The annual MidBrains 2025 conference will be held on Saturday, October 25th at the Sanford Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The meeting is hosted by the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine. The meeting will have research poster sessions, short oral presentations, a keynote speaker, and lunch. This year, the conference will be held in conjunction with the Center for Brain and Behavior Research annual symposium, which will take place on Friday, October 24th. Additional information on the annual symposium can be found HERE. We hope that everyone can attend both days!
Abstract Submission Deadline: Friday, September 26th, 2025.
Click HERE to submit your abstract or registration for the conference. Everyone that plans to attend the conference, presenting or not, MUST register for the conference, but only the first author needs to submit the abstract.
Registration is FREE for all attendees!!!
2025 Combined Midbrains Conference AND Annual CBBRe Symposium
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Schedule of Events – Day 1 – CBBRe Annual Research Symposium
Friday, October 24th, 2025
Location: Sanford Center 2301 E. 60th St N. Sioux Falls SD
9.00 am Registration & Breakfast
9.30 am Welcome and Opening Remarks
9.45 am Talk Title: Enhancing access to pain relief: Innovative patient-centered formats, technologies, and trial designs
Dr. Beth Darnall, Stanford University School of Medicine
10.45 am Break
11.15 am Talk Title: Cortical reorganization and tactile acuity changes in people with chronic pain
Dr. Kory Zimney, Department of Physical Therapy, Health Sciences, USD
11.45 am Questions/Discussion
12.00 pm Lunch – Chat with speakers
1.15 pm Talk Title: Identification and characterization of the enzymes involved in endocannabinoid synthesis and metabolism in Hirudo verbana
Emily Kabeiseman, Biomedical and Translational Sciences, USD
1.45 pm Talk Title: Evolutionary clues about the functions, mechanisms, and treatment of persistent pain
Dr. Edgar T. Walters, McGovern Medical School
2.45 pm Closing Remarks and reminder for Reception and Midbrains Social
6.00 pm Evening Reception & Social – Please join us for an evening of chatting about neuroscience, catching up with old friends, and social networking.
* Minervas (301 S. Phillips Ave, Sioux Falls)
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Schedule of Events – Day 2 – Midwest Regional Neuroscience Conference (Midbrains)
Saturday, October 25th, 2025
Location: Sanford Center 2301 E. 60th St N. Sioux Falls SD
8.30 am Registration, Light Breakfast, Poster Session 1 setup
9.30 am Welcome and Introduction (Dr. Lee Baugh, Biomedical and Translational Sciences, USD)
9.40 am Keynote Address (Dr. Brian Burrell, University of South Dakota)
Talk Title: The cannabinoid system: a double agent in treating pain
10.45 am MidBrains Undergraduate Student Poster Session 1
11.30 am MidBrains Graduate School Panel – Dakota Room / MidBrains Business Meeting – Buffalo Room
12.15 pm Lunch / Poster Session 2 setup
1.15 pm Graduate Student Lightning Oral Presentations
2.15 pm MidBrains Symposium Session 1 – Dakota Room
2.15 pm Dr. Paulo Kofuji, University of Minnesota
Long-term potentiation and astrocytes
2.45 pm Dr. Kirill Nourski, University of Iowa
Transformation of stimulus representation along the cortical auditory hierarchy
3.00 pm Julia Neuharth, University of Iowa
Sex-and region-dependent enhancement of dopamine transporter (DAT) function following progesterone receptor inhibition
3.15 pm Dr. Shamiq Aftab, Sanford Research
Understanding the role of Zbtb7a in brain development
2.15 pm MidBrains Symposium Session 2 – Coyote Room
2.15 pm Dr. David Morilak, University of Texas Health Science Center
Enhancing exposure therapy for PTSD modeled by extinction learning in rats
2.45 pm Hunter Bault, Marquette University Neuroscience Graduate Program
Sex differences in chronic stress-induced behavioral control deficits and the role of PFC circuits
3.00 pm Mary Polking, Marquette University Neuroscience Graduate Program
Alexithymia: an indicator of vulnerability in the aging brain
3.15 pm Dr. Karama Hamdi, Sanford Research
Deciphering perturbations of primary cilia in Okur-Chung neurodevelopmental disorder
3.30 pm MidBrains Undergraduate/Graduate Student Poster Session 2
4.15 pm Lightning Presentation Awards and Closing remarks
