Past
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Monica Fabiani, April 26, 2023
Monica Fabiani, Professor of Psychology at Illinois, will lecture on “Taking the 
pulse of aging: The role of cerebrovascular risk factors in cognitive decline and dementia” at 4:00 pm in 2269 Beckman Institute and on Zoom. William Baker, MBM trainee and PhD candidate, will give an introduction. The lecture is free and open to the public courtesy of the Miniature Brain Machinery Program.
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Jozien Goense, April 5, 2023
Jozien Goense, Associate Professor of Psychology and Bioengineering at Illinois, will lecture on “Cortical layer specific functional MRI at ultra-high field” at 4:00 pm April 5 in 2269 Beckman Institute and on Zoom. Charles Marchini, MBM trainee and PhD candidate, will give an introduction. The lecture is free and open to the public courtesy of the Miniature Brain Machinery Program.
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Jonathan Livengood, March 29, 2023
Jonathan Livengood, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Illinois, will lecture on “What is Induction, and What is the Problem?” at 4:00 pm March 29 in 2269 Beckman Institute and on Zoom. Samuel Okyem, MBM trainee and PhD candidate, will give an introduction. The lecture is free and open to the public courtesy of the Miniature Brain Machinery Program.
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Paul Selvin, March 22, 2023
ZOOM ONLY – Paul Selvin, Professor of Biological Physics at Illinois, will lecture on “Live Brain Slices & Neurons at Nanometer-resolution” at 4:00 pm March 22 in 2269 Beckman Institute and on Zoom. Shannon Berneche, MBM trainee and PhD candidate, will give an introduction. The lecture is free and open to the public courtesy of the Miniature Brain Machinery Program.
Virtual Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Seung-Woo Cho, March 1, 2023
Seung-Woo Cho, Professor of Biotechnology at Yonsei University in South Korea, will lecture on “Brain-on-a-chip for modeling human brain diseases” at 5:00 pm CST(NOTE different start time) on Zoom. Olawale Salaudeen will give an introduction. The lecture is free and open to the public courtesy of the Miniature Brain Machinery Program.
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery:
Justin Rhodes, February 8, 2023
Justin Rhodes will present a lecture “Exercise-Brain Interactions” at 4:00 pm CST in 2269 Beckman Institute and on Zoom. Our new trainee, Meghan Connolly, will give an introduction. The lecture is free and open to the public courtesy of the Miniature Brain Machinery Program.
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Catherine Christian-Hinman, 
January 25, 2023
Catherine Christian-Hinman, Associate Professor of Molecular & Integrative Physiology at Illinois, will lecture on “Sex, cycles, and seizures: Reciprocal relationships linking epilepsy and the reproductive neuroendocrine axis” at 4:00 pm in 2269 Beckman Institute and on Zoom. An MBM trainee and PhD candidate will give an introduction. The lecture is free and open to the public courtesy of the Miniature Brain Machinery Program.
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Aadeel Akhtar, November 9, 2022
Aadeel Akhtar, CEO and Founder of PSYONIC, lectured on “PSYONIC – Advances in Commercial Sensorimotor Bionic Limbs” at 4:00 pm in 2269 Beckman Institute and on Zoom. Shannon Berneche, MBM trainee and PhD candidate in Neuroscience, gave an introduction.
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Sepideh Sadaghiani, October 26, 2022
Sepideh Sadaghiani, Associate Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience, & Bioengineering at Illinois, lectured on “The functional connectome across temporal scales” at 4:00 pm in 2269 Beckman Institute and on Zoom. Introduction by Ryan Miller, MBM trainee and PhD candidate in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering.
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Hee Jung Chung, October 5, 2022
Hee Jung Chung, Associate Professor of Molecular and Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience at Illinois, lectured on “The role of brain specific tyrosine phosphatase STEP in hippocampal excitability and seizures” at 4:00 pm in 2269 Beckman Institute and on Zoom. Jennifer Walters, MBM trainee and PhD candidate in Neuroscience, gave an introduction.
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Todd Coleman, September 28, 2022
Todd Coleman, Associate Professor of Bioengineering at Stanford University, lectured on “Monitoring and modulating nervous systems in the brain and visceral organs” at 4:00 pm in 2269 Beckman Institute and on Zoom. Samuel Okyem, MBM trainee and PhD candidate in Chemistry, gave an introduction.
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Mei Shen, September 21, 2022
Mei Shen, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Neuroscience at Illinois, lectured on “Nanoelectrochemistry for Probing Fast Chemical Transmitter Release with High Temporal Resolution” at 4:00 pm in 2269 Beckman Institute and on Zoom. Sara Bell, MBM trainee and PhD candidate in Chemistry, gave an introduction.
5th Annual MBM Retreat: September 15, 2022
Our fifth annual retreat took place in person at Beckman Institute. Our plenary speakers included Stephen Boppart, Princess Imoukhuede, and Roger Kamm. Click the link above for more information.
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: James Hinman, September 7, 2022
James Hinman, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Illinois, lectured on “Neural basis of cognitive maps in multiple reference frames” at 4:00 pm in 2269 Beckman Institute and on Zoom. William Baker, MBM trainee and PhD candidate in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, gave an introduction.
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Hyunjoon Kong, April 20, 2022
Hyunjoon Kong, Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Pathology, lectured on “Engineering of Cell Secretome Regulators for Tissue Vascularization and Homeostasis” at 4:00pm in 2269 Beckman Institute and on Zoom.
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Gabriel Popescu, April 13, 2022
Gabriel Popescu, William L. Everitt Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, lectured on “Phase imaging with computational specificity (PICS) for biomedical applications” at 4:00pm on Zoom. Video available on the event page.
MillerComm Lecture / Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Alysson Muotri, April 6, 2022
Alysson Muotri, Professor and Director of the Stem Cell Program at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, lectured on “Human Brain Organogenesis – creating a nervous system outside the womb” at 4:00pm on Zoom. Follow the link above for details.
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Catherine Murphy, February 16, 2021
Catherine Murphy, Larry R. Faulkner Endowed Chair in Chemistry and Head of the Department of Chemistry, lectured on “Nanoparticles (potentially) on the Brain: Towards Detection or Therapy of Neurodegenerative Disease with Gold Nanocrystals” at 4:00pm in 2269 Beckman Institute and on Zoom.
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Brad Sutton, January 26, 2022
Brad Sutton, Technical Director of the Biomedical Imaging Center and Abel Bliss Faculty Scholar in the College of Engineering, lectured on “Ultrafast functional MRI: A tool for examining spurious correlations in fMRI connectivity” at 4:00pm on Zoom.
Communicating Your Research with the Public: Esther Ngumbi, December 1, 2021
Esther Ngumbi, Assistant Professor of Entomology and African-American Studies, will lecture on “Communicating Your Research with the Public” at 4:00pm in 2269 Beckman Institute and on Zoom.
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Roy Dar, November 10, 2021
Roy Dar, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering, will lecture on “Modulating Gene Expression Fluctuations to Bias HIV Decision-Making and Stem Cell Fate Determination” at 4:00pm in 2269 Beckman Institute and on Zoom.
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Alison Bell, October 27, 2021
Alison Bell, Getz Professional Scholar and Professor of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, spoke on on “The evolution of behavior in sticklebacks” at 4:00pm in 2269 Beckman Institute and on Zoom.
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Jonathan Sweedler, October 13, 2021
Jonathan Sweedler, the James R. Eiszner Family Endowed Chair in Chemistry and Director of the School of Chemical Sciences at Illinois, lectured on “Measuring the chemical mosaic of the brain: the high throughput chemical characterization of individual neuronal cells” at 4:00pm in 2269 Beckman Institute and on Zoom.
Virtual Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Neal Cohen, September 29, 2021
Neal Cohen, Founding Director of the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute, will lecture on “Memory, Disorders of Memory, and the Human Brain” at 4:00pm on Zoom.
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Xinzhu Yu, September 22, 2021
Xinzhu Yu, Assistant Professor of Molecular & Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience, lectured on “The other half of the brain — Unlocking astrocyte roles in circuits and behavior” at 4:00pm in 2269 Beckman Institute.
4th Annual MBM Retreat: September 16, 2021
Our fourth annual retreat took place virtually, and with record attendance. Our guest speakers included David Boas, Franklin Carrero-Martinez, Michael Levin, and Manu Platt. More information is on the event page.
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Hee Jung Chung, April 14, 2021
Hee Jung Chung, Associate Professor of Molecular and Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience, spoke on “Novel mechanisms by which Kv7 channel and STEP enzyme control seizure susceptibility, and future directions to employ human organoids to test the compounds against these targets to combat epilepsy.”
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Larry Young, April 7, 2021
Larry Young, William P. Timmie Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University, lectured on “The Neural Circuitry of Social Bonding and Empathy: Implications for Autism.” The lecture was free and open to the public courtesy of the Miniature Brain Machinery Program. 4:00pm on Zoom
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Noo Li Jeon, March 17, 2021
Noo Li Jeon, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Seoul National University, spoke on “Microfluidics and Neuroscience: From 2D Compartmented PDMS Chips to 3D Injection Molded Devices.” The lecture was free and open to the public courtesy of the Miniature Brain Machinery Program. 4:00pm on Zoom
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Rashid Bashir, March 10, 2021
Rashid Bashir, Dean of the Grainger College of Engineering and Abel Bliss Professor of Engineering, talked about “Forward Engineering of Cellular Systems and Biological Machines.” The lecture was free and open to the public courtesy of the Miniature Brain Machinery Program. 4:00pm on Zoom
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Rhanor Gillette, February 3, 2021
Rhanor Gillette, Emeritus Professor of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, spoke on “Enhancing Complexity in Brain Machinery and Behavior: How and Why?”
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Pengfei Song, December 2, 2020
The MBM Program continues its Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery lecture series with Pengfei Song, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He will speak December 2, 2020 at 4pm in Zoom on “Ultrasound super-resolution imaging of the aging brain microvasculature.”
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Sanmi Koyejo, November 11, 2020
The MBM Program continued its Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery lecture series with Sanmi Koyejo, Assistant Professor of Computer Science. He spoke at 4pm November 11, 2020 on “Synthesizing brain images using machine learning: applications, promises, and pitfalls.”
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Taher Saif, October 21, 2020
Taher Saif, Professor of Mechanical Science & Engineering and Neuroscience, spoke on October 21, 2020 at 4pm in Zoom on “Miniature neuro-machinery with large potentials.”
Third Annual MBM Retreat: September 17, 2020
This year, the MBM Program offered its annual retreat virtually to celebrate our third year of Miniature Brain Machinery with plenary lectures and presentations by our trainees! Please visit the event page for more information.
2020 MBM Retreat guest speakers: Drs. Allyson Muotri, Penny Burgoon, & Na Ji
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Marianne Alleyne, September 9, 2020
The MBM Program continues its Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery lecture series with Marianne Alleyne, Assistant Professor of Entomology. She will speak September 9 at 4pm in Zoom on “Bioinspired Design: Insects Did It First – How Best To Learn From Them.”
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Deborah Leckband, April 8, 2020
The MBM Program continued its Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery lecture series with Deborah Leckband, Professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering. She spoke April 8, 2020 at 4pm on “Mechano transduction in tissue engineering.”
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Lisa Stubbs, February 12, 2020
The MBM Program began its Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery lecture series for the Spring 2020 semester with Lisa Stubbs, Professor of Molecular & Cellular Biology. She spoke February 12 at 4pm in 2269 Beckman Institute on “Using gene networks to develop mechanistic inferences about complex behaviors.”
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Kyung Sung, November 13, 2019
The MBM Program continued its Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery lecture series November 13 at 4pm in 2269 Beckman with Kyung Sung, Senior Staff Fellow at the US Food & Drug Administration.
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Liang Gao, October 30, 2019
The MBM Program continued its Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery lecture series October 30 at 4pm in 2269 Beckman with Liang Gao, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Principal Investigator of the Intelligent Optics Lab at the University of Illinois. He lectured on “High-speed fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy of neuronal activities.”
Second Annual MBM Retreat: September 19-20, 2019
The second annual MBM Retreat featured four guest speakers along with posters and lightning talks over two days, Thursday, September 19 at 4:30pm through Friday, September 20 at 2:30pm in 5602 Beckman Institute. Find more information here.
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Justin Rhodes, September 4, 2019
The MBM Program began its Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery lecture series for the Fall 2019 season with Justin Rhodes, Associate Professor of Psychology. He spoke September 4 at 4pm in 2269 Beckman Institute on “Completely implantable, injectable, wireless microLEDs for optogenetic manipulations of exercise-brain interactions.”
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Kai Zhang, April 10, 2019
Kai Zhang, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience and Biochemistry, and Director of the Zhang Lab at the University of Illinois, delivered the April 10 Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery lecture at 4pm in 2269 Beckman.
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Hee-Sun Han, March 27, 2019
The MBM Program continued its Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery lecture series March 27 at 4pm in 2269 Beckman with Hee-Sun Han, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Mark A. Pytosh Scholar. The lecture will be titled “Spatially resolved, integrative RNA profiling to study the role of miRNA in synaptic plasticity and neurodegenerative diseases.”
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Stephen Boppart, February 27, 2019
The MBM Program began its Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery lecture series for the Spring 2019 season with Stephen Boppart, who spoke on “Real-Time Metabolic Imaging using Auto-Fluorescence from Cells.”
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Diane Beck, December 5, 2018
Diane Beck, Associate Professor of Psychology, delivered the December 5 Frontiers in MBM lecture on “The Importance of Prior Knowledge for Vision.”
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Mattia Gazzola, November 7, 2018
Mattia Gazzola, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Science & Engineering, NCSA, delivered the November 7 Frontiers lecture on “Mechanical intelligence and control of soft musculoskeletal architectures.”
MBM Retreat: October 25-26, 2018
The first annual MBM Retreat was held October 25 and 26, 2018 at the University of Illinois campus. All five External Advisors gave presentations, along with lightning talks and poster presentations by MBM trainees.
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Marni Boppart, October 10, 2018
Marni Boppart, Associate Professor of Kinesiology and Community Health, presented the October Frontiers lecture on “Perivascular Stem/Stromal Cell Regulation of Muscle Growth.”
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Rashid Bashir, March 14, 2018
The Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery lecture series continued with Dr. Rashid Bashir, who presented on “3D Bioprinting for Cellular Machines” March 14, 4-5pm in 2269 Beckman.
Frontiers in Miniature Brain Machinery: Sung Gap Im, February 14, 2018
Professor Sung Gap Im from KAIST (one of our partner institutions) delivered a lecture to MBM trainees, faculty, and the public on the topic “Constructing bio-functional surfaces with vapor-phased deposited polymer thin films and their applications for neural tissue engineering.” The turnout for this inaugural lecture was excellent, with several members of the university community in attendance. Im offered a captivating presentation with many fascinating insights into his lab’s research at the forefront of neural engineering.
Miniature Brain Machinery (MBM) Program Kickoff Meeting
Our new NSF-funded training grant program held its Kickoff meeting January 19, 2018. The event began with inspiring introductions from Jeffrey Moore, Director of Beckman Institute; Matthew Ando, Asso. Dean of LAS; Tamer Basar, Interim Dean of Engineering; and Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko, Dean of the Graduate College. 
We also invited multiple Graduate Program Coordinators to help education them as to what we are seeking to accomplish. Of course, the real stars were the 9 new trainees!