I hope everyone had a restful and rejuvenating summer. We’re excited to start the new semester by sharing our 2025 MBI Impact Report, highlighting efforts to empower our investigators and advance our mission of enhancing lives through neuroscience research and education.

As we adapt to an evolving research landscape, we’re pleased to announce our new seminar series Brains & Bagels, which kicks off with a four-part discussion each Friday in September exploring the NIH's new emphasis on human-based research.

Have a great fall semester and thanks for all you do to support the MBI and brain research!

Warm regards,
Jen Bizon

• Applications open soon for the MBI Accelerator Program, which offers seed funding to support novel and impactful neuroscience and neuromedicine research. Stay tuned for submission dates in September, and click here to see last year's awardees. 
  
  
• Congrats to Drs. Michelle Bedenbaugh, Yuqing Li, Freddyson Martínez-Rivera, Andrew Maurer and Barry Setlow for receiving support from the MBI HiPerGator Research Fund to advance new hypothesis-generating projects powered by HiPerGator’s high-performance computational resources. Have a project that could benefit from similar support? Matching funds ($1,000 – $5,000) are available to help cover HiPerGator storage and CPU and GPU usage. Learn more and apply.
  
  
• Professional Development Awards: Congratulations to Dr. Maeve Boylan (postdoc in the Scott Lab), Samantha Penhale (graduate student in the Williamson Lab), Seda Tasci (graduate student in the Seidler Lab) and Dr. Chia-Chuan Yu (postdoc in the Elton Lab) on receiving funds to advance their neuro careers. Have a professional development opportunity in mind? Learn more and submit your application.
  

• Dr. Ashok Kumar (kash@ufl.edu) has been appointed manager of the MBI’s general-research equipment and resources. He will oversee procurement, maintenance, training and use of imaging equipment, liquid nitrogen, shared freezers, perfusion rooms, autoclaves and other services throughout the building.
  

• The building-wide electrical upgrade project should be completed within the next 2-3 weeks. We appreciate your continued cooperation and patience.
  
  
• The MBI will implement a Rees freezer monitoring system throughout the building to help safeguard core resources and provide some monitoring capacity for labs. Email Chris Weeks (chris.weeks@mbi.ufl.edu) for more information.
  
  
• We are collaborating with UFIT to schedule training sessions for the AV equipment in our conference rooms. Contact Sabrina Sanchez (sabrina.sanchez@mbi.ufl.edu) for more information.
  

• The new MBI Molecular Core is rolling out a pilot phase, offering MBI members exclusive access to state-of-the-art instrumentation, including NanoDrop, Agilent TapeStation, Bio-Rad ChemiDoc imager, centrifuges, PCR machines and a Milli-Q water system. New capabilities include the 10x Genomics Chromium platform for single-cell analysis and the CytAssist for Visium HD spatial transcriptomics. Contact Dr. Ramon Sun (ramonsun@ufl.edu) for more information and stay tuned for updates. Click here to see photos of the new space.
  
  
• Looking for access to BioRender? The MBI still has open seats for its user agreement. Click here for more information.

• The MBI is excited to unveil a new postdoc office suite to further support our postdoctoral community. It includes individual cubicles as well as shared areas and resources, providing a collaborative environment. Because this is a limited resource, space will be prioritized for postdocs currently working on an independent funding opportunity and/or those in labs with limited private space. Postdocs awarded space will be expected to actively participate in Neuro(PD)², a postdoc-led organization supported by the MBI. To request a workspace, please complete this brief Qualtrics survey. Those selected will be contacted directly with additional details about access and use of the suite.
  
  
• The UF Neuroscience-MBI Joint Seminar Series takes place every Thursday at noon in the MBI’sThursday in the MBI's DeWeese Auditorium, Room LG-101A. Check out the upcoming speakers: 
  • 8/28: Catherine Marcinkiewcz, Ph.D., UF (Cellular & Systems Pharmacology)
  • 9/4: Diego Rincon-Limas, Ph.D., UF (Behavioral Neurology)
  • 9/11: Dimitry Sayenko, M.D., Ph.D., Houston Methodist (Neurosurgery)
  • 9/18: Marco Bortolato, M.D., Ph.D., UF (Cellular & Systems Pharmacology)
  • 9/25: Rachael Seidler, Ph.D., UF (Applied Physiology & Kinesiology)
    

• If you are an MBI member who leads a lab and would like a photo of your group, please sign up for a free team photo here. 
  
  
• MBI members: Do you have an upcoming paper you’d like promoted to a wide general audience? Please remember to list the Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute of the University of Florida as an author affiliation on your publications and submit a publicity request here.
  
  
• Check out our Member Communications Resource page, which now includes customizable digital templates for flyers, a PowerPoint presentation, digital graphics and versions of our logo to use on your presentations. 
  

• Connect with MBI Senior Development Director Caitie Deranek Stewart at stewartc1@ufl.edu or 574-238-2282 to identify grant opportunities, build relationships with funders and support your applications for non-governmental grants.
  
  
• Will you be in San Diego for this year’s SfN Conference? If so, join us for a reception for alumni and friends of UF Neuroscience and the MBI on Monday, Nov. 17. Click here to learn more.