ECUSA & Cajal USA & Spain bridge for the neurosciences

The 125th anniversary of Santiago Ramón y Cajal’s visit to the United States represents an opportunity to bring together prominent scientists, researchers, and scholars from both Spain and the United States to discuss current advances in neuroscience, highlighting Cajal’s pioneering legacy and contributions to the field. To commemorate this, ECUSA (Spanish Scientists in the USA), in collaboration with Spanish institutions and researchers, is organizing a special event that will take place in New York City on October 25th.
The event will feature a keynote lecture by Jeff W. Lichtman, MD Ph.D. (Harvard University), talks by Spanish neuroscientists, a discussion on neurotechnologies neurorights, and an exhibition honoring Cajal’s legacy, contributions, as well as his photographic journey during his visit. This event will not only commemorate Cajal’s historic visit to the United States but also serve as a forum to foster scientific collaboration and promote innovation across the Spanish and USA scientific communities.

Registration
retrato_legend_size-3-1024x1024
purkinje_legend_updated_size-3-1024x1024
unionSquare_legend_updated2_size-3-1024x1024

Event objectives and tentative program

To share insights and perspectives into the present and future of neuroscience with the scientific community and to a broader audience.

Provide a platform for junior researchers from various U.S. institutions to engage in stimulating discussion with established researchers from Spain.

To drive innovation, foster collaborative research, and shape the future of neuroscience across international boundaries.

Opening remarks and keynote address

Wendy Suzuki, Ph.D.

Professor of Neural Science and Psychology, Center for Neural Science, NYU Seryl Kushner Dean of NYU’s College of Arts & Science, NYU

Dr. Wendy Suzuki is the Seryl Kushner Dean of the College of Arts and Science, an award-winning Professor of Neural Science and Psychology in the Center for Neural Science at New York University. She is a celebrated international authority on neuroplasticity, was recently named one of the top ten women changing the way we see the world by Good Housekeeping and regularly serves as a sought-after expert for publications including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and The Washington Post. Her TED talk has more than 60 million views and she is the author of two books, Good Anxiety and Healthy Brain, Happy Life.

Jeff W. Lichtman, M.D., Ph.D.

Dean of Science for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, MCB, Harvard University Jeremy R. Knowles Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology
Santiago Ramón y Cajal Professor of Arts and Sciences
Jeff Lichtman is Jeremy R. Knowles Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard. He received an AB from Bowdoin (1973), and an M.D. and Ph.D. from Washington University (1980) where he worked for 30 years before moving to Cambridge in 2004. He is a member of the Center for Brain Science.
Lichtman’s research interest revolves around the question of how mammalian brain circuits are physically altered by experiences, especially in early life. He has focused on the dramatic re-wiring of neural connections that takes place in early postnatal development when animals are doing most of their learning. This work has required development of techniques such as “Brainbow” transgenic mice to visualize neural connections and monitor how they are altered over time. Recently his efforts have focused on developing new electron microscopy methods to map the entire wiring diagram of the developing and adult brain. This «connectomics» approach has as one of its aims uncovering the ways information is stored in neural networks.

Short Talks

Ignacio Saez, PhD

Associate Professor, Departments of Neuroscience, Neurosurgery, and Neurology Director of the Human Neurophysiology Laboratory
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Ignacio Saez, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Neuroscience, Neurosurgery, and Neurology and the Director of the Human Neurophysiology Laboratory at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Friedman Brain Institute. His research focuses on understanding how human cognition arises from the interaction of multiple brain areas and neurotransmitter systems, particularly in decision-making behavior. Dr. Saez’s research involves studying prefrontal cortical and subcortical areas directly in the human brain by conducting intracranial electrophysiology recordings in patients undergoing neurosurgical treatment.
Dr. Saez aims to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the neurobiological basis of human decision-making behavior, which could lead to the development of novel neurotherapeutic approaches for psychiatric conditions, such as depression. Prior to his current position, Dr. Saez was an Assistant Professor at the UC Davis Center for Neuroscience and completed his postdoctoral work at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, and Virginia Tech. He earned his Ph.D. from Baylor College of Medicine.

Susana Martinez-Conde, PhD

Professor of Ophthalmology, Neurology, and Physiology & Pharmacology State University of New York Downstate Medical Center
Susana Martinez-Conde is a professor of ophthalmology, neurology, physiology, and pharmacology at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, where she directs the Laboratory of Integrative Neuroscience. She received a BSc in Experimental Psychology from Universidad Complutense de Madrid and a PhD in Medicine and Surgery from the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela in Spain. She was a postdoctoral fellow with Nobel Laureate Prof. David Hubel, and then an Instructor in Neurobiology, at Harvard Medical School. Before SUNY Downstate, she directed laboratories at University College London and at the Barrow Neurological Institute.
Her lab’s research bridges perceptual, oculomotor, and cognitive neuroscience, using a combination of techniques, including fMRI, electrophysiological recordings, psychophysical measurements, and computational models of visual function. She is best known for her studies on illusions, eye movements and perception, neurological disorders, and attentional misdirection in stage magic. Her research has been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Wired, and many others.
Prof. Martinez-Conde complements her award-winning research with extensive science communication, education and public outreach. She writes frequently for Scientific American, she received the 2014 Science Educator Award from the Society for Neuroscience, and she authored the international bestselling book Sleights of Mind.

Esti Blanco-Elorrieta, PhD

Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neural Science, New York University
Esti Blanco-Elorrieta, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neural Science at New York University. In their research, Dr. Blanco-Elorrieta combines insights from monolingual and multilingual individuals, who process language through speech or sign, to inform an inclusive and comprehensive neurobiology of language. Their research combines data from neuroimaging, computational and behavioral methods with theoretical insights from linguistics, psychology and neuroscience. Further, they take the most naturalistic approach possible to inform an understanding that can not only account for laboratory based experiments but rather aims to capture the multifaceted and socially influenced experience of what it means to communicate in the real world.

Organizing Committee

Leire Abalde-Atristain, PhD

Leire is a neuroscientist from Donostia-San Sebastian who completed her undergraduate studies in Biotechnology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and a master’s degree in Biomedical Research at the Pompeu Fabra University, also in Barcelona. 

Sponsored by a La Caixa Foundation fellowship, Leire moved to the US in 2013 to obtain her doctorate from the Johns Hopkins University, where she was recognized with a Young Investigator Award for her thesis work. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher with Dr. Marc Freeman at the Oregon Health & Science University, studying the role of glial cells in both the healthy development of the central nervous system, and in neurodegeneration. 

Leire joined the ECUSA’s e-Visibility program in 2020 because of her passion for science communication, her conviction that without Science there is no future, and her STEMinist ideals. Between 2021 and 2023 she also served as Chair for MECUSA, in its mission to empower women scientists, improve their visibility, and advocate for gender equity in science. Aside from ECUSA, she has also worked with the non-profit organizations Society for Neuroscience as Early Career Policy Ambassador (2022), and Genetics Society of America as Early Career Leader (2021-2022) and Peer Review Trainee (2023-2024).

Judit Jiménez, PhD

Judit is a biochemist and geneticist who researches why certain women with BRCA2 mutations  have an increased risk of female cancers and how to prevent and cure it at the molecular level.  She is an Assistant Professor at the Medical University of South Carolina.  

Judit joined ECUSA in 2015 and since then, she has actively participated in the Advisory program  and co-directed the E-visibility program, highlighting novel research and researchers’ endeavors.  Judit was elected President of ECUSA from May 2021 to September 2023. Her engagement  focuses on bringing the ECUSA community together and on moving ECUSA to a global recognized  non-profit association with the united growth of all the members. Judit wants to promote equity,  diversity and leadership skills.  

She is an advocate of Women in Science. Judit strongly believes that the members of ECUSA and  the new generation of STEMM can be an engine to move our planet to a better one. Judit is one of  75 women leaders selected for Homeward Bound Program 5 (#HB5). Judit gets energy from  family, dance, nature, meditation and, spending time with others. She strongly values curiosity,  creativity, critical thinking and exploring outside her comfort zone. 

Alberto J. Schumacher, PhD

Alberto J. Schuhmacher is an ARAID researcher. He leads the Molecular Oncology group at the  Aragón Health Research Institute, where he works on developing new diagnostic methods, termed  «virtual biopsy,» and treatments for the most lethal tumors and rare diseases known as  RASopathies.  

He has worked at the Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) where he earned his  Ph.D. under the supervision of Drs. Mariano Barbacid and Carmen Guerra, and at the Memorial  Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, among other institutions. Some of his discoveries  have been published in the world’s most prestigious journals and are being tested in patients.  

Deeply committed to scientific outreach, Alberto often writes articles in the press, participates in  radio and TV programs, and gives numerous lectures in educational centers. He is a  Corresponding Academician of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Zaragoza (2020) and has been  recognized with several awards, including the title of «Honorary Citizen of Zaragoza» for his human  values and contributions to Science.  

President of the Cajalian Studies Center Association, Dr. Schumacher was the curator of the  exhibition «Santiago Ramón y Cajal: 150 Years at the University of Zaragoza» and the permanent  “Cajal Space” at the Paraninfo of the University of Zaragoza. He is the editor of the book «Santiago  Ramón y Cajal: The Man, the Scientist, the Intellectual» (University Press). He is also part of the  Cajal Working Group coordinated by the Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities of Spain.

Yolanda Campos, PhD

Yolanda is a postdoctoral researcher at Washington University in St. Louis and her work focuses on the intersection between pain and drinking behaviors. This work is a continuation of her PhD project at the University of Valencia, in which she evaluated the effect of pain on relapse in alcohol consumption and demonstrated the key role played by mu-opioid receptors in motivating and rewarding these relapses. Before that, Yolanda studied Pharmacy at the University of Valencia. Yolanda is the co-chair of MECUSA, the Women in Science section in ECUSA since 2023. On top of that, Yolanda has also been involved in science communication, equity and diversity projects such as Pint of Science, Brain Awareness Week, Women and Neuroscience and Girls4Stem.

Juanjo Rubio, MS

MS Industrial Automation and Biomedical Engineer with international experience transforming health organisations to improve patient safety and healthcare outcomes with exponential technologies.
Complementing his engineering and healthcare management background with acting, coaching, psychodrama, yoga and social theater education and experience, Juanjo has worked as CEO for Navarra Public Health System, Mondragon Health, Sinapsis Healthcare and Navarra Social Innovation Unit.
Juanjo is cathalizing the bioeconomy ecosystem in Navarra with ethical AI, advanced automation and synthetic biology. automation; he is part of the Cajal Working Group in Spain coordinated by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.

Alma Eva Pérez Perrino, PhD

Alma Eva Pérez Perrino, Ph.D. has been the Associate Director of the Nanoscience Initiative at ASRC-CUNY since August 2023. She is responsible for overseeing daily operations, helping the initiative to operate effectively, secure vital funding, manage resources wisely, and foster a collaborative and productive work environment. Alma earned her Ph.D. from the Autonomous University of Madrid in Spain, where she specialized in state-of-the-art AFM methods for potential applications in nanotechnology and nanomedicine. Throughout her career, she has applied these methods to a wide range of materials, including polymers and cell membrane proteins. In 2018, Alma embarked on a postdoctoral position at Weill Cornell Medicine in Simon Scheuring’s lab, where she continued to innovate in the field of AFM by developing new high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) techniques to study the kinetics of cell membrane proteins.
Alma has been the national secretary and the vice president of the Spanish Scientists in USA organization (ECUSA) where her interests focused on science policy, career development and science management. Outside of work, Alma enjoys exploring the city, sunny days and reading.

Location

Friday, October 25, 2024

Espacio de Culturas de la Universidad de Nueva York (KJCC-NYU)

53 Washington Square South 10012 New York, NY

Organizadores, patrocinadores y colaboradores

and our collaborator geoPlaneta

FAQS

On Friday, October 25, 2024 at NYU’s Espacio de Culturas (53 Washington Square S, New York, NY 10012).

Registration will open on Sept 1st and close on October 25 at 8am ET, or once the capacity is full.

Yes, non-members are welcome at the event, and it is free for everyone. If interested, we encourage you to become a member of ECUSA through the following link.

Yes, anyone interested in neuroscience is welcome.

Yes, everyone is welcome.

Yes, upon request.

Presentations will be in English, to ensure the event is accessible to a wider audience. However, we anticipate many attendees will be Spanish speakers.

FOSTERING GRADS​

Fostering Grads es un programa de mentorazgo enmarcado dentro de la plataforma de Career Development & Advisory (CDA) de la sociedad sin ánimo de lucro Españoles Científicos en USA (ECUSA).

Saber más

DÓNDE ESTAMOS

Boston

California

Midwest

New York

Texas

Washington DC

Education and Public Outreach

The Education and Public Outreach EPO’s mission is to reach out to kids and teenagers to make STEM attractive to them in a ludic, practic, integrated and team-oriented way.

Saber más

E-Visibility

El programa e-Visibility da apoyo a los miembros de ECUSA para dar a conocer su trabajo y su carrera.

Saber más