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Denise J. Cai, Ph.D. @denisejcai.bsky.social · 5d

It has been an immense honor to learn & grow with two of the greatest scientists I know: @zachtpennington.bsky.social & @joezaki.bsky.social 🧑‍🔬

Listen in on our conversation about mentorship, building trust and creating a safe space to disagree: neuronline.sfn.org/professional...

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Reposted by Denise J. Cai, Ph.D.

Zach Pennington @zachtpennington.bsky.social · 9d

I’m hiring at all levels and accepting graduate students through Psychology and the Graduate Program in Neuroscience. Reach out if you’re interested in joining a collaborative, fun, creative, and supportive team in beautiful Vancouver! 🏔️ ⛷️ 🏖️ 🌆

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Reposted by Denise J. Cai, Ph.D.

Zoé Christenson Wick @zoechristensonwick.bsky.social · 9d

Interested in studying how neural circuits underlying mental health disorders are shaped by experience (e.g., stress)? Also interested in being trained by an amazing, thoughtful, and rigorous scientist? Also interested in living in a beautiful Canadian city? See below!

Zach Pennington @zachtpennington.bsky.social · 9d

I’m hiring at all levels and accepting graduate students through Psychology and the Graduate Program in Neuroscience. Reach out if you’re interested in joining a collaborative, fun, creative, and supportive team in beautiful Vancouver! 🏔️ ⛷️ 🏖️ 🌆

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Denise J. Cai, Ph.D. @denisejcai.bsky.social · 9d

Congrats Zach! 🎉 Our lab would not have gotten where it is without you.

If you're looking for a mentor who is supportive, innovative and deeply invested in helping trainees grow, consider joining his lab! 👇

Zach Pennington @zachtpennington.bsky.social · 9d

Excited to share that I landed my dream job!🎉🎉🎉 The Pennington Lab will be opening at the University of British Columbia in January 2026!
@ubcpsych.bsky.social @dmcbrainhealth.bsky.social

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Denise J. Cai, Ph.D. @denisejcai.bsky.social · 12d

That's a wrap! So many incredible talks at our Memory Hub Conference today! 🧠

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Denise J. Cai, Ph.D. @denisejcai.bsky.social · 12d

This morning's Memory Hub talks were fantastic! And the trainee data blitzes were 🔥

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Denise J. Cai, Ph.D. @denisejcai.bsky.social · 12d

We kicked off the first annual New York Memory Hub conference this morning 🧠

Talks are in full swing!

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Denise J. Cai, Ph.D. @denisejcai.bsky.social · 14d

So excited for this! Can't wait to see everyone there!

The Friedman Brain Institute @sinaibrain.bsky.social · 16d

We're looking forward to the first annual New York Memory Hub conference later this week! Can't wait for all the talks and discussion about all things learning and memory 🧠

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Denise J. Cai, Ph.D. @denisejcai.bsky.social · 21d

Looking forward to tomorrow's "Perspectives Across Biology" panel at the @chanzuckerberg.bsky.social Imaging the Future meeting! If you're at CZI this week, come check it out and join the conversation 🧑‍🔬

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Denise J. Cai, Ph.D. @denisejcai.bsky.social · 22d

Had such a great time in Napa Valley at the @onemindorg.bsky.social Summit on the Future of Mental Health Research 🧠

As a past One Mind Rising Star Awardee, it was so inspiring to connect with other awardees and see the incredible research being done by this year’s winners ⭐️

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Reposted by Denise J. Cai, Ph.D.

Zoé Christenson Wick @zoechristensonwick.bsky.social · 27d

🚨New preprint alert🚨
We used closed-loop optogenetics to causally test the importance of inhibitory spike timing in network function and found that manipulating PV+ cell theta phase locking in the dentate gyrus can shift seizure susceptibility (both ways!)

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Reposted by Denise J. Cai, Ph.D.

Molecular & Cellular Cognition Society @molcellcog.bsky.social · Sep 5

Check out the meeting lineup for #MCCS25! It's going to be an incredible day.

Don't miss out, register now: event.fourwaves.com/MCCS25/pages

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Denise J. Cai, Ph.D. @denisejcai.bsky.social · Sep 5

Working with trainees is a highlight of my own research and a main goal of the New York Memory Hub. I'm looking forward to a great afternoon of discussion with a group of brilliant trainees. Space is limited, register soon!

The Friedman Brain Institute @sinaibrain.bsky.social · Sep 4

🤔 Did you know we're hosting a trainee event the day before the first annual New York Memory Hub conference?

Trainees, join us in the afternoon of September 25 for lively discussion about learning and memory geared toward YOU!

Space is limited, so register now: www.eventbrite.com/e/new-york-m...

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Denise J. Cai, Ph.D. @denisejcai.bsky.social · Aug 27

Don't forget to submit your Data Blitz abstract by September 5! There will be a $500 prize for the winner!

The Friedman Brain Institute @sinaibrain.bsky.social · Aug 21

🧠 Are you a trainee attending the New York Memory Hub conference in September? Apply to give a data blitz! One winner will receive a prize!

Submit your abstract here ➡️ docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

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Denise J. Cai, Ph.D. @denisejcai.bsky.social · Aug 20

🎨 Not only are we excellent scientists, but it looks like we're also quite talented artists, too!

Had a blast hanging out and painting with the Cai and Shuman Labs 🖌️

Group photo of Cai and Shuman labs holding up their individual paintings.

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Reposted by Denise J. Cai, Ph.D.

Molecular & Cellular Cognition Society @molcellcog.bsky.social · Aug 18

Meet the #MCCS25 officers!

Dr. @tjryan.bsky.social is an Associate Professor at Trinity College Dublin. His lab studies how memory is coded in the brain as information by finding & understanding memory engrams 🧠

Join us on November 13 & 14. Register here: event.fourwaves.com/MCCS25/pages

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Denise J. Cai, Ph.D. @denisejcai.bsky.social · Aug 18

Thank you to all of the speakers who will be joining us for the first annual New York Memory Hub conference in September! It's going to be a fantastic day!

Register now 👇

The Friedman Brain Institute @sinaibrain.bsky.social · Aug 15

📣 REGISTRATION IS OPEN for first annual New York Memory Hub conference! Join @denisejcai.bsky.social @susanamingote.bsky.social & @tristanshuman.bsky.social on Sept 26 for a day of talks & discussion about all things learning & memory 🧠 Learn More | Register Here👉 www.eventbrite.com/e/new-york-m...

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Denise J. Cai, Ph.D. @denisejcai.bsky.social · Aug 11

Excited for MCCS this year! Join us in November 🤓🧠

Molecular & Cellular Cognition Society @molcellcog.bsky.social · Aug 11

📍 Register now for #MCCS25 on November 13 & 14!

Join us for talks & networking with the best and brightest in molecular and cellular cognition. #Neuroskyence

Check out the link for more information and to register & submit an abstract 👉 event.fourwaves.com/MCCS25/pages

Abstract neural art with event date and location

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Denise J. Cai, Ph.D. @denisejcai.bsky.social · Jul 31

Memory researchers in New York, check this out 👇

I'm so excited for this conference! It's going to be a fantastic day of collaborative learning and discussion about all things memory 🧠

The Friedman Brain Institute @sinaibrain.bsky.social · Jul 30

📣 REGISTRATION IS OPEN for first annual New York Memory Hub conference! Join @denisejcai.bsky.social @susanamingote.bsky.social & @tristanshuman.bsky.social on Sept 26 for a day of talks & discussion about all things learning & memory 🧠 Learn More | Register Here: www.eventbrite.com/e/new-york-m...

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Denise J. Cai, Ph.D. @denisejcai.bsky.social · Jul 14

Resources for Miniscope2C: github.com/denisecailab...

Sign up if you’re interested in attending a future workshop to learn how to build and use your own Miniscope2C: forms.gle/F41LQfrg3kvM...

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Photo taken from a past Miniscope workshop. People gathered around a table, watching a speaker show a presentation about Miniscopes.

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Denise J. Cai, Ph.D. @denisejcai.bsky.social · Jul 14

🎉 @susieyufeng.bsky.social, @austinbaggetta.bsky.social‬, @brianmsweis.bsky.social, @zachtpennington.bsky.social, @joezaki.bsky.social‬, @tristanshuman.bsky.social‬, @danielaharoni.bsky.social

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Denise J. Cai, Ph.D. @denisejcai.bsky.social · Jul 14

I’m grateful to work with such extraordinary scientists! Thank you to everyone who worked on this new tech, especially first author Drs. Phil Dong and Susie Yu Feng, and members from the Cai, Shuman, Slesinger, and Aharoni labs!

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Denise J. Cai, Ph.D. @denisejcai.bsky.social · Jul 14

Double the channels = double the insight!

We can finally perform simultaneous 2-color calcium imaging in freely behaving mice with minimal crosstalk, full frame rate, & long-term stability. Miniscope2C serves as a powerful tool to track dynamic neural ensembles.

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Denise J. Cai, Ph.D. @denisejcai.bsky.social · Jul 14

We found that when tracking the same neurons across days with dTomato, hippocampal spatial coding shifts over time in freely behaving animals performing a spatial navigation task, which is consistent with previous findings.

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Figure 7 from the paper, showing three graphs tracking cells across weeks (dTomato cells, GCaMP cells, and Stable GCaMP cells).

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Denise J. Cai, Ph.D. @denisejcai.bsky.social · Jul 14

To test for crosstalk, we compared activity in overlapping GCaMP and dTomato signals. Calcium events in the GCaMP channel showed no corresponding change in dTomato, confirming minimal crosstalk between channels 🎯

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Figure 5 from the paper, showing representative cells registered across the two channels being recorded by the Miniscope.

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