IBANGS Annual Meeting 2026:
Genes, Brain and Behavior
June 8-11, 2026
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Conference Agenda
Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).
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Daily Overview |
| 7:30am - 8:00am |
Registration |
| 8:00am - 10:00am |
Selected Talks 1 Chair: Megan Mulligan From perception to valence: Fox neurons assign state-dependent valence to nutrient taste cues in Drosophila University of Delaware Specialized enhancer activity associated with convergent evolution of vocal learning Carnegie Melon University In vivo brain imaging and ex vivo permeability assays support a BBB mechanism underlying increased brain oxymorphone levels in Zhx2 knockout females following oxycodone administration Northeastern University Genomic associations with 24-hour food and fluid intake in heterogeneous stock rats University at Buffalo Dissecting the strain and sex specific connectome signatures of unanesthetized C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice using magnetic resonance imaging Penn State University Using a Connectome to Identify Motivational Neurons for Specific Conflict Resolution University of Utah |
| 10:00am - 10:30am |
Break (science bingo check-in) |
| 10:30am - 12:30pm |
Symposium 3: Dissecting the Development of Opioid Use Disorder Using Cross-species Systems Genetics Approaches Chair: Marissa Ehringer Initial QTL Mapping of Oral Oxycodone Self-Administration in the Hybrid Rat Diversity Panel University of Tennessee Health Science Center Genetic and neurobiological correlates of opioid use disorder vulnerability and resiliency using a rat model Baylor University Voluntary oxycodone self-administration reveals genetic variation in analgesic tolerance and hyperalgesia in rats University of Colorado Boulder Sex-specific Concordance of Striatal Transcriptional Signatures of Opioid Addiction in Human and Rodent Brains University of Pittsburgh |
| 12:30pm - 1:30pm |
Lunch (Identity and experience microcommunities) |
| 1:30pm - 3:30pm |
Symposium 4: Functional Implications of co-transmission in Regulating Neuroplasticity and Behavior Chair: Lewis Sherer A Co-Transmitting Neuron Regulates Aggression Through Pre- and Postsynaptic Mechanisms Brown University Experience-Dependent Co-Transmission Shapes Thermosensory Navigation Yale School of Medicine Sex-specific mechanisms of dopamine neuron resilience across species University of Pittsburgh Separating glutamatergic and dopaminergic subtypes in motivated behavior University of Colorado Boulder |
| 3:30pm - 4:00pm |
Break (short inclusion and A&I prompt) |
| 4:00pm - 5:00pm |
Plenary 3: Plenary 3: Early Career Achievement Award Lecture (Assoc.Professor Chongyuan Luo) Chair: Francesca Telese Dissecting Human Brain Development and Neuropsychiatric Disorders with Single-Cell and Spatial 3D-Multiomics University of California San Diego |
| 5:00pm - 5:30pm |
Additional Selected Talk Binary partitioning of human brain organization due to divergent human cytoskeletal evolution SUNY at Buffalo |
| 5:30pm - 7:00pm |
Posters B: Poster Session B Poster 1: 5-HTR2 serotonin receptor subtypes bidirectionally modulate acoustically-evoked behavior selection in zebrafish Haverford College Poster 3: A non-additive polygenic genetic architecture underlies the divergence of male courtship song type in Drosophila University of Pennsylvania Poster 5: Modeling Behavior in Modern Day Neuroscience: Statistical Inference Using Generalized Linear (Mixed) Models. University of Maryland, Baltimore County Poster 7: A novel task to evaluate episodic-like memory changes with aging across the lifespan in marmosets University of Pittsburgh Poster 9: Carnegie Melon University Poster 11: Characterizing the Impact of Astrocyte Molecular Rhythms in the Nucleus Accumbens on Alcohol Drinking and Reward, Social, and Locomotor Behaviors University of Pittsburgh Poster 13: Variation in Mushroom Body Morphology in Cocaine Preferring Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel Lines Clemson University Poster 15. Primary human macrophages as an ex vivo model for human-specific neuroinflammation State university of New York at Buffalo Poster 17: Inverted CHRFAM7A Allele Enhances Microtubule Dynamics via ULK4 Dependent Mechanisms in the Human Brain University at Buffalo Poster 19: Blue light-induced oxidative stress alters dopaminergic function in Drosophila melanogaster California State University, Fresno Poster 21: Evaluation of sleep and circadian traits as risk factors for substance use disorders University of Pittsburgh Poster 23: Meta analytical behavioral metrics to enhance motor phenotype reliability The Jackson Laboratory Poster 25: Characterizing chronic alcohol withdrawal-induced pain: cold hypersensitivity and neuronal hyperexcitability across two models of alcohol dependence University of Pittsburgh Poster 27: Drosophila metabotropic glutamate receptor homologs mangetout and mGluR differentials affect locomotion in adult-specific neuronal knockdown California State University, Fresno Poster 29: Identifying activity and ciradian patterns in marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) with genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease University of Pittsburgh Poster 31: Utilizing Zebrafish to Understand How ap2s1 Regulates Habituation Learning Haverford College Poster 33: VIP Signaling in the Prefrontal Cortex Promotes Alcohol Motivation and Reshapes Cortical Output Circuits University of Pittsburgh Poster 35: Metals exposure impairs flight performance in Drosophila melanogaster University of Maryland, Baltimore County Poster 37: Gustation discrimination task for detecting Alzheimer’s related pathologies in aging marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). University of Pittsburgh - Aging Institute Poster 39: Sex-Specific Genetic Influences on Creativity: COMT Polymorphisms and Divergent Thinking in Elite Judo Athletes Levinsky-Wingate Academic College Poster 41: Neurophysiological phenotypes as translational biomarkers for genetic neurodevelopmental disorders: Using cross species functional biological processes to advance translation UC Davis School of Medicine Poster 43: Social Stress Engages BNST Kappa Opioid Receptors to Escalate Alcohol Consumption Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Poster 45: Clocking the effects of sleep loss: the neurogenetic intersection of sleep disturbance and disordered behaviour in Drosophila University of Western Ontario Poster 47: Integrative Multi-Ancestry Genomic and Neuroimaging Analysis of ADHD-Related Behavioral Phenotypes in Children: Interaction-Based GWAS Linking Genetic Variation, Brain Structure, and Symptom Severity University at Buffalo |