Brain Development & Disorders Symposium - Department of Neuroscience

Date: Wednesday, November 11, 2026

Time: 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Location: Jeffrey T. Fort Neuroscience Research Building

Fluorescence microscopy image of neuronal cells and branching processes

The Brain Development & Disorders Symposium will bring together leading investigators from Washington University and institutions around the world for a full day exploring advances in brain development and neurodevelopmental disorders. The program will feature scientific presentations spanning genetics, cerebral cortex development, molecular mechanisms, and cognitive and neurological phenotypes, along with poster sessions designed to foster discussion and collaboration.

Hosted by: Department of Neuroscience · Intellectual and Development Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC) · Department of Neurology, Division of Pediatric and Developmental Neurology

Small laboratory animal standing upright

Supported by the McDonnell Center for Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology

2026 Brain Development & Disorders Symposium Registration

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Poster submission

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Poster presentations are free, and we’re happy to reserve a board for you! If your plans change, please let us know in advance. Labs may be charged a $100 fee if a reserved poster board goes unused without prior notice.

2026 Symposium Program of Events

8:30 – 8:40 am I Opening Remarks : Linda Richards (Welcome) & Natasha Marrus (IDDRC Overview)

Session 1: Genetics of Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Chair: Dustin Baldridge

8:40 – 8:55 am	Jenn Cremins, WashU “Mechanisms and Consequences of Chromatin Loop Memory In Vivo”
8:55 – 9:10am	Tychele Turner, WashU “The Noncoding Genome in Cortical Development and Autism”
9:10 – 9:25 am	Harrison Gabel, WashU “Probing Neurodevelopmental Disorders at Single Cell Resolution in the Brain”
9:25 – 9:40 am	Linda Richards, WashU “Molecular Mechanisms Governing Cerebral Cortex Formation and Their Disruption in Human Developmental Disorders”

9:40 – 10:00 am I Morning Tea Break & Poster Session

Session 2: Early Development of the Cerebral Cortex

Chair: Liz Pollina

10:00 – 10:45 am	Chiaki Ohtaka-Maruyama, Tokyo Metropolitan Inst. of Medical Science “Molecular Basis of Subplate Layer Expansion in Human Fetal Brain Development”
10:45 – 11:30 am	Alessandra Pierani, INSERM, Paris “Transient Moving Organizers: Life and Death from Cortical Development to Disease Treatment”
11:30 am – 12:15 pm	Takako Kikkawa, Tohoku University, Sendai “mRNA Localization and Kinesin Function in Radial Glia: Implications for Neurodevelopment”
12:15 – 12:30 pm	Rafael Galindo, WashU “Talk Title: TBD”

12:30 – 2:00 pm I Lunch & Poster Session

Session 3: Molecular Mechanisms of Developmental Brain Disorders

Chair: Natasha Marrus

2:00 – 2:45 pm	Jeffrey Russ, Duke University Medical Center “Untangling Cortical Intratelencephalic (IT) Neurons in Development and Disease”
2:45 – 3:00 pm	Joe Dougherty, WashU “Metabolite-Gene Expression Interactions in the Developing Human Cortex”
3:00 – 3:15 pm	Jason Yi, WashU “Dissecting Neuronal Growth Suppression in Angelman Syndrome”
3:15 – 3:30 pm	Kris Kroll, WashU “Tatton-Brown-Rahman Syndrome-Associated DNMT3A Mutations De-repress Cortical Interneuron Differentiation to Disrupt Neuronal Network Function”

3:30 – 3:50 pm I Afternoon Tea Break & Poster Session

Session 4: Cognitive & Neurological Phenotypes in Developmental Brain Disorders

Chair: Chris Smyser

3:50 – 4:35 pm	Mitsuhiro Kato, Showa Medical University, Tokyo “Targeted Therapy and AI-Driven Diagnosis: Moving Beyond the Molecular Pathogenesis of Cortical Dysplasias and Functional Neurodevelopmental Disorders”
4:35 – 4:50 pm	Cynthia Rogers, WashU “Preterm Birth, Executive Function, and the Preterm Behavioral Phenotype”
4:50 – 5:05 pm	Adam Kepecs, WashU
5:05 – 5:20 pm	Chad Sylvester, WashU “Brain Network Development in Children at Risk for Anxiety Disorders”
5:20 – 5:35 pm	Hysell Oviedo, WashU “Out of Sync: Building and Breaking Hemispheric Specialization”