Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Science Day - Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023
2023 Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Science Day will take place Thursday, Nov. 30, beginning at 11:30 a.m. at Vanderbilt University Student Life Center. Posters will be hung in the Commodore Ballroom from 10:00-11:30 a.m. with the program beginning at 11:30 a.m. in the Commodore Ballroom. Science Day festivities will include lunch, two poster sessions, a keynote, and a Data Blitz, closing with a wine/cheese reception. Find updates for Science Day at the VKC Science Day webpage here: https://vkc.vumc.org/vkc/scienceday/.
Advance registration from everyone -- including presenters and faculty judges -- is needed for accurate estimates toward catering and materials. Register by the FRIDAY, NOV. 17, deadline.
>2023 VKC Science Day Keynote Speaker: Audrey Thurm, Ph.D.
We're excited to welcome Audrey Thurm, Ph.D., Director, Neurodevelopmental and Behavioral Phenotyping Service, Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health, as our 2023 VKC Science Day keynote speaker. Dr. Thurm will present her talk on "Updates on Behavioral Phenotyping of Rare Genetic Conditions Associated with Neurodevelopmental Disorders (GCAND)."
This lecture will discuss the concept of "developmental phenotyping," behavioral phenotyping of genetic conditions associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. A brief history of behavioral phenotyping will be presented, with grounding in genetic conditions associated with intellectual disability. Current purposes and examples of phenotyping efforts will be presented, not just for understanding the natural history of the many genetic conditions associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, but also for providing external control data for clinical trials and helping with determining clinical outcome assessments for treatment studies.
2023 VKC Science Day Agenda:
10:30 a.m.: Registration and Poster Hanging Opens (boxed lunches available)
11:30 a.m.: Welcome and Opening Remarks
- Blythe Corbett, Ph.D., Science Day Chair
- Jeff Neul, M.D., Ph.D., Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Director
12:00 p.m.: Keynote Address: Updates on Behavioral Phenotyping of Rare Genetic Conditions Associated with Neurodevelopmental Disorders (GCAND)
- Audrey Thurm, Ph.D., Director, Neurodevelopmental and Behavioral Phenotyping Service, Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health
1:00 p.m.: Poster Session 1
2:00 p.m.: Poster Session 2 (wine and cheese reception opens at 2:30 p.m.)
3:00 p.m.: VKC Data Blitz
- Introduction: Carissa Cascio, Ph.D., Science Day Chair
- Data Blitz Presenters:
- Zachary Williams (Clinical/Behavioral/Education/Intervention): “An overlooked mental health condition: First estimates of prevalence and clinical correlates of misophonia in cognitively able autistic adults”
- Anne Byrd Mahoney (Clinical/Behavioral/Education/Intervention): “Child and Caregiver Perspectives on COVID-19 Experiences During Pediatric Cancer Treatment: A Mixed Methods Approach”
- Hyeon-Seung Lee (Systems Neuroscience): “Novel Measures of Social Cognition Captures Improvement Following Virtual Reality Social Skills Training in Schizophrenia”
- Jason Russell (Systems Neuroscience): “Assessing the Relationship between Central Cholinergic Integrity and Amyloid Accumulation in Individuals with Down Syndrome Using [18F]-FEOBV and [11C]-PiB PET: Preliminary Data”
- Adriana Tienda (Cellular & Molecular Neuroscience): “Chronic developmental manganese exposure alters response to amphetamine and methylphenidate”
- Xia Lei (Cellular & Molecular Neuroscience): “Activation Mechanisms for Context-Dependent Allosteric Modulation of the mGlu7 receptor”
4:00 p.m.: Door Prizes, Announcement of Science Day Poster Award Winners, and Closing Remarks
- 2023 VKC Science Day Committee Members:
- Blythe Corbett, Ph.D. (Undergraduate, Science Day Chair), James G. Blakemore Chair and Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences; Professor of Psychology
- Rachael Muscatello, Ph.D. (Systems Neuroscience), Research Assistant Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
- Brad Grueter, Ph.D. (Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience), Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology, Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
- Stephen Camarata, Ph.D. (Clinical/BehavioralEducation/Intervention Research), Professor of Hearing & Speech Sciences and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
- Jeff Neul, M.D., Ph.D., VKC Director
4:30 p.m.: Posters Removed
A Tradition With Innovation:
The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center supports basic/molecular, applied, and clinical research and training. The VKC has more than 300 faculty researchers, staff, and affiliate members working together across disciplines to create basic and clinical scientific discoveries, to translate research into best practices, and to train the next generation of researchers and practitioners. The ultimate goal is to make positive differences in the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.
Poster Sessions:
More than 100 posters will be presented by undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research faculty, and research staff conducting research in labs or research programs of VKC members. Poster submittals are divided among three Science Day research themes:
- Cellular & Molecular Neuroscience
- Clinical, Behavioral, Educational, & Intervention Research
- Systems Neuroscience
Following Science Day, all poster presenters (first authors) are eligible to submit a request for VKC travel award funding ($250 maximum) to present at a scientific or professional conference before the next Science Day (date TBD). Posters presented at other scientific or professional meetings within the last year are eligible for submission.
Science Day Poster Competition:
Presenters who opt into in the Poster Competition will have two faculty judges visit their poster during their assigned poster session to review the poster and ask questions. Judges will issue scores based on PRESENTATION QUALITY and COMPREHENSION OF THE RESEARCH. Scores will be tabulated by the end of the second poster session.
Up to seven winners will be chosen: one graduate and postdoctoral presenter from each of the three themes (Systems Neuroscience; Cellular & Molecular Neuroscience; and Clinical, Behavioral, Educational, & Intervention Research), as well as one overall undergraduate presenter. The winners will each receive a $250 Warren Lambert Award, in the form of a cash prize or supplemental travel funds to present their research at a scientific meeting during the year.
Data Blitz Consideration:
Presenters who enter the Science Day Poster Competition also submit their abstract for consideration for the Science Day Data Blitz. Following the Aug. 12 deadline, Science Day Program Committee members will review the submitted abstracts in each theme and, based on ABSTRACT QUALITY, will select in advance a small number of presenters to share brief research presentations with the Science Day audience, with time for Q&A.