14th Annual CU-CSU Summit Presentations
Advancing Neurosciences: From Molecules to Mind, Thursday August 13, 2026
| Presentation | Speaker |
| Welcome and Opening Remarks | Ronald Sokol, MD, FAASLD, CCTSI Director, CU Anschutz |
| Stiff Person Syndrome: From the Spotlight to the Science - A New Therapeutic Era | Amanda Piquet, MD, Professor of Neurology, CU Anschutz |
| Using cryo-EM to evaluate the clinical translatability of mouse models of neurodegeneration | Amanda Woerman, PhD, Associate Professor, Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University |
| Antibody Responses Targeting Proteolipid Protein 1 Anchored Membrane Domains in Multiple Sclerosis: Pathogenicity, Antigen Complexity and Prevalence | Greg Owens, PhD, Research Professor of Neurology, CU Anschutz |
| An Exploration of Neuro-Inflammatory Mechanisms in Long COVD: the Role of SARS-CoV-2 Antigens | Matt Frank, PhD, Senior Research Associate, Integrative Physiology, CU Boulder |
| Mechanisms Linking Brain Aging and Neurodegeneration | Tom LaRocca, PhD, Associate Professor, Health and Exercise Science, Colorado State University |
| Cognitive Health in Obesity and Diabetes | Allison Shapiro, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Pediatrics, Endocrinology, CU Anschutz |
| Chronic TBI: The Clinic-Bench-Clinic Paradigm | Jeff Herbert, PhD, PT, Associate Professor, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, CU Anschutz |
| Effects of Alcohol and Cannabis on Brain Function | Josh Gowin, PhD, Associate Professor of Radiology, CU Anschutz |
| Lightning Talk 1 | Alexander Baumgartner, MD, CU Anschutz |
| Lightning Talk 2 | Aiden Flanagan, BS, Colorado State University |
| Lightning Talk 3 | Samuel Ruzzene, BS, CU Boulder |
| Lightning Talk 4 | Claire Vrooman, MS, CU Anschutz |
| A Fresh Perspective on Exercise Immunology: It's All in the Brain | Monika R. Fleshner, PhD, Professor, Integrative Physiology, CU Boulder |
| Sleep Disruption and the Brain: Implications for Cognition and Brain Health | Josiane Broussard, PhD, Associate Professor, Health and Exercise Science, Colorado State University |
| Small Microbes, Big Minds: The Gut's Connection to Brain Health | Andy Hoisington, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, CU Anschutz |
| Integrating Translational Models to Study Neurodegeneration in Geriatric Dogs with Cognitive Dysfunction | Julie Moreno, PhD, Associate Professor, Health and Radiological Sciences, Colorado State University |