WHERE SCIENCE CONNECTS WITH COMMUNITY Scientific Conference SPEAKERS & PRESENTATIONS Brandon L. Warren, PhD University of Florida College of Pharmacy Neuronal Ensembles in Drug Self-Administration and Seeking Gina Poe, PhD University of California, Los Angeles Sleep for Health and Wellness Yash Sondhi, PhD Case Western Reserve University Evolution of Dim Light Vision and Phototaxis in…
Dr. Lakshya Bajaj, COBRE Phase III Pilot Project recipient, was recently awarded an R16 grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). His project p(UG) RNA Quadruplexes as Nucleators of Stress Granules and Modulators of TDP-43 Pathology in ALS explores how the RNA-binding protein TDP-43 relocates to stress granules (SGs), dynamic, liquid-liquid phase-separated,…
Dr. Laura Vicente Rodríguez, COBRE Phase III Pilot Project recipient, was awarded a $621,000 federal grant for a four-year study aimed at understanding why headaches can persist after repeated mild head trauma. Funding from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke will support research into how inflammation affects the brain regions responsible for regulating…
Students from COBRE-supported labs participated in the Lilly R&D Talent Development Activity (TDA) at the Molecular Sciences Research Center. Lilly’s TDA offers graduate students opportunities to work on research projects within Lilly’s R&D organization. Students gain experience with pharmaceutical research, collaborate with Lilly scientists, and learn how their scientific training can contribute to the development…
Dr. Jorge D. Miranda, COBRE NIEF Director, presented information about the graduate program in Physiology to more than 30 undergraduate students at the University of Puerto Rico, Bayamón Campus. He highlighted departmental research projects, admission requirements, financial aid opportunities, and research facilities, including the NIEF facilities in the Molecular Sciences Building. A similar presentation reached…
This study shows that developmental temperature does not affect all synapses equally. Using the Drosophila larval neuromuscular junction, we find that higher temperature selectively increases bouton number at phasic 1s motor terminals, while tonic 1b terminals remain stable. We identify neuronal autophagy and the Hiw-Wnd/P38b pathway as key regulators of this temperature-dependent structural remodeling. These…
Dr. Roberto Rodríguez Morales, COBRE II Pilot Project Leader, published an article in Animal Behaviour: Navarro-Pagan J, Figueroa-Colon P, Figueroa-Negron A, Perez-Fabregat L, Morales-Cintrón A, Mendoza-Anduce J, Ortiz-Franco A, Kozol RA, Rodriguez-Morales R. The resident effect dominates over previous winner/loser experience in surface fish of the Mexican tetra. Anim Behav. 2026 Aug;238:123636. doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2026.123636. Epub…
June 14-17, 2026. Shown here with Dr. Filipa Godoy, COBRE Center for Microbiome Sciences, and Dr. Abel Baerga, COBRE Center for the Promotion of Cancer Health Research.
Students from the Puerto Rico IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (PR-INBRE) Undergraduate Summer Internship Program (USIP) visited labs affiliated with the COBRE Center for Neuroplasticity. The students learned about neuroscience research conducted at the UPR Molecular Sciences Research Center.
The COBRE Center for Neuroplasticity co-sponsored a seminar by Dr. Abhilash Lakshman, Department of Biology and Gill Institute of Neuroscience, University of Indiana Bloomington. The seminar was entitled: Below the Surface: The Hidden Architecture of Sleep in Drosophila melanogaster.