A CNT MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

November 2021

Azadeh Yazdan receives 5-year NIH grant

CNT member Azadeh Yazdan recently received a five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to experiment with using optogenetic stimulation, a cutting-edge neurotechnology, to induce targeted changes in the brain. Her research could lead to better treatments for neurological disorders and diseases such as stroke.

Honors and Awards

Congratulations to CNT members Sara Goering (University of Washington) and Joseph Stramondo (San Diego State University) for their appointments to the editorial board of the new Journal of Philosophy of Disability.
Congratulations to University of Washington CNT member Tim Brown for winning the 2021 David Roscoe Award for an Early-Career Essay on Science, Ethics, and Society for his piece titled Moral Bioenhancement as Potential Means of Oppression.
Congratulations to CNT Diversity Director and DO-IT Director Sheryl Burgstahler who received the 2021 Leadership in Equity and Inclusion in Online Learning Award from The Online Learning Consortium.
DO-IT, a CNT partner organization, was awarded a new National Science Foundation grant titled TAPDINTO-STEM Alliance that aims to increase the number of students with disabilities who complete associate, baccalaureate, and graduate STEM degrees and enter the STEM workforce. The project will be coordinated by personnel at Auburn University; DO-IT Program Manager Scott Bellman will serve as the UW project director and lead activities of the West Coast Hub and CNT Executive Director Eric Chudler will serve as a lead mentor and STEM educator.

Upcoming Events

Council of Europe and the OECD Symposium, November 9, 2021, 10:00 - 17:00 CET, Neurotechnologies and Human Rights Framework: Do We Need New Rights?
UW Neuroscience Seminar, November 15, 2021 (Monday), 3:30-4:50 pm, HSB D-209 (Live stream link), Predicting Individual Differences in Forgetting With Computational Models, EEG, and fMRI, Andrea Stocco (Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, UW).
Neuroelectronic Interfaces (GRS), Gordon Research Seminar: Creating a Roadmap to Translating Neural Technologies, March 12 - 13, 2022, Ventura, CA.
Neuroelectronic Interfaces, Gordon Research Conference: Bridging Neural Engineering and Neurobiology Edge Effects to Divergent Innovation, March 13 - 18, 2022, Ventura, CA.

CNT In the News

The CNT is pleased to announce that Verasonics, Inc. is a new industry member to the CNT Industry Affiliate Program. Verasonics, a local company headquartered in Kirkland, WA, is a national leader in the development of focused ultrasound for transcranial stimulation (tFUS). Their systems are designed for academic and commercial research labs, and can be found in 36 countries across the world.

The National Science Foundation has funded a $15 million, five-year grant to integrate artificial intelligence tools into the scientific research and discovery process in a new Accelerated AI Algorithms for Data-Driven Discovery Institute (A3D3 Institute). Lead by the University of Washington, A3D3 efforts will include research to understand the complex neural networks within the human brain that govern motor functions and process sensory information.

New cnt publications

Nimbalkar, S., Samejima, S., Dang, V., Hunt, T., Nunez, O., Moritz, C. and Kassegne, S., Graphene on glassy carbon microelectrodes demonstrate long-term structural and functional stability in neurophysiological recording and stimulation, J. Neural Eng. 18 056035, 20121.
Devi, M., Vomero, M., Fuhrer, E., Castagnola, E., Gueli, C., Nimbalkar, S., Hirabayashi, M., Kassegne, S., Stieglitz, T. and Sharma, S., Carbon-based neural electrodes: promises and challenges, J. Neural Eng. 18 041007, 2021.
Khalvati, K., Kiani, R. and Rao, R.P.N. Bayesian inference with incomplete knowledge explains perceptual confidence and its deviations from accuracy. Nat Commun 12, 5704, 2021.