Connectionists: Fwd: Deadline October 1: Student Travel Fellowships Offered for 4th Annual Interdisciplinary Tutorial Workshop on Aging & Brain Health (Deer Valley Ski Resort, Park City, Utah; Jan. 5-7, 2027)

Tue Sep 1 14:07:09 EDT 2026

Please contact gluck at newark.rutgers.edu<mailto:gluck at newark.rutgers.edu> for any questions

Stephen

Deadline is October 1 (one month from today) to apply for…

Fully-Funded Student Travel Fellowships to the

4th Annual Interdisciplinary Tutorial Workshop
on Aging & Brain Health

Deer Valley Ski Resort, Park City, Utah; Jan. 5-7, 2027

[SkiPoster2027-8.5x11 copy.jpeg]

https://brainhealth.rutgers.edu/brainski2027/

APPLY FOR STUDENT TRAVEL FELLOWSHIPS NO LATER THAN OCTOBER 1, 2026:

To learn how to apply for a student travel fellowships to cover travel (within USA), hotel, and registration see:

https://brainhealth.rutgers.edu/brainski2027/apply-for-a-student-travel-fellowship/

Depending on how much funding we raise, we will award up to 6 student travel fellowships to advanced-level graduate students who will soon be seeking a postdoctoral fellowship, as well as both college seniors and post-baccalaureate research assistants who are planning to apply to PhD programs (not medical school or other clinical programs) in the near future.

Fellowship includes:

     *   round-trip airfare within the United States (foreign applicants will be considered, but must agree to pay for their own airfare into the US)
     *   complimentary registration
     *   four-night’s hotel accommodation to be shared with one other fellow

Additional details of fellowship. All fellows will:

  *   Give a 3-minute BLITZ speech at start of conference with no notes and no slides (a.k.a. an “elevator pitch”) summarizing their current research activities and goals.
  *   Be assigned a faculty-mentor from among the main speakers to have dinner with the first night who will also help introduce fellow to other speakers.
  *   Be assigned a “near peer” mentor (a graduate student for undergrads and post-baccs; a postdoc for graduate students) to provide additional career mentoring and guidance, both during and after the meeting.
  *   Join an Early Career Grantsmanship breakfast the second day with grant-making officials and others who will provide one-on-one guidance on applying for fellowships and training grants.

HOW TO APPLY:

Applicants should submit their application as a single PDF titled:

<yourlastname>.<institution>.brainski2027.pdf

It should include three parts

(1) a cover letter describing past, current, and future research and career goals. List top three choices for faculty mentors from among the tutorial speakers.

(2) a resume/CV

(3) title and one-paragraph abstract summary of current research activities.

Combine all three elements into a single PDF named as above and email to gluck at rutgers.edu<mailto:gluck at rutgers.edu> with the header

“<Last Name>, <Institution> Application for Brainski 2027 Travel Fellowship”

Applications are due OCTOBER 1, 2027. Awardees will be notified within two weeks.

LIMITED BLITZ OPENINGS FOR POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWS

Although the financial support of travel fellowships are limited to students, and postdoctoral fellows are not eligible, we are able to offer a limited number of 3-minute blitz speaking spots to postdoctoral fellows who attend. These fellows are expected to register as regular attendees and pay for their own hotel and airfare costs. Email gluck at rutgers.edu<mailto:gluck at rutgers.edu> if interested with a proposed blitz title and abstract.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN TUTORIALS?

Over the course of 3 evenings (4-7pm, after ski lifts close) we have a series of about two dozen 12-minute elementary tutorials, plus some shorter blitz talks by the students. These tutorials should be accessible to a broad audience of people in other disciplines with different backgrounds from the speaker — thus, no jargon, no acronyms.  The format of talks is akin to a TED-talk. Important Note:  These are *not* intended to be reviews of the speaker's own research. We limit the total number of slides to 20 (max of 2 data panels or figures per slides) of which no more than 4 can be from the speaker's own research lab. Think of these as collegial continuing-education tutorials at an advanced undergraduate level. We ask everyone to end their tutorial with a summary of Key Future Directions, Knowledge Gaps, & Opportunities for Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration.

EVENT LOGISTICS:

January 5-7, 2027, at Deer Valley Ski Resort in Park City, Utah (45 minute shuttle or uber from SLC airport, with direct flights from all over). Nice hotel at base of mountain: The Lodges at Deer Valley. We plan for breakfasts together as a group (included in group hotel rate) and 2 out of 3 evenings we have group dinners arranged at the hotel. Generous time is allowed for breaks. For those who don’t ski or snowboard (which is usually about half the attendees), lots of other mountain recreation is available, as well as spas, and a nice hotel pool and hot tub. The historic mining town of Park City is nearby to explore.  We will organize some non-skiing group outings for attendees.  This is a family-friendly event, and some attendees bring along partners and their children.

WHY NO ZOOM/HYBRID OPTION?

We envision these tutorials as the start of informal interdisciplinary conversations that will continue throughout the three days over breakfasts, dinners, breaks, in the hot tub, or on the chairlifts. Ideally, these in-person conversations will lead to new friendships and new cross-disciplinary collaborations. Because these unstructured informal one-on-one and small group discussion are a core raison d’être for this meeting, there is no zoom/hybrid option to attend or to speak.

YOU CAN ALSO MAKE A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO SUPPORT STUDENT TRAVEL FELLOWSHIPS:!

Each year, we award 4 to 6 travel fellowships to students who are planning careers in research on healthy aging and Alzheimer’s disease prevention. Fellowships cover their travel, hotel, and registration fees. In addition, we offer a variety of faculty and near-peer mentoring programs for these students, both during and after the conference, as well as a special session with NIH staff to advise them on fellowship and grant opportunities for early career researchers. If you, or anyone you know, would consider making a fully tax-deductible donation (to the Rutgers Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit) of $2,500 to support a student travel fellow, please contact me at gluck at rutgers.edu<mailto:gluck at rutgers.edu> and/or see our donor link at:

https://brainhealth.rutgers.edu/brainski2027/support-for-student/

Donors who attend the conference can be seated with their awardee at the opening dinner.

WE STILL HAVE SPACE FOR LESS THAN 15 MORE ADDITIONAL REGULAR ATTENDEES (CONFERENCE TOTAL ATTENDANCE LIMITED TO 50 PEOPLE).

To register, visit:

https://brainhealth.rutgers.edu/brainski2027/registration-and-payment-brainski-2027/

Note that there are two steps to registering: (1) Registering online with all your information, and (2) Paying the Registration Fee of $350/person (includes two dinners). Both steps are required. Note that on completion of Step 1 you will be redirected automatically to Step 2. Registrations are not confirmed until payment is made. Because the banquet room and conference facility hold a maximum of 50 people (including the speakers), registration will close as soon a we have 50 confirmed and paid registrants. This will likely happen by early fall.

Information about hotel accommodations at or near the conference venue can be found at:

https://brainhealth.rutgers.edu/brainski2027/hotel-information/

Main Faculty Tutorials:

TENTATIVE PARTIAL PROGRAM FOR JANUARY 5-7, 2027
(4-7pm each day)

Charly Abi-Ghanem (Psychology, Binghamton U.), “Sex-specific therapeutic interventions for cognitive decline and dementia.”

Joshua Miller (Nutritional Sciences, Rutgers U.), “Can vitamin supplements promote healthy aging?”

Xiaoping Hu (Bioengineering, UC Riverside), “The role of the locus coraleus in neurodegeneration.”

Michelle Mielke (Epidemiology, Wake Forest U.), “Influence of sociocultural factors on sex differences in dementia risk.”

Rebecca Cunningham (Pharmacy, U. N. Texas), “Contextual influences on sex hormones in the brain.”

Holly Jimison &  Misha Pavel (Computer Science, Northeastern). “AI-based monitoring for enhancing aging in place.

Sarah Hopp (Pharmacology, UT San Antonio). “How do blood pressure drugs protect the brain from neurodegeneration?”

Cierra Keith (Behavioral Medicine, W. Virginia U.), “Integrating biomarkers and cognition in dementia assessment”

Jennifer Smith (Epidemiology, U. Michigan). “Epigenetics of cognitive aging”

Kristen Kennedy (Psychology, U. T. Dallas), “How and why we measure white matter (axonal) integrity in aging”.

Johanna Seitz (Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School), “Mental health challenges in aging.”

Nathan Wages (Rehabilitation, Rutgers U.), “How to improve mobility and physical function in the elderly”

Shellie-Anne Levy (Psychology, U. Florida), “Beyond risk: Resilience in cognitive aging”

Kelly Nudelman, (Genetics, Indiana U.) “An update on genetics of Alzheimer’s disease”

Chandramallika Basak (Psychology, U.T., Dallas) “Cognitive training in aging and Mild Cognitive Impairment

Todd Horowitz (National Institute on Aging, NIH), “A view of NIH from the inside”

Drew Headley (Neuroscience, Rutgers-Newark). “Rat models of Alzheimer’s Disease”

Special Panel on Gut Microbiome in Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease

Colin Combs (Medicine, U. N. Dakota), “Gut microbiome in Alzheimer’s disease, I: Animal models”

Tengteng Wang (Medicine, Rutgers U.), “Gut microbiome in Alzheimer’s disease, II: Human clinical studies ”

Laura Cox (Neuroscience, Harvard U.) “Gut microbiome in Alzheimer’s disease, III: Sex differences”

PAST YEARS: SEE SPEAKERS, TOPICS, & (for 2026) LINKS TO PDFs of SLIDES

2026: https://brainhealth.rutgers.edu/aspen2026/conference-speakers-and-tutorials-planned/
2025: https://brainhealth.rutgers.edu/aspen2025/conference-speakers-and-tutorials/
2024: https://brainhealth.rutgers.edu/workshop/conference-program-and-speakers/

_______________________

Dr. Mark A. Gluck,
Professor of Neuroscience and Public Health
Director, Aging & Brain Health Alliance
Rutgers University—Newark
197 University Avenue
Newark, New Jersey   07102

http://www.brainhealth.rutgers.edu<http://www.brainhealth.rutgers.edu/>

--
[cid:part2.l0sQqvH8.5fOyxU0p at rubic.rutgers.edu]
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/pipermail/connectionists/attachments/20260901/e0bb687c/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: SkiPoster2027-8.5x11 copy.jpeg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 217971 bytes
Desc: SkiPoster2027-8.5x11 copy.jpeg
URL: <http://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/pipermail/connectionists/attachments/20260901/e0bb687c/attachment-0001.jpeg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: signature.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 57383 bytes
Desc: signature.jpg
URL: <http://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/pipermail/connectionists/attachments/20260901/e0bb687c/attachment-0001.jpg>