2026-2027 Applications
Submissions for the 2026-2027 series are now open!
The University of Iowa Neuroscience and Pharmacology Postdoc Committee invites postdoctoral scholars from across the country to submit applications to participate in our Fall 2026 - Spring 2027 NEURO-ROOT Postdoctoral Seminar Series. Selected speakers will present a seminar for the university's pharmacology and neuroscience community and meet with our faculty, postdocs, and grad students. This is a valuable opportunity to showcase research, build your CV, and network with colleagues. Postdocs from all areas of neuroscience and pharmacology are encouraged to apply!
Submit your application here!
Please follow the link to complete the APPLICATION. Submit the following documents as a single PDF:
- Research statement describing your current work, future goals, and the research you will focus on in your seminar (single page)
- Current CV or Biosketch
Applications will be open until April 1, 2026. Selected speakers will be notified on a rolling basis. Seminars will begin in late August and run through Spring 2027. Requests for additional information may be sent to jon-resch@uiowa.edu.
Ava Carter, PhD
Department of Neurobiology
Harvard Medical School
Evolving Responses to the Environment: Human-specific gene regulation in the brain
Zhenggang Zhu, PhD
Department of Neurosciences
University of California San Diego
Upcoming Seminar: February 17, 2026
Xuchen Zhang, PhD
Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology
Stanford University
Upcoming Seminar: March 24, 2026
Past Seminars
FY25
Laurel Seemiller, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University
Talk Title: Uncovering the role of the neuropeptide, somatostatin, in sexually divergent behavioral consequences of adolescent binge drinking
Tyler Nguyen, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesia, Indiana University School of Medicine
Talk Title: Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) associated inflammation and chronic pain: through the lens of in vivo imaging
Mauricio Oliveira, PhD, Postdoctorate Associate, Center for Neural Science, New York University
Talk Title: Regulation of cell type-specific translatomes in response to neuronal activity and behavior
FY24
Jennifer Kong, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington
Talk Title: Cultivating Research Success: Harnessing Funding Opportunities and Crafting Fundable Grant Proposals
Raajaram (Raaj) Gowrishankar, PhD, Dept of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, University of Washington
Talk Title: Dynamic Endogenous Opioid Neuromodulation Shapes Goal-directed Behavior
Yang He, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine
Talk Title: Deciphering Obesity: The Role of Serotonin 2C Receptor
Li Wang, PhD, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco
Talk Title: Development of the Human Neocortex: from Progenitors to Circuits
FY23
Xuyu Qian, PhD, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital
Talk Title: Modeling Neurodevelopmental Disorders Using Human iPSC-derived Brain Organoids
Caleb Browne, PhD, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (current position: Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto)
Talk Title: Molecular Signatures of Relapse Vulnerability in Rodent Models of Opioid Use Disorder
Chandrasekar Borkar, PhD, Psychology Department, Tulane University
Talk Title: Prefrontal cortex to the central amygdala circuit in the regulation of defense behaviors in mice
FY22
Anel Jaramillo, PhD, Vanderbilt University (current position: Assistant Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences Dept., University of Kentucky)
Talk Title: Exploration of parabrachial control of the extended amygdala during stress and alcohol abstinence
Antentor Hinton, Jr., PhD, Vanderbilt University (current position: Assistant Professor, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University)
Talk Title: Technostress, Awfulizing, and Finding your lane with social media in STEMM
Amelia Douglass, PhD, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School
Talk Title: The neural basis for fasting-induced activation of the HPA axis
Brielle Ferguson, PhD, Dept of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University (current position: Assistant Professor, Genetics and Neurology, Harvard Medical School)
Talk Title: Attention Dysfunction in Scn8a +/- Mice: Implications for Absence Epilepsy and ASD
Stephen Zhang, PhD, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard University (current position: Assistant Professor, Biochemical Computation, NYU Center for Neural Science)
Talk Title: Dopaminergic Control of Mating Drive Over Minutes and Days