Author: Crystal Mills

Announcing *NEW* IBACS Leadership

The IBACS executive committee is thrilled to announce the appointment of three new directors who will assume leadership of the Institute this fall. Their selection culminates from a major visioning process involving community feedback (2021-22), a University-wide request for nominations (fall 2022), a review of qualifications and candidates' willingness to serve, candidate interviews with the executive committee (winter 2023), and a final review of recommendations by the CLAS Dean Juli Wade. 

New IBACS Directors

Emily Myers, Director of Training
Professor of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences;
Professor of Psychological Sciences; Perception, Action, and Cognition Research Program

Photo of Emily Myers

Our new Director of Training will work to connect and publicize UConn’s many outstanding training programs in the brain, cognitive, and neurosciences space. Myers will work with leadership of existing programs to build strengths and optimize use of shared resources. She will coordinate with departments to support and grow opportunities for cross-training (e.g., inter- disciplinary training programs that cross over traditional degree programs). She will also manage IBACS Graduate and Undergraduate Student Summer Award programs, and work with the Director of Research to support and coordinate graduate lines (RAs) for students working in our service cores.

John Salamone, Director of Communication and Outreach
Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Psychological Sciences; Behavioral Neuroscience Research Program

Our new IBACS Director of Communication and Outreach will manage the outward face of IBACS, including the curation of our website/media presence – both inside and outside the University. John will work to enhance integration and cooperation among departments, programs, and centers critical to the thriving brain, cognitive, and neurosciences space at UConn. This will include improving the coordination of related talk and seminar series, ListServs, etc. Salamone will work to engage new IBACS stakeholders, and to build new interdisciplinary connections and breadth of representation within the Institute and its initiatives. 

Photo of John Salamone

Inge-Marie Eigsti, Director of Research
Professor of Psychological Sciences; Clinical Research Program

Photo of Inge-Marie Eigsti

Our new Director of Research will work to support existing and promote new interdisciplinary research in the brain, cognitive and neurosciences space. Eigsti will strive to increase external funding and sustainability of IBACS-affiliated programs and service cores. She will manage the IBACS Seed Grant Programs and work with IBACS-affiliated service cores in support of their respective missions – including a newly refurbished EEG/eye-tracking lab, and our new Science Alliance Mobile (SAM), which will bring cutting-edge mobile research facilities to new off-campus test sites and outreach locations. She will organize speaker events, and work together with the Director of Training and Director of Communication/Outreach where missions overlap.

All three directors will begin their positions in Fall 2023 and serve three-year terms.

Save the Date: 25th Neuroscience at Storrs

            The Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience Announces: 

                  The 25th Annual Neuroscience at Storrs 

A Two-Day Celebration of Molecular, Cellular, Behavioral, Cognitive & Systems Neuroscience 

                        November 8th and 9th 2022 

DAY I. Tuesday November 8th 4:00 pm

Dodd Center Konover Auditorium 

Amanda Lauer Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University

Title: “Role of the auditory brain-to-ear efferent feedback system in hearing across the lifespan”

DAY II. Wednesday November 9th

Dodd Center Konover Auditorium 

3:00-3:45 Grad Student/Postdoc Data Blitz

3:45-4:30 Trainee Career Panel

4:30-5:30 Amy Newman Ph.D., NIDA Intramural Laboratories

Title: “Novel and atypical dopamine transport inhibitors for the treatment of psychostimulant use disorders”

Bousfield PSYC Atrium

6:00-8:30 Poster Session and Reception

IBACS Summer Undergrad Research Grant Application Opens TODAY

IBACS Summer 2022 Undergraduate Research Grant Program 

The application period for the summer research grant program opens TODAY, and the deadline for applications will be 11:59 pm on March 14th, 2022. It is expected that applicants will be conducting research with IBACS faculty members, focusing on any research area associated with the IBACS mission.  Faculty sponsors will need to supply a letter of recommendation. Once the applicant lists the faculty advisor of the project in the form, an email will be sent to the faculty member with directions for how to submit the letter. Applicants must fill out the online application, submit a relatively short research plan (maximum of 8 pages, not including references; 12pt Times New Roman, 1” margins, double spaced) and a budget that explains in detail how the funds will be spent. 

The budget should be constructed in the following manner:  The total award will be for up to $5,000. $3,500 should go to providing the student with a summer stipend, and it is expected that the student will spend at least 10 weeks of the summer working on this project at UConn.  Up to $1,500 can be allocated for any supplies or materials that contribute to the research, including software, participant costs and any animal expenses.  It is recommended that the student first compose the research plan and budget using a word processing program, and then upload the final versions on to the website. 

Students who received a Fall 2021/Spring 2022 IBACS grant are eligible for the summer award. However, students cannot take the summer IBACS award in combination with any other major summer award (e.g. SURF). Thus, a student can apply for multiple awards, but can only accept one. The results of the grant review will be given to the student awardees in time for them to make a decision about which grant they will accept, in case they receive more than one. 

The IBACS undergraduate award applications are reviewed based on the following criteria:

  • The project description is well written and clearly explains the project.
  • The project clearly focuses on a research area associated with the IBACS mission.
  • The budget is itemized, appropriate to the project described, and reports the total cost of the project (even if it exceeds the funding requested).
  • The advisor is familiar with the student’s project and rates the student’s work to date highly. 
  • Where project applications are equally meritorious, the reviewers will take note of how the student’s project will contribute to the advisor’s research goals.
  • The student and his/her project meet the eligibility criteria.
  • The student has secured research compliance approval(s) if necessary for the project. No award will be issued until documentation of approval(s) is received.

IBACS Summer 2022 Application: https://quest.uconn.edu/prog/ibacs_undergraduate_research_grant_-_summer_2022/

 Please visit our website for more information, including important tax details. 

COGS & IBACS Colloquium: Dr. John Hale on 2/18

The CT Institute for the Brain and Cognitive Sciences and The Cognitive Science Program are excited to jointly host a talk by Dr. John Hale, professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Georgia.
 
Details can be found below but please note that the choice between an in-person or online talk online has not yet been made so please look out for further details. 
Time: 4pm, Friday, February 18
Talk Title: “Grammar, Incrementality and fMRI Timecourse”
If you have any questions or would like to meet with Dr. Hale, please contact Whit Tabor at whitney.tabor@uconn.edu. 

Save the Date: IBACS Meet & Speak 2022

We are excited to announce that the date of the IBACS 2022 Meet and Speak event will be Friday, April 29th from 2-5pm. Our current plan to hold the event in-person, however, this may change. 
 
For those of you who are not familiar with the event, affiliated faculty (from the Storrs campus and UConn Health Center) will give presentations describing, in accessible language, the research they have carried out, or propose carrying out, with seed funding previously awarded by IBACS. Graduate students affiliated with the Institute will be performing short “datablitz” style presentations about their involvement in Seed Funded or related research. The event will also include a keynote talk by an internationally recognized speaker relevant to the brain and cognitive sciences community, TBD. The IBACS Meet & Speak will provide an opportunity to learn more about the diverse research that IBACS affiliates are engaged in, and will provide a forum for cross-disciplinary networking.

Please save the date! A formal invite and details will be sent out as the event gets closer. Enjoy the rest of the semester and the upcoming holidays!

Reminder: IBACS Graduate Fellowship Applications Due 12/3

The Connecticut Institute for the Brain and Cognitive Sciences (CT IBACS) is inviting applications to its Graduate Fellowship Program.

These summer fellowships are intended for graduate students working on topics with relevance (broadly construed) to the Brain and Cognitive Sciences. IBACS Graduate Fellows attend a short grant-writing workshop and will be expected to submit an application to the NSF GRFP, NRSA (pre- or post-doctoral fellowship), or equivalent, in the Fall.

Deadline for receipt of applications is Friday, December 3rd, 2021.

Graduate students who are not US citizens are eligible to apply and are expected to work with their advisor to develop an external research proposal if they are not eligible for graduate fellowships. Students who were fellows in summer 2020 may apply if they submitted the external grant proposal they developed last year and it was not funded, with the expectation that they will revise their previous grant or develop a new one.

Please refer to the full details here.

Call for IBACS Graduate Student Fellowship Applications

The Connecticut Institute for the Brain and Cognitive Sciences (CT IBACS) is inviting applications to its Graduate Fellowship Program.

These summer fellowships are intended for graduate students working on topics with relevance (broadly construed) to the Brain and Cognitive Sciences. IBACS Graduate Fellows attend a short grant-writing workshop and will be expected to submit an application to the NSF GRFP, NRSA (pre- or post-doctoral fellowship), or equivalent, in the Fall.

Deadline for receipt of applications is Friday, December 3rd, 2021.

Graduate students who are not US citizens are eligible to apply and are expected to work with their advisor to develop an external research proposal if they are not eligible for graduate fellowships. Students who were fellows in summer 2020 may apply if they submitted the external grant proposal they developed last year and it was not funded, with the expectation that they will revise their previous grant or develop a new one.

Please refer to the full details here.

 

Reminder: IBACS UG Awards

A reminder that the IBACS academic year undergraduate awards are on a rolling deadline until 2/21/22. Once funds are exhausted, the application will close. Please share with the undergrads in your labs and reach out to me if you have any questions. Further details can be found on our UG Award page. Thank you!
Best,
Crystal Mills
Institute Coordinator

Educational Playcare Fellowship Reminder

A reminder that we are reviewing applications for the EducationalPlaycareFellowship on a rolling basis. This fellowship provides up to 20 weeks of free, full-time daycare to IBACS-affiliated graduate students, to be used within the first year of their child’s life. The fellowship is intended to support students who become new parents during their graduate studies and to facilitate their return to their studies/research. Two fellowships are available each year. The fellowship is made available through a generous gift from Educational Playcare.
 
This provides an important opportunity to help with childcare arrangements for not only those still working on campus but also those working from home during these difficult times. 
 
Further details are available on the IBACS websiteAn article about the Fellowship appears in UConn Today

Call for IBACS Graduate Fellowship Applications

The Connecticut Institute for the Brain and Cognitive Sciences (CT IBACS) is inviting applications to its Graduate Fellowship Program.


These summer fellowships are intended for graduate students working on topics with relevance (broadly construed) to the Brain and Cognitive Sciences. IBACS Graduate Fellows attend a short grant-writing workshop and will be expected to submit an application to the NSF GRFP, NRSA (pre- or post-doctoral fellowship), or equivalent, in the Fall.

Deadline for receipt of applications is Friday, December 11, 2020.

Graduate students who are not US citizens are eligible to apply and are expected to work with their advisor to develop an external research proposal if they are not eligible for graduate fellowships. Students who were fellows in 2020 may apply if they submitted the external grant proposal they developed last year and it was not funded, with the expectation that they will revise their previous grant or develop a new one.

Please refer to the full details here.