NSP faculty are invited to enjoy 1-slide overviews from many of the NSP faculty about their research

Faculty can meet new and long-time NSP faculty members

Faculty can enjoy some time to schmooze and snack

Some findings suggest that representations of the world in the brain are not fixed, however, these results remain controversial. We used a multisensory virtual reality system to control for changes in behavior and sensory experience and found that hippocampal representations of space do indeed drift over time. We will discuss problems my lab is tackling to better understand drift and its consequences.

First Friday Psychology-Beckman Colloquium Series The Psychology Department is excited to announce the launch of the First Friday Psychology-Beckman Colloquium Series for the 2025-2026 academic year, a new monthly event designed to bring together members of the Department of Psychology, Beckman Institute, and beyond for engaging, cross-area conversations. On the first Friday of each month join us at 3:00 PM in the Beckman Auditorium for faculty-led lectures, panel discussions, and research spotlights that showcase the breadth and depth of work happening in psychological science at UIUC. These events are open to all faculty, researchers, graduate students, and undergraduates. No RSVP required — just show up and join the conversation!

Research Topics
Computational Biology, Imaging, Neurobiology, Optogenetics, Sensory Processing
Disease Research Interests
Aging Related Diseases, Neurological and Behavioral Disorders
Advancing Research in Auditory Neuroscience
We study the mechanisms by which complex sounds, such as speech, are processed by the auditory system. We hypothesize that the auditory system generates internal models of the sensory world, and uses these models to extract meaning from complex sensory stimuli. One potential neuronal substrate for this generative model is the massive system of descending projections from the auditory cortex to virtually every level of the subcortical auditory system. These projections are critical for shaping the response properties of neurons in the auditory periphery, but very little is known about their functional organization.
We employ electrophysiological, novel optical, optogenetic, computational and advanced anatomical approaches to study the projections from the auditory cortex to subcortical structures. One specific set of issues that we address concerns the role of different cortical subnetworks in complex sound processing. For example, neurons in both cortical layer 5 and cortical layer 6 project to subcortical structures, and the neurons in these layers have very different intrinsic, integrative and synaptic properties. Our work explores the different roles that these groups of neurons play in the processing of complex sound.

Clinical/Translational: Our laboratory also has an interest aging- and Alzheimer Disease-related auditory network dysfunction, particularly as it relates to changes in network properties in the auditory thalamus and cortex and novel imaging methodologies.

Catherine Dulac, the Samuel W. Morris University Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University, will give the annual Beckman-Brown Lecture on Interdisciplinary Science at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10, in the Beckman Auditorium.

The lecture honors Arnold O. Beckman, the founder of the institute, and Theodore "Ted" Brown, the founding director. The series is funded by a gift from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation.

The day will be a celebration of Brown. Before the lecture at 1:15 p.m., the institute will host a ribbon cutting at Ted's Café on its first floor, which is named in Brown's honor. Brown will attend.

A reception will follow both the lecture and ribbon cutting at 3 p.m. in the Beckman Atrium. Please RSVP by Sept. 3.

Professor Dulac's talk abstract: Neurobiology of Sickness and Social Behavior
Social interactions are essential for animals to survive, reproduce, raise their young. Over the years, my lab has attempted to decipher the unique characteristics of social recognition: what are the unique cues that trigger distinct social behaviors, what is the nature and identity of social behavior circuits, how is the function of these circuits different in males and females and how are they modulated by the animal physiological status? In this lecture, I will describe our recent progress in understanding how specific brain circuits and cell types direct adaptive changes in behavior during sickness episodes in mice. Finally, I will describe our recent work uncovering how different parts of the brain as well as discrete, molecularly defined neuronal populations participate in the positive and negative control of the drive for social interactions when animals are isolated or part of a group, providing a new framework to understand the regulation of social behaviors in health and disease. 

Research Topics
Learning and Memory, Neurobiology, Imaging, Computational Neuroscience, Spatial Cognition, Spatial Navigation. 

Research Description
The evolution of neural firing over the lifetime of memory.
Our laboratory is interested in the neural underpinnings of memory. While neuroscientists broadly agree that changes at synapses are responsible for the acquisition of memory, we are just starting to understand what governs these changes and how they lead to changes in neural firing patterns. In particular, little is known about the neurobiological events that underlie forgetting, a complex process whose normal operation is critical for daily function. I believe there is a critical relationship between forgetting and continual learning, and that we can observe signatures of this using novel behavioral tasks and by recording neurons as memories develop and are forgotten.

We investigate how neurons fire as animals learn and how this activity evolves over the lifetime of spatial memories stored in the hippocampus. We use calcium and neurotransmitter imaging to examine neural activity and use computational approaches to understand the content of the messages being received and sent by neurons. These techniques let us understand memory at multiple scales: from populations and networks of neurons down to the input-output function of individual neurons. By combining these approaches with virtual reality tasks, we will better understand the neurobiological events that underlie memories and, ultimately, how memories are forgotten.

What are the expectations for research statements on the faculty job market? What can make your statement stand out, and what are some common mistakes? This workshop will cover the purpose, structure, and content of research statements.

No registration required. This session will take place on Zoom at https://go.grad.illinois.edu/eventspace

See the full listing of Graduate College workshops at https://go.grad.illinois.edu/workshops

*If you require any disability-related accommodations to participate in this workshop more fully, please email gradsuccess@illinois.edu

Going on the academic job market? You'll likely need a teaching statement, and you may also need a diversity statement and/or service statements. In this informative workshop, you will learn what goes in each of these documents, how they should be formatted, and how to use them effectively in your job search.

No registration required. This session will take place on Zoom at https://go.grad.illinois.edu/eventspace

See the full listing of Graduate College workshops at https://go.grad.illinois.edu/workshops

*If you require any disability-related accommodations to participate in this workshop more fully, please email gradsuccess@illinois.edu

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

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 June 23 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. All Zoom presentations are recorded and recordings will be included in the presentation materials.

Graduate students, welcome and welcome back to the University of Illinois. We are glad you are here.

We hope this week helps you connect with the university resources, communities, programs, and opportunities available to you as grad students at Illinois. Visit the Welcome (Back) webpage for details on events. 

See all Graduate College events here. 

The Graduate Research Plan is one of two required statements for the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF-GRF) application. In this workshop, students will learn the basic rules of proposal writing, the components of an effective proposal, and how to apply that knowledge to the specific requirements of the NSF-GRF Graduate Research Plan Statement. Participants will leave with a template that can be adapted for other prestigious university, national, and international funding competitions. 

This workshop is part of our series "NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Fundamentals." Interested students should first complete the corresponding self-guided Canvas course, and should also plan to attend our workshop on Writing an Effective NSF-GRF Personal Statement.

Register in advance for the link to this online workshop. 

See more Graduate College Workshops.

Graduate Assistant Employee Orientation (for TAs, RAs, GAs, and PGAs) Co-sponsored by Illinois Human Resources and the Graduate College, this employee orientation provides information for teaching, research, pre-professional, and graduate assistants regarding appointments and benefits.

For questions, please contact: ihr-ler@mx.uillinios.edu or 217-333-3105.

See the full listing of Graduate College workshops at http://go.grad.illinois.edu/workshops.

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 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.

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.

Join Mindfulness & Movement to experience an expertly led program, intentionally created to guide participants through mindfulness meditations and easy stretching exercises in a relaxing, virtual atmosphere! This six-week series takes place every Wednesday from 12:15pm-12:45pm, starting on September 3, 2025.  Registration closes on Wednesday, August 27 or when the class is full.

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 will celebrate Beckman Founding Director Ted Brown the afternoon of Wednesday, Sept. 10. Ted has generously named Ted's Café, the completely remodeled gathering space within the Beckman Atrium.

Events
1:15 p.m.
Ribbon cutting with remarks from Illinois and Beckman leaders in the new café

2 p.m.
Beckman-Brown Lecture on Interdisciplinary Science, featuring Catherine Dulac, a molecular biologist and neuroscientist from Harvard University, in the Beckman Auditorium

3 p.m.
A reception celebrating Dulac, Ted Brown and Ted's Café, in the Beckman Atrium

Please RSVP by Wednesday, Sept. 3.