Denise Cai, PhD, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, has been selected as one of the Allen Institute for Brain Science’s 2017 Next Generation Leaders. She joins a group of six distinguished young researchers from institutions across the United States who will provide feedback in both formal and informal settings to young scientists at the Allen Institute, an independent research institute based in Seattle.

The program recognizes the outstanding and innovative contributions from emerging scientific leaders and fosters professional development by providing opportunities and informal training on how to serve as scientific advisors.

“I’m honored to be a part of the Next Generation Leaders Council at the Allen Institute, as this institute has led the way in developing platforms for open sharing of neuroscience tools and approaches to big data,” says Dr. Cai. “I look forward to learning more about how to integrate experimental and theoretical approaches through collaborative team science.”

Next Generation Leaders are selected each year through a competitive application process from a pool of international applicants. This fourth cohort of Next Generation Leaders includes members from institutions around the country, each of whom will serve a three-year term on the council.

Dr. Cai joined the Department of Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in 2017. She obtained her PhD in Experimental Psychology and Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of California, San Diego, where she studied the role of sleep in memory in both humans and mice. Prior to joining Mount Sinai, Dr. Cai was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles, where her research focused on how memories are formed and linked across time. At Mount Sinai, Dr. Cai’s team investigates the temporal dynamics of how memories are formed, integrated, and separated and studies how aging contributes to cognitive decline. Her lab uses a multi-level approach, including in vivo imaging, optogenetics, chemogenetics, and behavioral assays.

"Dr. Cai is an outstanding scientist who is making significant contributions early in her career," says Paul J. Kenny, PhD, Ward-Coleman Professor and Chair of the Arthur M. Fishberg Department of Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "We are thrilled that the Allen Institute has recognized her potential and has chosen her to join their advisory council."
The Next Generation Leaders council will convent at this year’s Showcase Symposium, held in Seattle December 13 and 14. Dr. Cai and other new members will give presentations on their work and meet with Allen Institute researchers.

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