleh Sadri-Vakili
Co-Chair:
Courtney Miller
For the past 11 years we have hosted an annual SfN social attended by junior women. At the 2018 and 2019 SfN meetings we hosted SfN sponsored socials with over 450 attendees which included women and underrepresented scientists. We hope to maintain and expand this trajectory and remain an SfN sponsored social. As in the past, scientists will interact with mentors on a one-on-one basis and ask far-ranging questions in a relaxed but formatted environment that overcomes typical barriers younger scientists feel in approaching senior scientists.
Cajal Social: I Can See Clearly…
Chair:
Carol Mason
Co-Chair:
Oscar Marin
This event celebrates the namesake of this club, Santiago Ramon y Cajal. This particular social will present an informal account of tissue clearing and its advances and feature, of course, exciting visuals of cells and circuits in the transparent brain. Speakers will reflect on the methods Cajal used and what can be done now with new methods, microscopy, and computerized data analysis.
Computational Neuroscience Social
Chair:
Jantine Broek
Co-Chair:
Ekaterina Morozova
This social intends to bring together neuroscientists working on all aspects of computational neuroscience. It is an opportunity for attendees to network with other computational neuroscientists and to exchange notes on the latest methods and studies. It is also a chance for attendees to learn about opportunities to further their computational knowledge, such as summer schools and graduate programs.
Epilepsy Social
Chair:
Christina Gross
Co-Chair:
Matt Weston
This social will bring together scientists, clinicians, and representatives from funding agencies with an interest in epilepsy for an evening of networking. We welcome attendees from all career stages, including undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows as well as junior and senior PIs. This is a great opportunity to engage in productive discussions, learn about funding resources, establish collaborations or simply enjoy networking in a comfortable and fun setting.
Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience (FUN) Social
Chair:
Ronald Bayline
Co-Chair:
Mary Morrison
Socialize and exchange ideas with those interested in undergraduate neuroscience research and education. Undergraduates will present their research, and the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience (FUN) Student Travel Awards and Educator of the Year Awards will be presented. See the FUN website (www.funfaculty.org) for travel award information and to register to present a poster at the FUN Social.
Illuminating the Druggable Genome Social: Receptors, Channels, and Kinases—Oh My!
Chair:
Karlie Sharma
Co-Chair:
Laurie Nadler
Do you study an orphan protein and need specific tools to determine its function? The NIH Illuminating the Druggable Genome (IDG) Program is producing data and resources for 100+ understudied G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), ion channels and kinases. Come and learn about research tools and digital resources available for these unique proteins. This social will present available and emerging IDG resources, followed by an informal poster session featuring current research on understudied targets.
Neural Oscillations Social
Chair:
Molly Henry
Co-Chair:
Saskia Haegens
This social will bring together neuroscientists deeply in love with all aspects oscillatory about brain function. Neural oscillations have been ubiquitous at SfN’s annual meeting for many years. However, more light-hearted, out-of-the-box exchange over what may or may not unite the diverse fields that study oscillatory changes in excitability, from membrane potentials to behavioral corollaries, has been missing. Join us in meeting, greeting, and quizzing random people who love neural phase just as much as you do.
Open-Source Technology Social
Chair:
Mackenzie Mathis
Co-Chair:
Daniel Aharoni
Socialize and exchange ideas with researchers developing and using open-source tools for neuroscience research. Chat with the people behind the projects and learn about the wide variety of open-source tools that can help your experiments be more robust, reliable and creative. Join us for an evening of fun; you might even find a new collaborator for your open-source project!
Behavioral Neuroendocrinology Social
Chair:
Barney Schlinger
Co-Chair:
Frances Champagne
This long-standing social attracts SfN members with interest in the endocrine regulation of brain and behavior. This research covers a broad range of topics including development; sex-differences; neural networks and systems; neuroplasticity; and clinical neuroscience. It appeals to a diverse set of attendees including students, postdoctoral fellows, senior researchers and clinicians. This is not only an opportunity for this group to convene at the SfN meeting, but also the occasion to announce several awards in behavioral neuroendocrinology.
Cerebellum Social
Chair:
Roy Sillitoe
Co-Chair:
Alanna Watt
The Cerebellum Social will bring together researchers and clinicians from all areas of neuroscience. The event will be predominantly a social gathering, although it will also provide a platform to highlight accomplishments in the field; discuss opportunities for advancing cerebellar science; and identify avenues for collaboration, networking and career building for junior participants. The goal is to continue to build the cerebellar community by fostering participation from the field at large.
Chemosensory Social
Chair:
Christina Zelano
Co-Chair:
Alfredo Fontanini
Anyone interested in the chemosensory sciences (smell, taste, licking, sniffing, chemical signaling, trigeminal irritation or internal chemoreception) is welcome to join colleagues for an informal evening of conversation and socializing. This event is open to everyone at all career stages. Join this purely social event to connect with old friends and make new ones.
Decision Neuroscience Social
Chair:
Paul Glimcher
Co-Chair:
Michael Shadlen
Over the last decade, decision neuroscience has grown to encompass almost 4% of the material presented at the annual meeting. This social will provide an opportunity for graduate students, postdocs and faculty to exchange ideas, build new collaborations or just socialize. Whether you study perceptual decision-making with the DDM or economic choice with a BDM, this is the place for you. This will be the social's second year and will begin with brief humorous remarks by leaders in the field.
Evolutionary Neuroscience Social
Chair:
Katherine Bryant
Co-Chair:
Chet Sherwood
Join neuroscientists of different stripes who have one thing in common: an interest in brain evolution. Evolutionary neuroscientists are often partitioned by methodology or species of interest, so here is your chance to mingle with other primates who study a variety of species — slug to songbird, marmoset to manatee.
Ingestive Behavior Social
Chair:
Derek Daniels
Co-Chair:
Mitchell Roitman
After a stimulating day of presentations, come and socialize with your colleagues and meet new people interested in the areas of neuroscience related to the control of eating and drinking. Whether you are an established investigator, student or postdoc, if you are interested in the science of ingestive behavior and related areas of neuroscience, then you should join us. Plan to attend, mix, mingle and take the opportunity to establish new connections and collaborations while relaxing at the Ingestive Behavior Social.
Marmoset Social
Chair:
Nicholas Priebe
Co-Chair:
James Bourne
The rapid adoption of the marmoset as an animal model in neuroscience has created a high demand for venues to facilitate interaction, exchange practical information and form new collaborations. In this event a panel of investigators will play “Marmoset Jeopardy”, a game to survey recent research. Students submit images of their data for panelists to identify and reveal the answers. Later the floor will be open for questions to panelists and brief announcements, followed by time to socialize.
Official Paraventricular Nucleus of the Thalamus (PVT) Social
Chair:
Jessica Barson
Co-Chair:
Seema Bhatnagar
The PVT is the place to be! The crucial roles of the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) in brain function — including in circadian rhythm; sleep; fear and stress behavior; memory and learning; and especially affective and motivated behaviors including drug seeking — have been topics of increasing emphasis in neuroscience. This social will bring together neuroscientists from across disciplines and career stages to share their enthusiasm for the PVT. Join us!
Psychopharmacology Social
Chair:
Jill McGaughy
Co-Chair:
Lisa Briand
This social will bring together people interested in the effects of mind-altering substances. Join us in meeting others in the field, relaxing with your favorite beverage after a long day at the annual meeting, and dancing to a psychopharmacology-inspired playlist. Participate in the psychopharmacology quiz to test your knowledge and challenge your colleagues. All are welcome!
Down Syndrome Social
Chair:
Mara Dierssen
Co-Chair:
Eugene Yu
Down syndrome research is entering a period of significant growth. This social will bring together researchers from different career stages who are working in this important field. It will be a great opportunity for networking and sharing experiences. A brief presentation from experts will highlight exciting recent advances. If you want to discuss new and interesting concepts or are simply looking to meet friends, this social is for you. Postdoctoral fellows and students are encouraged to drop in!
Global Neuroscience Social
Chair:
Athena Akrami
Co-Chair:
Tadashi Isa
Different countries have different ways of neuroscience. Experiencing neuroscience in foreign countries will give you a new perspective in your scientific career. The Global Neuroscience Social focuses on mixing neuroscientists from various countries and encouraging to acquire experience in new countries. PIs with labs in non-native countries will give short presentations to introduce their experiences and discuss the key to success. Visit our Twitter @GlobalNeurosci1 to learn more.
Hippocampus Social
Chair:
Michael Drew
Co-Chair:
Christine Denny
The Hippocampus Social continues a decades-long tradition as a well-attended staple social at SfN’s annual meeting. It gathers the large community of hippocampus scientists under one roof to get to know one another. It also provides important professional development opportunities for younger neuroscientists to casually interact with the field's luminaries. The purpose of the social is to continue to unify the hippocampus community and to build new bridges across all its members through an evening of dinner, games, and prizes.
Neuroendocrinology Social
Chair:
Kathryn Lenz
Co-Chair:
Leah Pyter
Are you interested in the topics of sex, stress, rhythms, feeding, and sex differences? Come enjoy an evening with your neuroendocrinology friends. Entertainment will include a modified version of the game “Balderdash” where your esteemed colleagues will invent convincing fake definitions for obscure scientific words. Winners will receive prizes and coveted bragging rights. If that isn’t exciting enough, this social is a great place to mingle with colleagues and is a great networking opportunity for seasoned investigators and trainees alike.
Neuroethology/Invertebrate Neurobiology Social
Chair:
Wolfgang Stein
Co-Chair:
Richard Dewell
Join us to celebrate neuroethology and the role the nervous system plays in producing behaviors. All members of the neuroscience community are welcome, particularly those who work on the neural basis of animal behavior. If you are looking for an opportunity to discuss new and interesting concepts and/or are simply looking to meet old friends and make new ones, this social is for you. Postdocs and students are encouraged to drop in for socializing and networking.
Neuroscience Solutions to the Opioid Epidemic Social
Chair:
Sarah Woller
Co-Chair:
Robert Gereau
Everyone with an interest in opioid neurobiology and pain is welcome to join us for an evening of socializing. Scientific solutions to stem the opioid crisis will be furthered through new collaborations and productive conversations. To inspire conversation, trainees of all levels are invited to bring their poster relevant to opioid neurobiology or pain for presentation. Come catch up with colleagues, network with experts and representatives from NIH, and meet peers in the field!
Social Neuroscience Social
Chair:
Steve Chang
Co-Chair:
Ziv Williams
There has been an increase in research interest in studying social cognition from a systems neuroscience perspective. In this event, investigators studying neural mechanisms of social behaviors in different species (humans, nonhuman primates, rodents, and other species) and at different levels (areas, circuits, and cell types) will discuss how their work informs one another. A brief panel-based discussion session will be followed by social interactions among researchers with food and drinks.
Spinal Cord Injury Social
Chair:
Dana McTigue
Co-Chair:
Binhai Zheng
This social is open to all trainees and faculty interested in spinal cord injury research or clinical care. Come mingle with your fellow scientists and discuss current areas of research, ongoing clinical trials and ideas for future studies. We hope to see you there!
The Blue Spot Special: A Locus Coeruleus Social
Chair:
Daniel Chandler
Co-Chair:
Rita Valentino
The study of the locus coeruleus is attracting new attention as a result of recently developed tools that have the power to reveal novel features of the nucleus. This social will encourage networking and new collaborations among those interested in any aspect of the locus coeruleus and its functions. New and established researchers in this field will be able to interact with each other in a casual setting and participate in a locus coeruleus trivia game, moderated by a surprise guest.
