Vision / Mission

SYNAPSE (Symposium for Young Neuroscientists And Professors of the SouthEast) is a vibrant annual regional undergraduate neuroscience conference in the Southeast. This one-day conference will continue in 2010 at Wake Forest University.

SYNAPSE provides a truly unique and valuable forum for young neuroscientists to:

1. present their research results and obtain feedback from neuroscientists at other institutions via
   poster presentations;
2. discuss important issues in neuroscience training;
3. learn about cutting-edge research from a keynote speaker;
4. form connections with other neuroscientists in the southeast region.

The first SYNAPSE conference was held at James Madison University in 2003 and attracted 90 participants from five states representing 13 institutions. Undergraduates presented 39 posters.

The second SYNAPSE conference was held at Davidson College in 2006 and attracted more than 110 participants from seven states representing 18 institutions. Undergraduates presented 43 posters. HHMI Professor Ron Hoy was the keynote speaker. The keynote address: "Hearing on the Fly: Basic to Translational Research in Auditory Neuroscience."

The third SYNAPSE conference was held at Davidson College again in 2007. Professor Darcy Kelley, Columbia University was the keynote speaker. The keynote address: "The vocal synapse: perception and production".

The fourth SYNAPSE conference was held at the College of Charleston in 2008 and attracted about 150 participants.

Featured Speakers, March 15, 2008:
Professor Diane O’Dowd, Ph.D., HHMI Professor, University of California, Irvine. Keynote address: Neurobiology in Drosophila: Small brain, Large potential
Dr. Jerome Kurent, M.D., M.P.H., Professor of Medicine and Neurosciences (Neurology), Medical University of South Carolina
2008 Meeting - Final Program

Links of interest:
About Professor O'Dowd
UC Irvine press release
HHMI Article

The fifth SYNAPSE conference was held at the College of Charleston in 2009 and attracted about 150 participants.

2009 Meeting: College of Charleston

Featured Speakers, March 28, 2009:
Marcy MacDonald, Ph.D., Harvard University & Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Neurology & Richard B. Simches Research Center. Keynote address: Huntington's Disease: Genetics and Neuroscience
Misha Angrist, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of the Practice, Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy. Keynote address: And the Crowd Goes Wild: The Eruption of Personal Genomics