Faculty from across 5 schools and 15 departments gathered for the 2024 Neurodevelopment Research Retreat.

Faculty from across 5 schools and 15 departments gathered on October 15 for the 2024 Neurodevelopment Research Retreat at Bavaro Hall. Researchers from the Schools of Medicine, Education & Human Development, Data Science, Architecture, and the College of Arts & Sciences discussed their common interests in brain and nervous system development research, and opportunities for building collaborations across Grounds. 

The 2024 retreat opened with a leadership panel featuring Drs. Lori McMahon, Xuemei Huang, Jamie Morris, and Matthew Gurka. A panel of early career faculty presented research projects including Shannon Reilly (Neurology), Aiying Zhang (Data Science), Michaela DuBay (Human Services), Sameer Bajikar (Cell Biology & Biomedical Engineering). Finally, a series of group discussions centered on ways to build UVA’s portfolio of neurodevelopment research and on establishing goals for the year ahead.  

The neurodevelopment research retreat is an annual event hosted by Drs. Sarah Kucenas and Howard Goodkin. The retreat is part of the Grand Challenges Research Investment in Brain and Neuroscience; neurodevelopment has been identified as a priority area within the Grand Challenges. The neurodevelopment group meets monthly to workshop grants, to establish and expand collaborative research projects, and to enhance the neurodevelopment research community on Grounds. Please contact the Brain Institute to learn more and to participate in future meetings.