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Institute faculty and students participated in Brain Awareness Week by hosting students from the Academia San Jorge high school. The students visited labs, conducted hands-on neuroscience exercises, and heard an inspiring overview of the field by Dr. Daniel Colón Ramos, Yale University. Thanks to Dr. Annabell Segarra and students from the NSF PIRE program, Dr. Cristina Velázquez, ASJ science teacher Mrs. Lopez, the Yale graduate students and postdocs, and all Institute students and personnel that contributed to the success of this activity!

1.20.18. Institute students and faculty participated in the  Explora tu Cerebro en la Sanse 2018! outreach activity in coordination with the Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián.  Special thanks to Dr. Manuel Díos Ríos, the Neuroboricuas, the Institute administration, and the co-sponsorship by the NSF Center for Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST) Puerto Rico Center for Environmental Neuroscience. 

An article was published in the Cape Cod Times about Institute researchers working at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA: http://www.capecodtimes.com/news/20171222/scientific-community-reaches-out-after-hurricane

Dr. Andrew Seeds was awarded a prestigious grant from the Whitehall Foundation to support his group's research on neural circuits that control sequential behaviors. This project will use cutting-edge techniques, including optogenetic activation and calcium imaging combined with electron microscopic tracing, to study the neural network controlling grooming behavior in Drosophila. Congratulations to the Seeds-Hampel lab!

The COBRE Center for Evolutionary and Theoretical Immunology at the University of New Mexico hosted three students from the Institute, October 21-29, 2017. The visit enabled the UPR students to advance their research projects while their labs were awaiting restoration of electricity following Hurricane Maria. Photo, from left: Professor Sam Loker, UNM COBRE PD, and UPR students Anthony Hernandez, Cayra Ramirez, and Mariela Rosa Casillas. The Institute is very grateful for the generosity and cooperation of the UNM COBRE.

August 25, 2017. The Institute of Neurobiology was visited by Senator Abel Nazario Quiñones, Lcdo. Walter Alomar, President of the Governing Board of the University, Dr. Segundo Rodríguez Quilichini, Chancellor of the Medical Sciences Campus, and Alejandro Argüelles Rodríguez, Dean of Administration.

Institute of Neurobiology students, staff, and faculty organized a lunch to thank Jorge Fuentes Guadalupe for 34 years of loyal service to the University of Puerto Rico. He was presented with a plaque expressing the gratitude of his co-workers for his dedication and companionship. Gracias Jorge!!

This year, the Institute of Neurobiology is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding in 1967, by Dr. Jose del Castillo. On June 10, Dr. Maria Sosa, Acting Institute Director, and Dr. Gladys Escalona, the Institute's first graduate student, were presented with a special commemoration of this anniversary during the UPR Medical Sciences Campus graduation ceremonies. The presentation was made by Chancellor Ramón González and Dean José Capriles.

Faculty speakers from the Institute of Neurobiology presented their research at the Puerto Rico INBRE - COBRE Symposium, May 19-20, 2017.  Speakers in the Neurocience session included (left to right) Dr. Amaya Miquelajauregui, Dr. Kristin Branson (Keynote, Janelia Research Campus), Dr. Andrew Seeds, and Dr. Cristina Velåzquez.  Dr. Mark Miller served as session moderator. 

Congratulations to Dr. Joshua Rosenthal (affiliations: Institute of Neurobiology, UPR RCM, and MBL, Woods Hole) and collaborators for the featured article in the very prestigious journal Cell. (http://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(17)30344-6)