8:50-9:00 Welcoming remarks
Fernanda Laezza, UT Medical Branch at Galveston
9:00-09:45 Keynote: Joshua Gordon, NIMH
Opportunities and Challenges in Mental Health Research
Session 1: Molecules Associated with Complex Behaviors
Convener: Elizabeth Zuniga-Sanchez, Baylor College of Medicine
9:45-10:05 Gabrielle Rudenko, UT Medical Branch at Galveston
The Competitive World of ‘Synaptic Organizers’ – Cell Surface Molecules Implicated in Neuropsychiatric Disease
10:05-10:25 Fernanda Laezza, UT Medical Branch at Galveston
Novel Neurotherapeutics Based on Modulation of Voltage-gated Na+ Channels
10:25-10:45 John A. Allen, UT Medical Branch
Discovery of GPR52 Agonists with Antipsychotic and Procognitive Activity as Potential Therapeutic Agents for Schizophrenia
10:45-10:55 Break
Session 2: Prevention and Cures
Convener: Sanjay Mathew, Baylor College of Medicine
10:55-11:15 Sameer Sheth, Baylor College of Medicine
Deep Brain Stimulation for Depression using Directional Current Steering and Individualized Network Targeting
11:15-11:35 Wayne Goodman, Baylor College of Medicine
Adaptive Deep Brain Stimulation for Intractable Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
11:35-11:55 Jacob T. Robinson, Rice University
Next-gen Neural Interfaces: Less Invasive, More Precise
11:55-12:15 Jair Soares, UT Health
The John S. Dunn Behavioral Sciences Center – new opportunities for behavioral health at UTHealth Houston
12:15-1:30 Hot Topics, and poster session
Hot Topics Session
12:30-12:35 Douglas Engelke, UT Health
A Hypothalamic-thalamostriatal Circuit that Controls Approach-avoidance Conflict in Rats
12:35-12:40 Heather Webber, UT Health
Using Electroencephalogram to Measure Brain Responses in Cocaine Use Disorder
12:40-1:30 Poster Presentations in breakout rooms
Session 3: Molecules, Cells, and Neural Circuits Associated with Complex Behaviors
Convener: Anil Pillai, UT Health Science Center Houston
1:30-1:50 Therese Kosten, University of Houston
Not a Dad Joke: Paternal Alcohol Exposure Affects the Offspring
1:50-2:10 Agenor Limon, UT Medical Branch at Galveston
Pathophysiological Imbalance of Cortical Synaptic AMPA and GABA Receptors in Schizophrenia
2:10-2:30 Consuelo Walss-Bass, UT Health Science Center Houston
Patient-derived Brain-Based Mechanistic Studies of Psychiatric Disorders
2:30-2:50 Gabriel Fries, UT Health Science Center Houston
The Epigenetics of Aging in Bipolar Disorder
2:50-3:10 Kimberley Tolias, Baylor College of Medicine
Cytoskeletal Signaling Critical for Synapse Development, Plasticity and Repair
3:10-3:30 Networking Break
Session 4: Mental Health Development and Trajectories
Convener: Chris Verrico, Baylor College of Medicine
3:30-3:50 Samina Salim, University of Houston
Early Life Stress: Role of Oxido-Inflammatory Processes
3:50-4:10 Francesco Versace, MD Anderson Cancer Center
Identifying Neuroaffective Biomarkers of Cue-induced Compulsive Behaviors
4:10-4:30 Shelly Buffington, UT Medical Branch at Galveston
Host-microbe Interactions Regulating Synaptic Plasticity and Behavior
4:30-4:50 Yong Xu, Baylor College of Medicine
A Hyperactive Midbrain Circuit Triggers Anorexia
4:50-5:00 Final remarks
Thomas Green, UT Medical Branch at Galveston