Bi-Campus Symposium

The University of Kansas and the University of Kansas Medical Center hosted a Bi-Campus Neuroscience Symposium Aug. 8, 2025, at the KU School of Pharmacy building in Lawrence. Many thanks to the Kansas Idea Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (K-INBRE) for sponsoring this event. 

Event Summary

Keynote Speaker

We are thrilled to announce Dr. Olivia Eller as the keynote speaker for this year’s Bi-Campus Neuroscience Symposium, jointly hosted by the University of Kansas Medical Center and the University of Kansas – Lawrence. Dr. Eller is a distinguished neuroscientist whose impactful work spans chronic pain, metabolic dysfunction, and spinal cord injury. She earned her PhD in Neuroscience with honors from KUMC and currently serves as a Research Health Science Specialist at the Kansas City VA Medical Center and a Research Assistant Professor at KUMC. Her research journey—from uncovering early life stress-induced pain and metabolic disturbances to pioneering non-pharmacological interventions like exercise and anti-inflammatory diets—has advanced our understanding of comorbid pain disorders. 

Most recently, she has led groundbreaking studies on spinal cord injury-induced neuropathic pain, earning a prestigious VA Career Development Award to explore repeated heat treatment as a novel therapeutic approach. Recognized with numerous honors, including poster awards from the Paralyzed Veterans of America Scientific Summit and KUMC Internal Medicine Research Day, Dr. Eller’s translational work exemplifies scientific excellence and dedication to improving the lives of Veterans. We are honored to welcome her as our keynote speaker.

Oral Presentations

• Ainsley VanderGiesen - Metabolic Dysregulation and Memory Cognition: Baseline Findings Using a Delayed Recall Test
• Felipe Teixeira - Mapping neuroblast migration and differentiation in C. elegans using single-cell transcriptomics
• Gentry Totta-Griese - Methylglyoxal Alters Glycolysis and Mitochondrial Function in DRG Neurons
• Morgan Ewald - Pleiotropic Prioritization: Unraveling Shared Genetic Threads in Insomnia and Chronic Pain Through an Advanced Gene Prioritization Pipeline
• Clayton Mansel - A favorable modifiable risk factor profile nearly completely mitigates polygenic risk for Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias

Poster Presentations

Graduate students from both campuses shared their research during a poster session. 

• Setorwu Dzesu - Brain Age Prediction Using Machine Learning Methods and Identification of Relevant Biomarkers.
• David Johnson - The Computational Chemical Biology Core
• Ming Huang - Stra8, an Activity-Dependent Modulator of Neural Circuit, Safeguards Neuronal Integrity
• Yan Luo - Intravenous Recombinant Human ApoE2 Protein Sex-Specifically Improves Serum Lipidomic Profile in Human ApoE4 KnockIn Mice
• Sonali Choudhury - Finding gut-pain connection in neurogenic bowel pain and disorders
• Elaine Gast- Feasibility of Improving Glycemic Control via Heat Therapy in Individuals at Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease: A Pilot Study and Ongoing Clinical Trial
• CJ Gormly - Components of the Programmed Cell Death Pathway Regulate Neuroblast Migration in Caenorhabditis elegans
• Vedant Jain - EFN-4 and VAB-8 act downstream of MAB-5/Hox to promote QL cell migration
• Mark Yorio - The Hox gene mab-5 controls left-right asymmetric development of the nervous system in Caenorhabditis elegans
• Diksha Chugh - Elucidating the neuroprotective role of recombinant human-like apolipoprotein E2 in familial Alzheimer’s Disease mouse models
• Rachel Reaves - Cross sectional analysis of Alzheimer Disease biomarkers in response to acute exercise
• Michael Ponte - Reduced Ventral Medial Hypothalamus PGC1a Decreases Diet-induced Weight Gain in Female Mice
• Felipe Teixeira - Mapping neuroblast migration and differentiation in C. elegans using single-cell transcriptomics
• Corbin Fairchild - Defining How Different Sulfation Patterns in the Extracellular Matrix Impact Myelin Repair in the Brain.
• Patryk Hupert - Assessing Translational Relevance of a Human Microglia–Neuron–Astrocyte Triculture System for Paracrine-Driven Neuroinflammation
• Vanessa Nguyen - Clusterin (CLU) as a Modulator of Neuronal Excitatory/Inhibitory Balance
• Pranali Yadav - Defining the impact of ApoE isoforms on APP metabolism in humanized Ab mouse models
• Kate McCarthy - Developmental origins of aberrant neurological trajectories in Down syndrome
• Nasrin Shahlari - Cortical anatomical and neurochemical differences precede and differentiate female SOD1-G93A rats with and without bulbar deficits
• Gentry Totta-Griese - Methylglyoxal Alters Glycolysis and Mitochondrial Function in DRG Neurons