On Friday, Sept. 20, the Kavli Institute for Neuroscience at Yale celebrated 20 years of research and innovation since its inception in 2004. Over 200 Yale faculty members, postdocs, staff, and students gathered at The Anlyan Center (TAC) for a day-long symposium to share their research and insights.
The anniversary symposium was an opportunity to present a snapshot of the significant scientific progress made through the Kavli Institute over the past 20 years. During this time, the Institute has empowered hundreds of researchers across departments to push the boundaries of neuroscience, leading to impactful discoveries. The generosity of the Kavli Foundation has enabled the Institute to serve as a catalyst, advancing interdisciplinary research and technology development, supporting a diverse research community, and promoting exchanges with the international neuroscience community.
Steve Strittmatter, director of the Kavli Institute and chair of the Department of Neuroscience, kicked the day off by giving an overview of the Institute's history, initiatives, and milestones over the past 20 years.
Encompassing 24 different departments, the Kavli Institute has facilitated interdisciplinary collaborations among scientists at Yale by supporting research projects for faculty and trainees, establishing core facilities that enable access to advanced technologies, and organizing lectures, workshops and symposia on emerging neuroscience topics. Such an environment has produced groundbreaking strides in neuroscience research, notably in the fields of cortical development, neurodegeneration, neurobiology, and technical innovation.
To highlight the wide array of accomplishments and people involved in the Kavli community, the symposium was divided into five sessions: Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, Systems Neuroscience and Behavior, Computational Neuroscience, Disease, and Development. Each session featured the work of an external researcher in the field, a Yale faculty member, and a Yale trainee.
Kavli Foundation President Cynthia Friend, alongside Life Sciences Director Amy Bernard and Neuroscience Associate Program Officer Angie Michaiel, attended the anniversary symposium. To thank the Foundation for its longstanding support, Strittmatter presented them with a gift made by the artist and mathematics educator Dan Gries. The artwork features algorithmically generated three-dimensional structures modeling pyramidal neurons. Dendritic spines have been replaced with flowers resembling pyramidal saxifrage, a flower tied to Norway—the birthplace of Fred Kavli.
The symposium also featured two poster sessions and a reception, allowing the Yale neuroscience community to learn from their colleagues, engage in fruitful discussions, and network.
Reflecting on what we have accomplished together throughout the years, we are proud of our community, their work, innovation, and dedication. It is truly a privilege to continue pursuing the Institute’s endeavor and we look forward to facilitating more breakthroughs.
Stephen Strittmatter, MD, PhD
The 20th anniversary symposium organizing committee was composed of Sreeganga Chandra, Emilia Favuzzi, Shawn Ferguson, Michael Higley, Ellen Hoffman, and Angeliki Louvi.
The symposium speakers were Kang Shen, Pietro De Camilli, Maryann Platt, Randy Bruno, Marina Picciotto, Lisa Baik, Ken Miller, Smita Krishnaswamy, Erica Busch, Michel Goedert, Sreeganga Chandra, Amanda Bentley-DeSousa, Oscar Marin, Nenad Sestan, and Soraya Scuderi.
Featured in this article
- Lisa Baik, PhD
- Amanda Bentley-DeSousa
- Sreeganga Chandra, PhD
- Pietro De Camilli, MD
- Emilia Favuzzi, PhD
- Shawn Ferguson, PhD
- Michael J Higley, MD/PhD
- Ellen J. Hoffman, MD, PhD
- Smita Krishnaswamy, PhD
- Angeliki Louvi, PhD
- Marina Picciotto, PhD
- Maryann Platt
- Soraya Scuderi, PhD
- Nenad Sestan, MD, PhD
- Stephen Strittmatter, MD, PhD, AB