This seminar will focus on the bi-directional relationships between aging, Alzheimer's Disease, and the circadian system. The talk will explore the role of the circadian clock in regulating aspects of neurodegenerative disease, including glial function, protein aggregation, and neuroinflammation, with an emphasis on emerging molecular mechanisms and therapeutic strategies.

In this seminar, I will present methodologies developed in my lab that integrate multiplexed molecular labeling with electron microscopy–based connectomics, permitting simultaneous mapping of synaptic connectivity and molecular identity.

Walker Gauthier, in Benjamin Auerbach's lab will defend the thesis
Wednesday, April 8th, 2026 at 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM in the Beckman Institute (Tower Room 3269) 
at 405 N Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL 61801
All are invited to the seminar on 
"Characterizing Bottom-Up & Top Down Contributions to Atypical Sound Processing in a Rat Model of Fragile X Syndrome"
Zoom
Meeting ID: 872 0721 4678
 Password: 403106

Join Professor Brad Sutton, a candidate to direct Beckman’s Biomedical Imaging Center, for a vision talk at 4 p.m. Monday, March 30, in 1005 Beckman. His talk will be titled, “BIC 3.0: A Center to Scale Science through Collective Innovation.”

A recording of the talk will be available by request, by contacting director@beckman.illinois.edu. You can submit your feedback by Monday, April 6.

Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences.

Jimmy Dooley, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences at Purdue University, where he studies how sleep shapes the development of the brain's sensorimotor circuits. His research is rooted in a curiosity about the biological origins of behavior. That curiosity began as an undergraduate with an honors thesis on seasonal rhythms of reproductive behavior in Brian Prendergast's lab at the University of Chicago. He earned his PhD in Neuroscience at the University of California, Davis. Working with Leah Krubitzer, he explored the evolutionary origins of somatosensory and motor cortex through comparative studies of marsupials. He then completed postdoctoral training with Mark Blumberg at the University of Iowa, where his focus shifted toward the role of self-generated movements—particularly REM sleep twitches—and their capacity to actively drive the development of sensorimotor circuits, a finding that forms the foundation of his independent research.

Create the "write" habit! Our writing group provides graduate students with dedicated time to make progress on writing in a supportive atmosphere. The writing group provides structured writing, break, and discussion time, with each meeting consisting of a short goal-setting conversation, quiet writing time, and a concluding reflection and wrap-up. You will be working on your own current writing (e.g., thesis, dissertation, manuscript). These groups do not offer feedback--if you're looking to learn more and improve your writing, check out our events or make an appointment to get individualized feedback. These groups are ideal for graduate students who are seeking to create or return to a writing routine, make progress and meet deadlines on long-term projects, or jump-start a new writing project. Find more information and our Writing Group FAQs here, and learn more about our consultations and policies.

Our writing groups are held every Tuesday from 9:00am-12:00pm, and we encourage you to attend regularly. We will not meet on campus holidays.

This event will be held in a hybrid format: Join us in-person in the Main Library Orange Room. Or, join us online. The Zoom link will be in your registration confirmation email and in the weekly reminder emails.

The Writers Workshop will email you a weekly reminder. You only need to register once for the recurring writing group. Please register using your University of Illinois email.

This presentation will provide tips for writing concise and professional resumes and cover letters. You’ll review common structure, purpose, audience expectations, and strategies for creating a set of application materials that complement each other. We encourage you to bring a current job ad and questions about your current in-progress materials!

This presentation will be held via Zoom and is open to all current U of I affiliates (students, faculty, and staff). You will need to be logged into your Illinois Zoom account to join. 

Please register with your Illinois email by March 30 to receive the Zoom details on the morning of the event. If you register on the day of, please email wow@illinois.edu immediately to request the Zoom details - we will do our best to get them to you prior to the event.

All registrants will receive access to the presentation materials via email the following business day. 

The ability to craft an effective funding proposal is a skill that can reap a lifetime of rewards. As a graduate student, now is the time to hone your grantwriting proficiency. In this workshop, designed for students in STEM fields, you will learn how to identify funding opportunities, strategize the components of an effective proposal, and think like a grantwriter. Come with questions about this mysterious genre, leave with a template that you can adapt to become a competitive applicant for prestigious university, national, and international funding competitions. 

Register in advance for the link to this online workshop. 

See moreGraduate College Workshops.

Preparing for the academic job market? The Writers Workshop will review genre expectations for statements of teaching philosophy and provide examples from a range of disciplines. We will share strategies for drafting, strengthening, and tailoring your own statement.

This presentation will be held via Zoom and is open to all current U of I affiliates (students, faculty, and staff). You will need to be logged into your Illinois Zoom account to join. 

Please register with your Illinois email by April 1 to receive the Zoom details on the morning of the event. If you register on the day of, please email wow@illinois.edu immediately to request the Zoom details - we will do our best to get them to you prior to the event.

All registrants will receive access to the presentation materials via email the following business day.

Create the "write" habit! Our writing group provides graduate students with dedicated time to make progress on writing in a supportive atmosphere. The writing group provides structured writing, break, and discussion time, with each meeting consisting of a short goal-setting conversation, quiet writing time, and a concluding reflection and wrap-up. You will be working on your own current writing (e.g., thesis, dissertation, manuscript). These groups do not offer feedback--if you're looking to learn more and improve your writing, check out our events or make an appointment to get individualized feedback. These groups are ideal for graduate students who are seeking to create or return to a writing routine, make progress and meet deadlines on long-term projects, or jump-start a new writing project. Find more information and our Writing Group FAQs here, and learn more about our consultations and policies.

Our writing groups are held every Friday from 9:00am-12:00pm, and we encourage you to attend regularly. We will not meet on campus holidays.

This event will be held in a hybrid format: Join us in-person in the Main Library Orange Room. Or, join us online. The Zoom link will be in your registration confirmation email and in the weekly reminder emails.

The Writers Workshop will email you a weekly reminder. You only need to register once for the recurring writing group. Please register using your University of Illinois email.

Thank the graduate student in your life!

The Writers Workshop will review genre expectations for diversity statements and provide examples from a range of disciplines. We will share strategies for drafting and tailoring your own diversity statements.

This presentation will be held via Zoom and is open to all current U of I affiliates (students, faculty, and staff). You will need to be logged into your Illinois Zoom account to join. 

Please register with your Illinois email by April 8 to receive the Zoom details on the morning of the event. If you register on the day of, please email wow@illinois.edu immediately to request the Zoom details - we will do our best to get them to you prior to the event.

All registrants will receive access to the presentation materials via email the following business day. 

Join us at noon on Wednesdays this fall for yoga with a view! All sessions are free and will be held in Beckman's fifth-floor tower room. All are welcome to bring their own mat! 

The Beckman Institute Open House is an opportunity for Champaign-Urbana community members to encounter the science, meet the people and experience the impact of world-changing discovery. Visitors of all ages are encouraged to engage with more than 30 exhibits, participate in hands-on demos, complete the science scavenger hunt and take a commemorative photo at the selfie station. This event is free and open to the public.

Full event dates and times are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, April 10, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 11, 2026. It happens at the same time as Engineering Open House each year.