Dear Del Monte Institute and UR IDDRC Symposium attendees,

We are excited for you to join us for the 2022 Del Monte Institute and UR IDDRC Symposium on the Developmental Emergence of Neural Circuit Architecture and Function. We are thrilled to have this meeting in person and bring people together after pandemic interruption.

Neurodevelopment offers a unique lens to understand the structure and function of the brain. Neurodevelopmental principles have long been recognized by classic neuroanatomists and are increasingly applied to investigate the origins of brain disorders. Recent animal research has yielded a series of breakthroughs regarding the molecular genetic mechanisms that govern early patterning, neurogenesis and wiring of the nervous system. In parallel, new technologies to visualize neural circuits and control neuronal activity have revolutionized studies of the functional architecture of brain circuits and their activity-dependent maturation. While animal work increasingly identifies the ‘how’, ‘where’ and ‘when’ of brain development, human and clinical research are crucial for linking this work with evolutionarily conserved genetic and cellular/circuit substrates, to uncover the etiology of human-specific neurodevelopmental diseases. Thus, the wealth of new information about neurodevelopment marks an exciting and potentially transformative period for developmental neurobiology. By drawing together researchers from different fields, this symposium aims to generate discussion and debate on how recent advances in delineating neurodevelopmental processes across species shape our understanding of the brain, including its systems-level function and dysfunction.

The University of Rochester has been designated an Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC) by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). It is one of 15 NICHD-designated IDDRC institutions in the U.S. Combined with previous awards as University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service (UCEDD) and Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND), this designation places the University of Rochester Medical Center among a small group of institutions recognized for their leadership in IDD research, training, care, and community partnership. The Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience and the IDDRC at the University of Rochester will host this neurodevelopment symposium and welcome a broad and engaging audience.

We look forward to an exceptional few days of learning and collaboration.

John J. Foxe, PhD Kuan Hong Wang, PhD

Kilian J. and Caroline F. Schmitt Chair in Neuroscience Professor of Neuroscience

Our Keynote Speakers

Beatriz Luna, Ph.D.

Staunton professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Professor of Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh, Founder and Director of the Laboratory of Neurocognitive Development, Founder and President of the Flux Society for Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

Dr. Luna’s research uses multimodal neuroimaging methods including: functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), Magnetoencephalography (MEG), Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Imaging (MRSI). Her findings have led to influential developmental models emphasizing the implications of specialization of different brain systems with regards to cognitive development.

Mriganka Sur, Ph.D

Newton Professor of Neuroscience, Investigator in The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Director, Simons Center for the Social Brain
Professor, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Sur laboratory studies the development, plasticity and dynamics of circuits in the cerebral cortex of the brain. The goal of the laboratory is to understand long-term plasticity and short-term dynamics in circuits of the developing and adult cortex, and utilize this understanding to discover mechanisms underlying disorders of brain development.