BrightFocus Diversity Travel Fellowships

The BrightFocus Foundation supports research to end Alzheimer’s disease, macular degeneration and glaucoma. BrightFocus is at the forefront of brain and eye health, advancing early-stage, research around the world. BrightFocus also provides educational materials to people affected by or interested in these diseases, empowering them to take action for themselves and others.

Aleyna Ross

Alenya Ross is a PhD student at the University of Florida. Her research aims to understand the neural mechanisms responsible for cognitive decline. Aleyna is committed to mentoring women from backgrounds underrepresented in science to expose them to the various careers that are possible in science. As an undergraduate student she created an organization that inducted over 80 minority women to illuminate career paths beyond being a medical doctor.

Poster details: Thursday, April 27, 2023, 1:00PM | Poster board 2.4.52

Validation of an operant-based touchscreen test of mnemonic similarity for rodent models of cognitive aging

Joshua Gills

Joshua Gills is a postdoctoral fellow at Rutgers University in Newark. His research focuses on understanding the relation between exercise and cognitive health in older African Americans and individuals from other underrepresented groups. He is engaging in health equity and health disparity research with the Black community in Newark, New Jersey to help close gaps in risk for diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Poster details: Thursday, April 27, 2023, 2:30PM | Symposium 2.5.2

Effects of aerobic exercise on age-related memory loss and Alzheimer’s risk

Lidiette Angeles-Perez

Lidiette is a PhD student at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Her research explores the impact of cerebellar activity and the hippocampal-dependent social and cognitive behaviors that are impaired in age-related dementias. Lidiette is a board member for the UTSW chapter of the SACNAS where she leads outreach, social, mental health, networking and professional development activities.

Poster details: Sunday, April 30, 2023, 1:00PM | Poster board 5.4.48 Investigating the contributions of cerebellar-hippocampal circuitry to social behaviors and cognition

Annalysa Lovos

Annalysa Lovos is a PhD student at the University of Arizona. Her research investigates the impact of sleep on episodic memory, working memory, and cognitive control. She evaluates circadian rest-wake rhythms in typically developing children and children with Down syndrome, a genetic disorder with known memory impairments. Annalysa is committed to promoting equitable inclusion of individuals with disabilities in science and serves on her department’s wellness committee to promote the health of scientists at the University of Arizona.

Symposium details: Saturday, April 29, 2023, 2:30 PM | Symposium 4.4.1

Developmental transitions in sleep states: implications for memory

Kirk Geier

Kirk Geier is a PhD student at the University of Toronto. Kirk’s research focuses on understanding the etiology and pathology of Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia by exploring the modulation of cortical function by the cortex’s interactions with mediodorsal thalamus using functional MRI. Kirk is dedicated to equity and inclusion exemplified by helping Turkish refugees with English, bridging language gaps with colleagues from Sierra Leone and Japan in grant competitions, and protesting infringement of indigenous land rights in Canada.

Poster details: Wednesday, April 26, 2023, 1:00PM | Poster board 1.3.22

Analysis of memory and executive function performance and cortico-cortical connectivity after stroke to higher order thalamic nuclei