Vilcek Science Symposium
About
The Vilcek Science Symposium brings together a cohort of outstanding scientists born outside of the United States to discuss their journeys and their scientific accomplishments. This two-day symposium will include scientific presentations by leaders from various biomedical research fields, a panel discussion about immigrants in science, and a group mentoring session.
The Vilcek Science Symposium is organized in partnership with the Vilcek Foundation and Gladstone Institutes. The symposium is hosted by the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease and sponsored by Laurie Yoler and Ben Lenail, Palo Alto-based technology executives. Speakers include Vilcek Foundation Prizewinning scientists; The Vilcek Foundation Prizes recognize and celebrate the contributions of immigrants to biomedical research, culture, and society in the United States.
The Vilcek Foundation was established in 2000 by Jan and Marica Vilcek, immigrants from former Czechoslovakia. The foundation’s mission is to raise awareness of immigrant contributions in the United States and to foster an appreciation for the arts and sciences. Since 2000, the foundation has awarded more than $6.4 million in prizes to foreign-born individuals and supported organizations with over $5.8 million in grants.
Jeanne Paz, PhD, conference chair and associate investigator at the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease, received the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Sciences in 2019.
Due to ongoing pandemic precautions, in-person attendance is limited to invited guests, but the event will be open to everyone via livestream.
Details
Dates
October 19, 20229:00am-5:00pm
October 20, 2022
9:00am-12:30pm
Location
Mahley Auditorium, OnlineAudience
ScientificContact(s)
Program
Wednesday, October 19, 2022 | |
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9:00am | Welcome Lennart Mucke, MD, Director and Senior Investigator, Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease (GIND) |
9:05am | Introduction Jeanne Paz, PhD, Event Host and Associate Investigator, GIND |
9:10am | History Overview Jan Vilcek, MD, PhD, Co-founder, CEO and Chairman, Vilcek Foundation Marica Vilcek, Co-founder, Vice Chairman, Vilcek Foundation Rick Kinsel, MA, President, Vilcek Foundation |
SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATIONS | |
9:30am | Talking to Cells Deep Inside the Body with Biomolecular Ultrasound Mikhail Shapiro, PhD, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Director, Center for Molecular and Cellular Medicine, and Professor of Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology (Caltech) |
10:00am | Thalamic Regulation of Prefrontal Dynamics for Cognitive Control Michael Halassa, MD, PhD, Associate Investigator, McGovern Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
10:30am | Break |
10:40am | The Multi-tasking TMEM16F Lily Jan, PhD, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Jack and DeLoris Lange Professor of Molecular Physiology, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) |
11:10am | Mechano-sensitive Channels Involved in Neurological Disorders Yuh Nung Jan, PhD, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Jack and DeLoris Lange Professor of Molecular Physiology, UCSF |
11:40am | The Immunology of Blood: Unlocking Drivers of Neurodegeneration Katerina Akassoglou, PhD, Director, Gladstone-UCSF Center for Neurovascular Brain Immunology and Senior Investigator, GIND |
12:10pm | Break |
PANEL DISCUSSION | |
1:30pm | Immigrants in Science |
SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATIONS | |
2:30pm | Getting Across Barriers: Gene Delivery Across the Blood-brain Barrier for Precise and Minimally-invasive Study and Repair of Nervous Systems Viviana Gradinaru, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience and Biological Engineering at Caltech; Director, Center for Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience at Chen Institute at Caltech |
3:00pm | Phosphorylation-inducing Chimeric Small Molecules Amit Choudhary, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Associate Biologist, Brigham and Women’s Hospital |
3:30pm | Deconstructing Cellular and Circuit Mechanisms in Epilepsy Jeanne Paz, PhD, Associate Investigator, GIND |
4:00pm | Break |
GROUP MENTORING SESSIONS | |
4:10-5:00pm | Gladstone Trainees and Symposium Speakers |
Thursday, October 20, 2022 | |
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SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATIONS | |
9:00am | Chemogenetic and Optogenetic Technologies for Probing Molecular and Cellular Networks Alice Ting, PhD, Investigator, Chan Zuckerberg Biohub and Professor of Genetics, Biology and Chemistry, Stanford University |
9:30am | Imaging Brain Neurochemistry with Nanomaterials Markita del Carpio Landry, PhD, Investigator, Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, and Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Berkeley |
10:00am | From Stem Cell to Assembloids: Constructing and Deconstructing the Human Nervous System to Study Disease Sergiu Pasca, MD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Uytengsu Director of Stanford Brain Organogenesis, Stanford University |
10:30am | Break |
10:45am | Cell Atlases as Roadmaps to Understand and Treat Disease Aviv Regev, PhD, Vice President, Genentech Research and Early Development |
11:15am | Genetic and Neurophysiological Approaches to Tackle Rett Syndrome and MECP2 Disorders Huda Zoghbi, MD, Director, Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children’s Hospital, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Distinguished Service Professor of Pediatrics, Molecular and Human Genetics, Neurology, and Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine |
11:45am | Building Molecular QR Codes to Store Human Cell Identity Hani Goodarzi, PhD, Investigator, Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, and Assistant Professor of Biochemisty & Biophysics, and Urology, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute, UCSF |
12:15pm | Closing Remarks Deepak Srivastava, MD, President, Gladstone Institutes |

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
At Gladstone, we are committed to providing events and professional development activities that resonate with our community’s diverse members. Our goal is to develop creative programming that encompasses a wide variety of ideas and perspectives to inspire, educate, and engage with everyone within our walls.
We want to effect positive change through our events and activities by providing a platform for discussions on important topics related to increasing diversity and inclusiveness in the sciences.