From the Director's desk

John Foxe, Ph.D.

We are coming off another incredible academic year – our students thrived and our faculty shone. A number of our faculty were recognized for their excellence in mentoring students and postdocs, including Dr. Ania Majewska who received the highly prestigious 2022 Landis Outstanding Mentorship Award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Ania represents the very best in our ongoing collective efforts to create lab spaces that exemplify inclusive caring mentorship and our commitment to prepare the next generation of exceptional scientists and leaders.

Our youngest trainees wrapped up a successful second year of the NEUROEAST program – the students from East High in Rochester gave final presentations in early June. As that program concluded, 10 undergraduate students from City College of New York entered neuroscience labs across the University for the second summer of NEUROCITY. We are immensely proud of the impact these programs are having on the inclusivity and diversity of lab access.

The cover story goes inside the lab where I am a co-principal investigator alongside Dr. Ed Freedman. It was recently renamed the Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory in recognition of a remarkable couple who are dedicated to children with developmental disabilities, particularly those with autism spectrum disorder. Their philanthropy allows our lab to ask difficult questions that will in time lead to a better understanding of the brain mechanisms in autism and other disorders that will improve treatment

and care of those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Mapping the neuropathological processes that give rise to an IDD is a cornerstone of our lab, which is home to dozens of researchers and a large portfolio of ongoing studies.

I’m excited for you to meet a musician turned neuroscientist. Dr. Aaron Nidiffer is a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Edmund Lalor, and he shares his unique perspective on his interest in sound and the brain.

We are all still buzzing from the fantastic energy that was created during our recent symposium in neurodevelopment. We are profoundly grateful to all the brilliant scientists who graciously traveled to Rochester for our first in-person symposium in two years. It is fair to say the joint effort of the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience and the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center was a resounding success. I want to extend my gratitude to all who traveled to join us, particularly our speakers, and the organizing committee who were most capably led by our own Dr. Kuan Hong Wang.

As you read through the pages that follow, I hope you will get a good feel for another incredible few months of advancements and achievements. As always, I am proud to be a part of this incredible group of scientists.

In Science,

John J. Foxe, Ph.D.