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BHRI Newsletter (Summer 2025)

	Summer 2025
			NEWS
BHRI Research Spotlight  Stacy Miner, PhD, RN, CCRP, to lead NR This past spring 2025, Lisa Audet, PhD, CCC-SLP, retired from her position as Assistant Professor in the College of Education, Health and Human Services and will no longer lead the Neurodiversity Research Initiative. Stacy Miner has agreed to take her place and will become the BHRI Assistant Director for Neurodiversity Research. Stacy Miner brings over 15 years of experience in clinical pediatric research at University Hospitals, with her own research focusing on autism spectrum disorder and related developmental conditions. She recently completed fellowships through the AIM-AHEAD program- leveraging AI to gain insights from clinical data- and the Community-Based Health Research Network, which emphasizes inclusive, community-engaged research. As a parent of teenagers with neurodiverse strengths, Stacy is deeply committed to advancing research that not only supports but actively collaborates with and advocates for the neurodivergent community in Kent and beyond. In her role, she looks forward to supporting fellow researchers in developing impactful, equity-centered studies. Please join us in wishing Lisa the best in her retirement and welcoming Stacy to the BHRI leadership team!		Devin Rubbo Memorial Scholarship Congratulations to our Fall 2025 scholarship recipient! We are pleased to announce the inaugural recipient of the Devin Rubbo Memorial Scholarship – Anna Crites! Anna is a second-year graduate student in the Psychological Sciences PhD program, concentrating in Behavioral Neuroscience. Her advisor is Lee Gilman, Ph.D. With this scholarship Anna plans to investigate the neurobiological mechanisms for how biological sex, stress and cognitive flexibility interact. The Devin Rubbo Memorial Scholarship was established by Michael and Madhavi Rubbo in memory of their beloved son, Devin James Rubbo. Scholarships will be awarded twice per year. UG Fellows 2025 Continued Success in Summer Research Program The BHRI Undergraduate Fellows Program continues to be a success. The fellowship takes place during the same weeks as SURE. This year’s cohort consisted of 11 fellows, whose majors represent a diverse range of disciplines, including Psychology, Nursing, Biology, Neuroscience, Exercise Science, Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Environmental and Conservation Biology. The BHRI fellows will participate in weekly career development seminars throughout the summer, and the culmination of the fellows’ experience will be a capstone presentation of their research. Seminar topics include research funding, use of human and animal subjects in research, and careers in neuroscience. For more about the program, see �� Today’s article, “Brain Health Research Institute Welcomes 2025 Summer Undergraduate Fellows,” by Lisa Abraham.
Collaboratory Open House Latest in State-of-the-Art Equipment The BHRI Collaboratory Open House took place in the ISB Lower Level on May 2, 2025. The open house included hands-on demonstrations of equipment and tours of the research spaces available at BHRI. Thirty people attended the event. Among them were 11 current KSU faculty members, 11 KSU students (graduate and PhD), our representatives from DPAE, R&ED, and the Office of Corporate Engagement. The faculty present at the event were from the departments of Speech Pathology and Audiology; Psychological Sciences; Mathematical Sciences; Computer Science; Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies; Biology; Anthropology; also, from the College of Nursing, and College of Aeronautics and Engineering. The students present at the event were from the following departments: Biological Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Computer Science, and Exercise Science. Interested individuals (faculty members, students, and other BHRI members) met with the directors of the collaboratories to discuss specific areas of interest. A second Collaboratory Open House is scheduled for October 17, 2025. Further details about the event will be provided. Upward Bound Visit to BHRI Facilities BHRI hosted a visit from Upward Bound Program high-school students on June 16. TRIO Upward Bound is a set of college-opportunity programs that motivate and support students from disadvantaged backgrounds in their pursuit of a college degree. TRIO Programs help students overcome class, social, and academic barriers to higher education. The visit started with an overview of BHRI by Dr. Michael Lehman, BHRI Director, followed by the tours of the BHRI collaboratories and short demos of the equipment, led by Drs. Angela Ridgel, Associate Director of BHRI, and Aleisha Moore, Assistant Professor in Biological Sciences.		Pilot Grant Program Congratulations to our Blue Award winners! Alcohol-altered brain metabolism in a tauopathy mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease Drs. Takhar Kasumov (Pharmaceutical Sciences, NEOMED) & Wilson Chung (Biological Sciences, KSU) Smooth muscle O-GlcNAcylation, cognitive function and AD pathology in diabetes Drs. Priya Raman (Biomedical Sciences, NEOMED), Helen Piontkivska (Biological Sciences, KSU) & Sheila Fleming (Pharmaceutical Sciences, NEOMED) Epigenetic programming of adrenal androgens by early life adversity and its role in modulating the HPA axis Drs. Rafaela Takeshita (Anthropology, KSU), Chris Faulk (University of Minnesota), Joe Simmons (MD Anderson Cancer Center) and Sarah Neal (MD Anderson Cancer Center) Investigating how the gut microbiome affects early-life brain development and behavior of wild birds Dr. Brian Trevelline (Biological Sciences, KSU)
If you have any suggestions for speakers for the AY25-26 Seminar Series, please email Mary Koch at mekoch@kent.edu.

For more information about the BHRI, visit www.kent.edu/brainhealth.