President

F. Scott Hall

University of Toledo

Toledo, OH USA
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Dr. F. Scott Hall received his Psychology BA from Harvard College, and went on to receive Ph.D. in Neurobiology from the University of Cambridge. He joined IBNS in 1998 and has played a big role ever since. Dr. Hall has been a member of several other committees, chaired the Membership & Communication Committees, was elected Fellow in 2012, and IBNS President in 2017.

In addition to his focus on IBNS, Dr. Hall joined the Molecular Neurobiology Branch at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (1999), where he led a Behavioral Genetics group until 2014. He is currently the Assistant Professor of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics at the University of Toledo College of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences. Dr. Hall's research investigates the genetic and environmental determinants of susceptibility to addiction and related psychiatric disorders. He has authored over one hundred scientific publications and recently edited a book on nicotine addiction with Jared Young and Andre Der-Avakian, titled Negative Affective States and Cognitive Impairments in Nicotine Dependence (based upon a symposium presented at IBNS in 2014).

In his downtime, he enjoys practicing martial arts - as he is a black belt in Hapkido!

Awards/Recognition:
Postdoctoral Fellowship - National Institute on Drug Abuse
Postdoctoral Fellowship - National Research Council
Postdoctoral Fellowship - National Institute on Alcohol Abuse 

Past President & Treasurer

Mikhail Pletnikov

Johns Hopkins University

  School of Medicine

Baltimore, MD USA
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Dr. Pletnikov received his M.D. from I.M. Sechenov First Moscow Medical Institute and went on to receive Ph.D. from P.K. Anokhin Institute of Normal Physiology. He joined IBNS in 1999, previously served as the 2015-2017 IBNS President, as well as served as the Program Chair and Co-Chair.

In addition to being hands-on with IBNS, Dr. Pletnikov is also Professor, Lab Director, and Behavioral Core Director at Johns Hopkins University. The focus of his research is molecular pathogenesis of psychiatric disorders. His lab uses various genetic animal models to uncover the molecular pathology of abnormal brain and behavior development and function.

In his down time, he enjoys raising saltwater fish and reading long novels.

Awards/Recognition:
2008 – Independent Investigator Award, NARSAD

Secretary

Corina Bondi

University of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, PA USA
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Australasia

Andrew Gundlach

The Florey Institute

Parkville, Australia
Professional page

A graduate of Monash University with Honors, Dr. Gundlach attended medical school at the University of Melbourne. He has been an IBNS member since 2009. In addition to being an IBNS Council Member, Dr. Gundlach is also currently researching neuropedptides and their G-protein coupled receptors in the brain, relaxin-family peptide, and receptor systems in the context of ascending control of behavioral state, and affective and sensory modalities.

In his free time, he enjoys cycling, hiking, and water sports.

Awards/Recognition:
2014 – Initiative of Excellence Visiting Scholar Fellowship, University of Bordeaux
2013 - NARSAD Independent Investigator Award

Canada

Liisa Galea

The University 
  of British Columbia

Vancouver, BC Canada
Professional page

Dr. Liisa Galea received her Ph.D. at the University of Western Ontario. In addition to being a member of IBNS since 2012, her roles also include: Director of the Graduate Program in Neuroscience at the University of British Columbia, Scientific Advisor at the Women’s Health Research Institute, and Professor of Behavioral Neuroendocrinology at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Galea’s research investigates how sex hormones influence brain health and disease; and her main goal is to improve brain health for men and women by examining the influence of sex and sex hormones on normal and diseased brain states, such as depression and Alzheimer’s disease.

In her spare time, Liisa enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, and hiking.

Awards/Recognition:
2015 – Women of Distinction Award for Science, Technology and Research (Vancouver, Canada); Dean of Arts, Faculty Research Award
2013 – Fellow in International Behavioral Neuroscience Society
2012 – Cattell Sabbatical Award
2009 – Kavli Fellow
2007 – NSERC Discovery Accelerator Supplement; Killiam Research Prize at the University of British Columbia
2006 – Senior Scholar - Michael Smith Health Research Foundation

Europe

Benoit Martin

INSERM U1099

Rennes, France

Dr. Benoit Martin is a graduate of Université de Paris VI. In addition to being a long-time member of IBNS, he is the treasurer of the French League Against Epilepsy (LFCE) and Comité National pour l’Epilepsie (CNE). Dr. Martin is also involved in epilepsy research: genetic, pharmaco and pharmacogenetic, SUDEP, and neuromodulation.

In his free time, he enjoys fishing.

Europe

Davide Amato

Medical University 
  of South Carolina

Charleston, SC USA
Professional page

Dr. Davide Amato is a graduate of Sapienza University of Rome. Dr. Amato became an IBNS member in 2013 and served as a guest editor for the IBNS newsletter. Now, in addition to being a Council Member, he is Chief Editor of the newsletter as well as a member of the Program Committee and the Communication Committee. Additionally, he is on the teaching staff of the Medical University of South Carolina (Behavioral Neuroscience) and conducts and supervises research in neurocircuitry of relapse to cocaine (MUSC).

In his free time, he enjoys cycling, competing in triathlons, and volunteering his time to cook for those with debilitating medical conditions and without family support.

Awards/Recognition:
2015 – Japan Neuroscience Society Travel Award (Kobe, Japan)
2014 – Humboldt Research Alumni Travel Meeting Award (Berlin, Germany); G.A.-Lienert Foundation Research Scholarship (South Carolina, USA); International Behavioral Neuroscience Society Travel Award (Las Vegas, USA); Schizophrenia International Research Society – Bowman Foundation Travel Award (Firenze, Italy)
2012 – European College of Neuropsychopharmacology Fellowship Award (Vienna, Austria)
2011 – Selected posted at the Advancing Drug Discovery for Schizophrenia Meeting – The New York Academy of Science (New York, USA)
2010 – European College of Neuropsychopharmacology Young Scientists Fellowship (Nice, France)
2007 – European Behavioral Pharmacology Society Travel Fellowship (Tübingen, Germany)

Latin America

Ana Lucia Rodrigues

Federal University 

  of Santa Catarina
Florianopolis, Brazil

Dr. Rodrigues is a graduate of the Federal University of Paraná, Brazil, and received her Ph.D. in 1996. She has been a member of IBNS since 2014.

At the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Brazil, Dr. Rodrigues is the Associate Professor of Biochemistry, head of the Neurobiology of Depression Laboratory, and the main investigator of the research group, “Neurobiology of Depression.” Her research group consists of 3 PostDoc Fellows and 5 PhD students, and has contributed to the understanding of mechanisms that may be responsible for mood regulation – pointing out several endogenous compounds that may act as antidepressant agents and the mechanisms underlying their effects.

In her free time, Dr. Rodrigues loves listening to music and traveling.

Awards/Recognition:
Google Scholar – H-index of 45, having published over 180 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters (>6400 citations)
Editorial Board Member of Journal Psychiatric Research

Student

Cindy Barha

The University 
  of British Columbia

Vancouver, BC Canada
Professional page

Dr. Barha has been a member of IBNS since 2008. She received her Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia, and is currently the Postdoctural fellow in the Aging, Mobility, and Cognitive Neuroscience lab at the University. She effectively leads the team’s efforts in examining biomarkers of aging and the neurobiological mechanisms underlying exercise effects on the brain.

In her downtime, she stays active by hiking, running, playing basketball and beach volleyball, reading, and volunteering.

Awards/Recognition:
January 2018-2021 – Alzheimer’s Association Research Fellowship
Doctoral Fellowship Award - Michael Smith Foundation for Heart Research/The Pacific Alzheimer Research Foundation Post
Postdoctoral Fellowship - Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) 
CIHR Institute of Aging Age + Prize
CIHR Institute of Aging Recognition Prize on Aging

USA

Susanne Brummelte

Wayne State University

Detroit, MI USA
Professional page

Dr. Brummelte received her Ph.D. from the University of Bielefeld, Germany, and went on to Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of British Columbia. She joined IBNS in 2009, as a Postdoc, and was previously Council Secretary from 2012-2015.

She is currently teaching classes on “Brain and Behavior” and the effects of “Drugs on Behavior and Society.” Her current research focuses on the effects of early adverse life experience on brain development and the subsequent behavioral and neuroanatomical changes in both males and females. She is particularly interested in the consequences of exposure to depression, stress, or glucocorticoids during pregnancy/postpartum period and how this affects brain neurochemistry and stress responsivity later in life. Dr. Brummelte’s lab also uses rats, as the animal model, to study the effects of early pain exposure as well as medications, such as antidepressants, on brain development. The research addresses important questions on how exposure to early adverse conditions, such as pharmacological treatments, can influence the maturation of the nervous system and the long-term outcome of the offspring.

In her spare time, she enjoys time with her family, hiking, playing foosball, and being outdoors. During grad school, she played in a rock band and will now sometimes listen to their song on Amazon, “Curious.” Dr. Brummelte also spends her time reviewing several manuscripts throughout each month, as well as volunteering as a judge to local science fairs.

Awards/Recognition:
2012 – Award for Outstanding Achievements by a Postdoctoral Fellow (The Child and Family Research Institute)
2011 – Kucharski Young Investigator Award of the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology (ISDP)
2009 – Young Investigator Award of the International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology (ISPNE)
2009 – Young Investigator Award of the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology (SBN)

USA

Jill Silverman

University of California 
  Davis

Sacramento, CA USA
Professional page

A graduate of Rutgers University with Honors, Dr. Silverman attended medical school at the University of Maryland School of Medicine at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. She completed her postdoctoral research training in the Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Intramural Research Program.

Dr. Silverman became an IBNS member in 2013; and in addition to being a Council Member, she also serves as Chair of the Education and Training Committee. On top of her involvement with IBNS, she was recruited with a faculty appointment to the University of California Davis and MIND Institute. Her recruitment was based on previous research projects that have employed a multi-tiered comprehensive phenotyping strategy, leading to the discovery of clinically relevant phenotypes in mutant rodent models of human genetic diseases associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

In 2015, Dr. Silverman was awarded with resources to develop her own research program on preclinical models of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by ASD, intellectual disabilities, and pediatric epilepsies. In recent years, her laboratory has focused on innovative lines or research that use both mouse and rat genetic models with altered expression of the key developmental genes, including the E6 ubiquitin ligase (UBE3A).

In her time away from researching, she enjoys yoga on a regular basis, fostering and adopting pit bulls, and volunteering with rare disease advocacy groups for advancing research.

Awards/Recognition:
Academic Senate Research Travel Award Program - UC Davis Office of Research 
NIH Performance Award for Research Excellence - Joe P. Tupin Research Awards Program in Psychiatry
Student Internship Mentor Award - Howard Hughes Medical Institute

 USA

Charles Heyser

University of California

  San Diego
La Jolla, CA USA

IBNS Officers

Terms begin July 2, 2018

President-Elect

Jared Young
University of California
  at San Diego

San Diego, CA USA
Professional Page

Jared received his PhD from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and went on to the University of California, San Diego to complete his postdoc. There, he is currently an Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry.

His research focus is serious mental illness resulting in numerous behavioral and cognitive abnormalities -- understanding the mechanisms underlying such behavior and cognition is important to develop treatment for such illnesses. Young's research interests therefore focus on using cross-species translational paradigms to understand these mechanisms. These paradigms are then utilized to develop better models of dysfunctional mechanisms relevant to mental illnesses. From better models,
with etiological relevance to the disorder, we can develop targeted treatments, the clinical relevance of which can then be tested using the same paradigms in our clinical as to model populations.

Jared has been an IBNS member for more than ten years, attending 11 out of the last 12 annual meetings. He presented at his first IBNS (2007), and has since had the opportunity to speak at every meeting. He  has organized seven symposia at IBNS meetings, and has enjoyed introducing many non-IBNS members to the Society - and seeing them return. Young previously served as Student Councilor (2008-2009) and beyond organizing a grant workshop that year, was the first to suggest an IBNS presence on social media (Facebook and LinkedIn), increasing the global awareness of IBNS.

He went on to join the Program Committee in 2011, becoming Co-Chair in 2013, and Chaired the Program Committee in 2014. He has been part of the Education and Training Committee since 2016, Nominations Committee since 2017, and was US Council Representative between 2013-2016. In 2014, he was inducted into the IBNS College of Fellows. In 2011, he even won a prize in translational free-style dancing! Needless to say, Young has been heavily involved with every part of IBNS meetings and hopes to continue to do so!

What he loves about IBNS has continued even with its greater attendances, that IBNS is a very warm, welcoming Society. The science is always excellent at IBNS, but it wonderfully couples this excellence with a fun, familial environment that adds to its success. Moreover, IBNS makes a great effort to encourage young scientists, their integration, and their ideas. Given the international flavor and the breadth of science presented at IBNS, combined with its familial and supportive environment, IBNS already plays an essential role in the scientific community. Since joining IBNS, Young has worked hard to promote IBNS so others can share the experience he has had. 

As president, Young says, "I will continue to work hard at promoting IBNS and do what I can to foster the positive experience with the Society as I have had. As President, I will continue our efforts to connect with other Societies to launch future joint meetings, reducing conference costs, increasing attendance, and thereby making even remote locations accessible for future meetings. Ultimately, I hope to be able to take IBNS forward into the future of behavioral neuroscience."

 Secretary

Tiffany Donaldson
University of Massachusetts
  Boston
Boston, MA USA
Professional Page

A graduate with a BA in Biology and Spanish with Honors from Dartmouth College, Dr. Donaldson completed a Master’s at Harvard College in Psychology (concentration in Psychopharmacology) and obtained her Ph.D. in Psychobiology from Northeastern University in 1993. Dr. Donaldson joined IBNS in 2014 and served on the Program Planning Committee from 2016-2018.

In addition to her activity on IBNS, Dr. Donaldson collaborates on a U54 NCI-funded partnership between the University of Massachusetts (UMAss) Boston and Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center to share evidence-based intervention and prevention strategies for reducing cancer disparities among Black and Latino populations in the Greater Boston Area. She is also a National Research Mentor Network (NRMN) Mentor Trainer who supports faculty and staff at UMass Boston in evidence-based mentoring practices. Since joining the faculty at UMass Boston in 1997, she has mentored over 150 undergraduates and graduate students in her Behavioral Neuroscience lab. Dr. Donaldson’s research focuses on biology–environment interactions that influence vulnerability to anxiety- and depression-like behaviors and addiction.

In her downtime, she enjoys attending her kids’ orchestral concerts, knitting, reading historical and science fiction, and hiking.

Awards/Recognition:
American Psychological Association Predoctoral Award
Postdoctoral Fellowship - National Institute of Mental Health
Outstanding Service Award - University of Massachusetts Boston College of Arts and Sciences
Outstanding Teacher Award - University of Massachusetts Boston College of Arts and Sciences
President’s Public Service Award - University of Massachusetts Boston

IBNS Regional Councilors

Terms begin July 2, 2018

Australasia

Yasushi Kiyokawa
The University of    Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan
Professional Page

Yasushi Kiyokawa is an Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Japan. After studying Veterinary Medicine at The University of Tokyo and obtaining a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, as is common in Japan, he continued his research at the same laboratory and received his Ph.D. in 2006. He then worked as a Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and became an Assistant Professor in 2010. 

Since Dr. Kiyokawa started his research as an undergraduate student at Laboratory of Veterinary Ethology, he has been analyzing emotional communication in animals. Using rats, he has studied the alarm pheromone that is released by stressed rats that augments anxiety responses in conspecifics, as well as social buffering in which the presence of a non-stressed rat suppresses a variety of stress responses in the other rat, including conditioned fear responses. In addition, he recently started to study behavior in wild rats in order to further understand the neurobiology underlying emotional communication in rats. In this new work, he is studying neophobia in which wild rats avoid even small and harmless novel objects, which contrast substantially with laboratory rats that more readily approach and investigate novel objects.

Although he has studied animal behavior at Laboratory of Veterinary Ethology for more than 15 years, he is struggling to control a newly kept cat.

Europe

Verity Brown
University of St.     Andrews
St. Andrews, UK

Brown read psychology as an undergraduate at University College London and then spent a year at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, studying neuroscience. She went on to her PhD in behavioral neuroscience at Cambridge University, supervised by Professor Trevor W. Robbins, FRS. Brown spent four years in the USA as a post-doc at the National Institutes of Health, working first with David Lee Robinson (NEI), and then with Mortimer Mishkin and Bob Desimone (NIMH). She returned to the UK in 1993 to take up a Lectureship in psychology at the University of St. Andrews and was promoted to Chair (‘Full Professor’) in 2002. Between 2007 and 2012, she held a Royal Society Industry Fellowship at Merck Research Labs, while also completing her MBA. 

Brown's research is concerned with the brain substrates of attention and response control, with a focus on the circuits of the basal ganglia and frontal cortex that are compromised in both schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease. One goal of the research is to develop and characterize ‘animal models’ of these disorders in order to test new drugs. Probably her most well-known, and certainly most well cited, contribution to date is the development of a method to assess executive function in the rat: the ‘bowldigging’ task measuring ID/ED attentional set shifting (Birrell and Brown, 2000).

Brown has always regarded professional service and contribution to the discipline as a responsibility of an academic. She has held a number of senior management positions at the University of St. Andrews, including 10 years as Head (‘Chair’) of the School of Psychology & Neuroscience (2000-2006; 2011-2013); Provost (‘Dean of the Graduate School’) (20132014); Vice Principal (Enterprise & Engagement) (2014-2016). Outside St. Andrews, she has served (continuously, since 1993) on grant awarding panels in the UK and Europe, and is currently a member of the ERC Life Sciences Panel; she was also Editor-in-Chief of the journal Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews (1998-2015); Council member of the British Association for Psychopharmacology (2001-05); Council member (2002-5) and Secretary (2008-2011) of the European Brain and Behaviour Society; Chair of the UK Higher Education Academy’s Psychology Subject Centre (2009-11); Vice-Chair (2007-2009) and then Chair (2009-2011) of the UK Association of Heads of Psychology Departments; member of the Society for Neuroscience Professional Development Committee (2009-12); and Member of the Governing Board of the International Neuroethics Society (2012-2015). She was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2012.

Brown joined IBNS in 2017 and attended her first meeting in Hiroshima, Japan and plans to use her term in office to promote IBNS in Europe.

Latin America

Rosalinda Guevara-Guzman
Universidad Nacional   Autonoma de Mexico
Mexico City, Mexico
Professional Page

Rosalinda received her MD from the Facultad de Medicina de la UNAM. She then pursued a master’s degree in Physiological Sciences at the División de Estudios de Posgrado. There, she was awarded the “Gabino Barreda” medal when receiving her Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Sciences in Physiology, with honors. She is a full-time Titular Professor level “C” at the Physiology Department of the Facultad de Medicina, National Research Scientist (SNI) Level III, and member of PRIDE level “D,” DGAPA, UNAM.

In addition to having been elected Latin American Councilor for the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society (IBNS) for the third time (2009-2011-2018), she is also participating in more than 15 international academic societies as a member, treasurer or president.

In her free time, she enjoys reading and traveling.

Awards/Recognition:
Mérito Universitario medal
Valentín Gómez Farías medal
Special Chair, Alberto Guevara Rojas - Faculty of Medicine
Chair, Aquilino Villanueva - Faculty of Medicine
2006 - Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize - UNAM
2013 - Reconocimiento al Veracruzano Distinguido - an acknowledgement granted only to a person from the state of Veracruz, Mexico, who has excelled in the medical field
2017 - DOCTOR MIGUEL OTERO Prize - award on clinical research granted by Secretaría de Salud Premios al Mérito 
2017 - Foreign Academic Correspondant of the Real Academia Nacional de Medicina - Spain

USA

Amanda Kentner
MCPHS University
Boston, MA USA
Professional Page

Dr. Amanda (Mandy) Kentner earned her PhD in Experimental Psychology at the University of Ottawa, Canada, focusing on sex differences in depression. The first academic conference she attended was IBNS in 2002. In the spring of 2012, Dr. Kentner joined the Health Psychology program at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, in Boston Massachusetts. In this role, she teaches several courses including Biological Psychology, Stress & Illness, Drugs & Behavior, and a Health Psychology Capstone.

Using rodent models, her laboratory has been investigating the effects of early life (e.g. fetal, neonatal) pathogen exposure on brain development and later life disruptions in behavior. Moreover, Dr. Kentner’s laboratory has a specific interest in how environmental enrichment (e.g. social enhancement, physical activity, sensory stimulation) and other environmental manipulations (e.g. maternal care, microbiome) rescue these sex-dependent effects.

In addition to being a Council Member, Dr. Kentner serves on the editorial board of Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. Her laboratory helped to reactivate the Boston Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience, and she served as Secretary for the Chapter. Dr. Kentner has sat on multiple National Science Foundation (NSF) panels and is currently a Social Media Manager for the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology.

She enjoys spending free time with her family, hiking or relaxing by the Cape Cod seaside.

Awards/Recognition:
2018 - Gail P. and Edward A. Bucher Trustees' Award for Excellence in Student-Faculty Research Collaboration (MCPHS)
2017 - Faculty-Wide  Scholarship Award for Research Based “Discovery” Paper  (MCPHS)
2013, 2014, 2016 - Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Faculty Mentor Award
2009 - Eli-Lilly Young Neuroscientist/CAN-ACN Travel Award
2009 - American Physiological Society Travel Grant
2007 - Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Postdoctoral Fellowship
2006 – NSERC/Japan Neuroscience Society Graduate Fellowship (Kobe, Japan)

Student

Patricia de la Tremblaye
University of     Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA USA
Professional Page

Dr. de la Tremblaye has been a member of IBNS since 2013.

She received her Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology with specialization in Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Ottawa, under the direction of Dr. Hélène Plamondon.

She is a postdoctoral fellow working with Dr. Anthony Kline, at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the Safar Center for Resuscitation Research (SCRR). Her research examines the impact of pharmacological and environmental factors influencing neurobehavioral alterations observed after experimental brain injury in rodents to improve cognitive and emotional recovery of patients.

She is a member of the IBNS Membership & Communications Committee. She maintains various IBNS social media platforms (mainly Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn), and occasionally serves as Guest Editor for the IBNS newsletter.