He will replace Jack Bantle, Ph.D., who has retired.

“Dr. Fyffe has a proven record of administering programs that support research activities and will provide the leadership necessary to maintain our excellence in research, scholarship, and graduate programs,” said Provost Steven Angle. “He will also be a strong advocate for the diverse constituencies involved in the university’s research enterprise.”

Fyffe was appointed associate dean for Research Affairs at the Boonshoft School of Medicine in April 2001. He was responsible for overseeing programs that supported the medical school’s research activities in the basic and clinical sciences. Read more.

Graduate and undergraduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research staff, and faculty are invited to present posters on recent findings in neuroscience and its related fields. Posters presented at last fall’s SfN meeting and other conferences are welcome. The poster submission deadline is Monday May 9. Submit your poster information using our online form.

Registration for Neuroscience Day is free for 2011 OMV-SfN members. Please register in advance so we can plan accordingly for the attendance. If you are not an OMV-SfN member for 2011, please join now.

Mary Dallman, Ph.D.

“Chronic stress has a variety of effects on the organism, including changes in energy balance, behavior and responsivity to new stimuli,” she says. “These effects of chronic stress are probably mediated in large part by the central corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) neuronal system and glucocorticoids secreted from the adrenal gland in response to drive from hypothalamic CRF. Moreover, all of these are affected strongly by circadian rhythms.” Read more.

Neuroscience Day is free of charge for current chapter members, so join or renew your membership now!

• Zoe Hesp (Department of Zoology, Miami University)
  “Reinnervation of peripheral targets following axotomy of the superior cervical ganglion”
• Mark Baccei (Department of Anesthesiology, University of Cincinnati)
  “Pacemaker neurons in newborn spinal pain circuits.”
• James Lucot (Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Wright State University)
  “Development of a novel anti-emetic”

The chapter’s annual business meeting will follow the presentations, and WSU’s Michael Hennessy, Ph.D., will be installed as president for 2011.

Am agenda  will be published before the meeting, along with travel directions and parking information. Please pass this message along to colleagues and students who might be interested in OMV-SfN.

The Society for Neuroscience founded the Science Educator Award in 2003 to recognize an outstanding neuroscientist who has made significant contributions in promoting public education and awareness about the field.

According to SfN, Olson has worked diligently to promote the inclusion of neuroscience topics in state and national Science Olympiad competitions. His efforts have introduced grade-specific neuroscience education to over 5,000 middle schools and high schools across the United States. He currently helps define health science and anatomy events as a member of Science Olympiad’s Biological and Life Sciences Committee, ensuring that neuroscience topics will be included in the Science Olympiad curriculum.

Olson rarely misses an opportunity to promote the study of neuroscience. In addition to serving as a research mentor for students and resident physicians in the medical school, he has delivered lectures for general audiences through Wright State’s Mini-Medical School program. What he enjoys most, however, is introducing young learners around the country to the wonders of neuroscience through his work with Science Olympiad.

An international nonprofit organization, Science Olympiad strives to interest K-12 students in science and improve science education. Each year, an estimated 150,000 students from more than 14,000 schools participate in Science Olympiad activities. At the middle and high school level, students form teams to compete in 23 fun, yet challenging, science-based events during local, state, and national tournaments.

As a Science Olympiad coach, Olson has worked with local middle and high school students for several years teaching cell biology and genetics. In addition, he created a program called “Neuroscience (This is your brain)” that was used in regional competitions across Ohio and adopted as a national trial event.

The Society for Neuroscience is an organization of more than 40,000 researchers and clinicians who study the brain and nervous system.

“The science education awards are important for recognizing the outreach efforts of neuroscientists at all stages of their careers,” said Michael E. Goldberg, M.D., president of SfN.

This major public-private initiative partners the Dayton region’s strongest biomedical research institution with the clinical resources of the region’s leading hospital system to create the WSU & PHP Neuroscience Institute. Miami Valley Hospital has made a major investment of $4.35 million over five years to create a new Department of Neurology within the WSU Boonshoft School of Medicine. The investment includes long-term support for clinical neurologists who will form the nucleus for collaboration with the university-based neuroscientists in critical research in stroke and movement disorders. A national search is underway for the founding chair of the new department.

Governor Ted Strickland designated the new institute as one of Ohio’s Centers of Excellence in Biomedicine and Health Care.

The Boonshoft School of Medicine has a talented cadre of NIH-funded neuroscientists, along with excellent core resources and equipment for cutting-edge laboratory research, including microscopic imaging, genomics, proteomics and electrophysiology. A primary focus of their research is nervous system disorders that affect movement. The PHP system has a large and diverse patient base that provides excellent opportunity for high-quality research and clinical trials.

The institute will be the critical centerpiece for conducting neuroscience research, and will promote ways to move the results of that research directly from the laboratory to the bedside, providing outstanding neurological clinical care to the community and creating a clinical and research enterprise that will be pivotal for the region’s economic recovery. Joint research activities and related investments will have direct economic impact on the community, amounting to tens of millions of dollars over the next five years. The emergence of a strong neuroscience institute through this collaboration will be a watershed accomplishment for the Dayton region. Read more.

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(Left) Architectural vision of the proposed Neurological Sciences Research Building at WSU.

Wright State University is in the process of raising funds for a new $22-million state-of-the-art laboratory building within its existing biomedical and engineering research corridor. The new 64,000-square-foot facility will feature sustainable design, interdisciplinary laboratories and shared core resources for more than 100 scientists, physicians, and student researchers. Read more.

The clinic will take place on the Wright State main campus on Saturday, March 13, and will run from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. High school students will attend the clinic from 9 a.m. to noon and middle school students will attend from 1 to 4 p.m. Clinic presenters will have a free lunch between noon and 1 p.m.

For more information contact Dr. Jim Olson at james.olson@wright.edu.  The Science Olympiad Clinic is sponsored by WSU’s Departments of Emergency Medicine and Neuroscience, Cell Biology, and Physiology.

Science Olympiad is an international nonprofit organization devoted to improving the quality of science education, creating a passion for learning science and providing recognition for outstanding achievement in science education by both students and teachers. It is a team competition of middle school and high school students in areas of science, engineering, and technology. Teams from more than 14,000 different schools across the nation participate in Science Olympiad, now in its 26th year.

See the Ohio Science Olympiad web site.