Message from the Officers
Megan Gall, Chair (chair.dnnsb@sicb.org); Lori Schweikert, Chair-elect (schweikertl@uncw.edu); Jamie Theobald, Program Officer (dpo.dnnsb@sicb.org); Rachelle Belanger, Program Officer-elect (belangra@udmercy.edu); Dan Speiser, Secretary (secretary.dnnsb@sicb.org); Amy Streets, Student-Postdoc Representative (axs2909@case.edu)
Greetings from the DNNSB Leadership! We look forward to seeing you at the upcoming SICB meeting in Portland, OR (January 3-7). If you will be attending the meeting, please join us at the DNNSB Members Meeting (5:45 – 6:45pm on Monday, Jan 5th in Conference Center A105) and at the DNNSB Divisional Social (5:30 on Sunday, Jan 4th in Conference Center A106).
DNNSB Mentoring Program
We are expanding our divisional mentoring program! Early-bird registration now includes the option to opt-in to the new DNNSB mentoring program. Please sign up and keep an eye on your email and we will match mentors and mentees before the meeting. Our goal is to match every student presenter with a mentor. Meeting this goal will require broad participation by DNNSB members, so please support this program by being generous with your time.
Election Results
Earlier this year, divisional members elected Lori Schweikert (University of North Carolina Wilmington) as our next Chair. Lori will begin her term as Chair-Elect in February 2026 and will take over as Chair in 2027 when our current Chair, Megan Gall, ends her term. Congratulations to Lori! Divisional members also approved amendments to the DNNSB Bylaws.
Upcoming Elections
We have a year off from elections in 2026. If you would like to serve as a DNNSB executive officer in the future, you will soon have the opportunity! We are also looking for a social media representative for DNNSB. If you are interested please contact any of the executive officers!
Call for Volunteer Judges for Best Student Presentation
We have a fantastic slate of both talks and posters in our annual DNNSB Best Student Presentation competitions. At the 2026 Annual Meeting, three awards will be made for Best Student Presentation: one for the best oral presentation, one for best poster presentation by a graduate student, and one for the best poster presentation by an undergraduate student. Each awardee will receive a certificate and a monetary prize. As always, we are looking for your support in judging these presentations. For those that have already volunteered to judge presentations during registration, thank you! You will hear from us as we approach the meeting. For others, you can declare your interest when you register for the conference or by contacting DNNSB leadership. We thank you in advance for your help!
2026 SICB Meeting
DNNSB has organized (or co-organized) 74 talks across 10 concurrent sessions, 62 posters, and four Symposia. DNNSB was represented by our Program Officer, Jamie Theobald, at the SICB Program Committee earlier this Fall.
Concurrent Sessions and Posters
On Sunday, January 4th, we will have DNNSB talks in Session 9: Neurobiology, Neuroethology, and Sensory Biology Best Student Presentation (8:00am-10am in C123); Session 34: Neurobiology and Social Behavior (1:30pm-3:30pm in B118/119); and Session 38: Neural Stress and Injury (1:30-3:30pm in Oregon 202). We will also have posters for the DNNSB BSP competition and those on Signal and Communication (3:30-5:30pm in Exhibit Hall A/A1).
On Monday, January 5th, we will have talks in Session 47: Antennae (8:15-10:00am in B118/119) and posters on the subjects of Neural Structure & Function and Neuroplasticity (3:30-5:30pm in Exhibit Hall A/A1).
On Tuesday, January 6th, we will have DNNSB talks in Session 86: Neurobiology of Flight (8:00-9:30am in B118/119); Session 99: Color and Vision 1 (10:00am-noon in B118/119); and Session 112: Color and Vision 2 (1:30-3:30pm in B118/119). We will also have posters on Neuroanatomy and Development (3:30-5:30pm in Exhibit Hall A/A1).
On Wednesday, January 7th, we will have DNNSB talks in Session 122: Circuits, Adaptation, and Learning (8:00-10:00am in B114); Session 138: Hearing and Mechanosensation (10:00am-noon in B116); and Session 136: Odor and Olfaction (10:30am-noon in B114).
Best Student Presentations
We received 22 applicants for best student talks and selected eight for the DNNSB BSP talk session (Sunday, January 4, 8:00-10:00 am in Conference Center C123). These presentations are the best of the conference, so we encourage you to attend and check them out. We will announce the winner of the BSP talk competition at the DNNSB Divisional Social.
Congratulations to the following students for their selection into the BSP talk session:
- Rejana Pullarkat (UNC Wilmington)
- Alexandra Gurgis (Case Western)
- Leeah Richardson (UT Austin)
- Dana Lim (UNC Chapel Hill)
- Natalie Donato (Oregon State)
- Jadyn Sethna (UNC Chapel Hill)
- Zain Khalid (University of Florida)
- Lydia Naughton (UNC Wilmington)
ALL of the DNNSB student posters are in contention (as we voted last year not to limit poster competitors), which means we will need judges! Postdocs are eligible to judge, and we strongly encourage you to help. The DNNSB BSP poster session will take place on Sunday, January 4, from 3:30-5:30pm in Exhibit Hall A/AI in the Conference Center. Given the number of judges involved, we will announce the winner of the BSP poster competition after the meeting.
DNNSB Symposia for 2026
S05: Animals at the interface: locomotion, sensing, and behavior between air and water
Date and Location: Monday, January 5th in Conference Center C124
Organized by: Chris Roh and Margaret Byron
S06: Behavioral and environmental monitoring with open-source and low-cost tools
Date and Location: Monday, January 5th in Conference Center A105
Organized by: Yash Sondhi, Brett Seymoure, and Thomas Franzem
S07: Animal collective movement in complex environments
Date and Location: Tuesday, January 6th in Conference Center C120/121/122
Organized by: Yangfan Zhang and Hungtang Ko
S012: Disabled and neurodivergent perception, community, and identity in the biosciences
Date and Location: Wednesday, January 7th in Conference Center A105
Organized by: Taormina (Tara) Lepore, Sarah Knutie, Brooke Fitzwater, Kevin Neumann,
and Lorraine Pérez-Beauchamp
We are already excited for the DNNSB-related Symposia planned for the SICB 2027 meeting in Pittsburgh, PA. We will have more details on these soon. A call for proposals for Symposia for SICB 2028 in Los Angeles, CA, will go out in Summer 2026. It’s not too early to start planning!
Symposia related to neurobiology, sensory biology, and behavior are always well-received and nearly always make the cut. Please contact any of the DNNSB executive officers if you want feedback about your ideas. For more, please visit: https://sicb.org/propose-a-symposium/
For Students and Post-Docs
SPDAC is hosting a few events and programs during the SICB 2026 meeting in Portland.
Orientation and SPDAC General Meeting: Whether you are new or returning, join other students and postdocs at the SPDAC general meeting to meet your SPDAC reps, hear about opportunities, and learn how to maximize your time at SICB! The SPDAC Members Meeting will be held on January 3rd from 5:30-7:30 pm.
Non-academic jobs workshop: Interested in jobs outside of academia? SPDAC will be hosting a panel of scientists who have pursued careers in the government and private sectors on January 4th from 12:15 – 1:15 pm in Oregon Ballroom 201. Sign up when you register for the meeting if you are interested. Lunch will be provided for those that sign up!
SPDAC booth: SPDAC will be hosting a booth during poster sessions that will be covering a range of broad research approaches that can be incorporated into your research and future career. Keep an eye out for more information on the daily themes, or stop by for a chat with the SPDAC reps and pick up a SICB 2026 sticker!
Outreach
Be sure to follow @sicbmedia on Instagram and check out SICB’s YouTube page for presentations by SICB members. As mentioned above, we are looking for a social media representative for DNNSB. We are hoping they will coordinate the distribution of DNNSB material to the SICB-wide accounts and/or new DNNSB-focused accounts.