2020 | Neuro Light Lunch Seminar Series

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Canadian Neuroscience Meeting and the Canadian Neurophotonics satellite meeting were cancelled. The neurophotonics satellite was replaced by a serie of four virtual events.

Organized by Ed Ruthazer, the Neuro Light Lunch Seminar Series took place in July of 2020. Every Thursday, from July 9 at noon EDT, we hosted a pair of 30 min talks from up-and-coming leaders in the Canadian neurophotonics community. 

The series was presented via zoom, and recordings of most talks are available for viewing.

July 9, 2020  Dr. Arjun Krishnaswamy & Dr. Tony Lim

Optical approaches to study the assembly and function of retinal circuits – by Dr. Arjun Krishnaswamy is a Sloan Research Fellow and holds the Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Canada Research Chair in Neural Circuits, Assembly and Function at McGill University where he is an Assistant Professor of Physiology.  His work uses advanced optogenetics and imaging approaches to study the precise wiring of the mammalian retina.

Microbial trogocytosis and the complement system regulate axonal pruning in vivo – by Dr. Tony Lim is a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Ed Ruthazer at the Montreal Neurological Institute at McGill University. He uses in vivo imaging to study the roles of microglia in axonal pruning during circuit development.

July 16 2020: Dr. Mark Brandon & Dr. Matilde Balbi

Imaging the neural basis of cognition 1000 neurons at a time
Mark Brandon Assistant Professor, Douglas Hospital Research Centre, McGill University

Multimodal approaches to assess optogenetically induced neuroprotection in the acute phase after stroke
Matilde Balbi, Assistant Professor Queensland Brain Institute

July 23, 2020: Dr. Kaspar Podgorski & Ahmed Abdelfattah

Faster two-photon microscopy using digital micromirror devices
Kaspar Podgorski, Assistant Professor, Sickkids Research Centre, University of Toronto (currently Janelia/HHMI)

Genetically-encoded voltage sensors for optical monitoring of brain activity
Ahmed Abdelfattah, Assistant Professor, Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University (currently: Janelia HHMI)

July 30, 2020: Dr. Mihaela Iordanova & Alex Lohman

VTA DA Transients regulate temporal-difference learning
Mihaela Iordanova, Associate Professor, Dept of Psychology, Concordia University

Novel optogenetic tools to investigate pannexin-1 signaling in the CNS
Alex Lohman, Assistant Professor, Cell Biology & Anatomy, University of Calgary, Hotchkiss Brain Institute