Meet-the-Experts and Meet-the-Clinician-Expert Sessions
The Meet-the-Experts Series will continue with live one-hour webinars after the conclusion of Neuroscience 2026, between December 2026 and April 2027.
Visit Neuronline to find out more and register.
View other scientific sessions being held this year.
Meet-the-Clinician-Expert: Mayberg — From Mapping Depression Circuits to Circuit Modulation: Path to DBS
Speaker: Helen S Mayberg, MD
Institution: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Location: WCC Rm 201
Theme: Theme I – Cognition
Session Number: MTCE01
In this session, the speaker will reflect on a career as a neurologist, where neuroimaging studies of depression defined the circuits that ultimately led to the development of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for treatment-resistant depression. The speaker will describe how this work evolved into a transdisciplinary, team-based program integrating clinical insight, imaging, engineering, and basic science, and highlight lessons learned in building collaborations and translating discoveries into therapies.
Meet-the-Expert: Raman — Time and Time Again
Speaker: Indira M Raman, PhD
Institution: Northwestern University
Location: WCC Rm 201
Theme: Theme B – Neural Excitability, Synapses, and Glia
Session Number: MTE01
The speaker’s research involves the study of specializations of ion channels and synaptic physiology that permit neurons to transmit signals with specific informational content, particularly in the context of well-timed sensory and motor signals. In this session, she will discuss her scientific trajectory and how it has led her to the questions she has addressed in the laboratory.
Meet-the-Expert: Chedotal — Building Connections: Development and Evolution of Brain Wiring
Speaker: Alain Chedotal, PhD
Institution: Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1/Hospices Civils de Lyon
Location: WCC Rm 201
Theme: Theme A – Development
Session Number: MTE02
How are brain circuits assembled during development? This question has driven the speaker’s research journey. In this session, he will present his work on axon guidance in the brainstem and visual system, highlighting the experimental approaches he has used — from mouse genetics to tissue clearing and 3D imaging. More recently, his interests have expanded to the evolution of axon guidance mechanisms, exploring diverse animal models and revisiting human embryology. Beyond the science, he will share how his path has been shaped by serendipity, collaborations, and the emergence of new technologies.
Meet-the-Expert: McGlone — A Symphony in C: A Journey Through Pain, Itch, and Pleasure
Speaker: Francis P McGlone, PhD
Institution: Manchester Metropolitan University
Location: WCC Rm 201
Theme: Theme E – Sensory Systems
Session Number: MTE03
In this session, a running theme will be the role of a class of c-fibres in what one could call a “protection racket,” and the effects of serendipity in the speaker’s research journey over the past ~40 years. The c-fibres in question are the nociceptor, the pruriceptor, and the relatively new addition for human research, the “hedonoceptor.” Pain and itch will serve as examples of how vital such “harm detectors” are to survival, but the focus will be hedonoceptors and how working in a soap company provided the intellectual freedom and financial support to fund this journey.
Meet-the-Expert: Wager — Thoughts, Beliefs, and the Body: The Construction and Regulation of Feelings
Speaker: Tor D Wager, PhD
Institution: Dartmouth University
Location: WCC Rm 201
Theme: Theme H – Motivation and Emotion
Session Number: MTE04
Feelings are central to human experience. They arise from distributed neural processes that integrate sensory and somatic input, contextual beliefs, and personal goals. In this session, the speaker will describe research on how feelings are constructed and regulated in the brain, and why understanding their neural foundations matters on both personal and scientific levels.
Meet-the-Expert: Wu — Harnessing Brain Immune Power: How Microglia Shape Neuronal Activity
Speaker: Long-Jun Wu, PhD
Institution: University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Location: WCC Rm 201
Theme: Theme C – Neural Aging and Degeneration
Session Number: MTE05
In this session, the speaker will describe recent discoveries on how microglia sense, respond to, and regulate neuronal activity in health and disease. The session will highlight in vivo imaging approaches to study microglia-neuron interaction and its implication for circuit function, plasticity, and neurological disorders. The speaker will also outline a long-term vision to harness brain immune cells for therapeutic development.
Meet-the-Expert: Russo — Building a Translational Research Program to Study the Neuroimmune Mechanisms of Depression
Speaker: Scott J Russo, PhD
Institution: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Location: WCC Rm 201
Theme: Theme G – Integrative Physiology and Behavior
Session Number: MTE06
In this session, the speaker will present cross-species data to understand how peripheral immune cells interact with the brain to regulate circuits involved in depression and anxiety. It also highlights translational efforts to study stress-induced neuroimmune dysfunction, including inflammation and monocytosis. These findings underscore the need for targeted therapies to treat major depressive disorder (MDD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by modulating neuroimmune pathways.
Meet-the-Expert: Behrmann — Reverse Engineering Visual Pattern Recognition From Disease and Development
Speaker: Marlene Behrmann, PhD
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Location: WCC Rm 201
Theme: Theme I – Cognition
Session Number: MTE07
How does the brain assemble a meaningful interpretation of the visual world from the sparse signals from the eyes? To address this, leveraging previous clinical experience, the speaker studies individuals in whom vision is abnormal at the level of the eyes or at the level of the brain. This session will discuss the use of a reverse engineering approach to elucidate the normal neural system from studies of an impaired system, has shed light on how humans recognize complex patterns such as words and faces, and how, in longitudinal studies, plasticity can lead to reorganization of visual cortex.
Meet-the-Clinician-Expert: Grinberg — Building a Life in Science: From an LMIC to Leadership as a Woman Clinician-Scientist
Speaker: Lea T. Grinberg, MD, PhD
Institution: MayoClinic
Location: WCC Rm 201
Theme: Theme C – Neural Aging and Degeneration
Session Number: MTCE02
In this session, the speaker will reflect on her path from Brazil to the United States, where small clinical observations will grow into research programs in neuropathology, sleep, and neurodegeneration. She will discuss grit, reinvention, teamwork, and the challenge of balancing career, personal life, and self-care, while sharing lessons she will offer to those starting similar paths.
Meet-the-Expert: Bastian — One Size Does Not Fit All: Lessons From a Career Studying Movement and the Brain
Speaker: Amy J Bastian, PhD
Institution: Kennedy Krieger Institute
Location: WCC Rm 201
Theme: Theme F – Motor Systems
Session Number: MTE08
The speaker’s path from physical therapist to neuroscientist was driven by fascination with the brain and a need to answer clinical questions asked daily. Why is rehabilitation often one-size-fits-all when brain damage is so varied? On the flip side, why does the same therapy help some patients dramatically but barely touch others? In this session, the speaker will share some key discoveries about motor control and learning and make the case for the importance of human neuroscience for rehabilitation.
Meet-the-Expert: St-Pierre — Reading the Brain With Light: A Bioengineer’s Journey in Toolmaking
Speaker: Francois St-Pierre, PhD
Institution: Baylor College of Medicine
Location: WCC Rm 201
Theme: Theme J – Techniques
Session Number: MTE09
Fifteen years ago, fluorescent protein-based sensors capable of reporting millisecond-scale electrical activity in vivo were widely viewed as infeasible. In this session, the speaker will share his journey toward developing optical voltage reporters, highlighting both technical breakthroughs and practical challenges. Topics will include the realities of toolmaking research, navigating publishing and funding, and disseminating new technologies to the neuroscience community.
Meet-the-Expert: Bilbo — Brain-Body Interactions Through the Lens of Immunity
Speaker: Staci Bilbo, PhD
Institution: Duke University
Location: WCC Rm 201
Theme: Theme D – Neuroimmunity, Neurovasculature, and Neural Injury
Session Number: MTE10
The speaker’s research program aims to understand the mechanisms by which the immune system and nervous system communicate and impact one another, and how their interactions, particularly early in life, influence the development of neural circuits and complex behaviors such as cognition and emotion. Recently, her work has begun to examine novel aspects of body-brain interactions, including the lung-brain axis, via these neuroimmune interactions. This session will describe the research journey that brought this speaker to these topics.
