Sensory Systems: Interoception and Exteroception (J3)
January 18-21, 2027
| Keystone Resort, Keystone, CO, United States
Stephen Liberles and Vanessa Ruta
Scholarship Deadline: Oct. 7, 2026 | Abstract Deadline: Dec. 29, 2026 | Early Registration Deadline: Nov. 19, 2026
| 4:00–8:00 PM |
Registration |
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| 6:00–8:00 PM |
Welcome Mixer |
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Tuesday, January 19, 2027
| 8:00–8:10 AM |
Welcome Remarks (Joint) |
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| 8:10–9:00 AM |
Keynote Address (Joint) |
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Misha Ahrens, Janelia Research Campus
Whole-Brain, All-Optical Interrogation of Neuronal Dynamics Underlying Gut Interoception |
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| 9:00–11:30 AM |
Body-Brain Interoception I (Joint) |
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Stephen Liberles, Harvard Medical School
Mechanisms of Body-Brain Communication |
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Kara Marshall, Baylor College of Medicine
Under Pressure: The Role of PIEZO Ion Channels in Interoception |
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Isabel Espinosa Medina, Janelia Research Campus - Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Brain Meets Pancreas: Patterned Innervation Shapes Adult Metabolic Control |
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Alejandro Lopez, UCSF
Short Talk: Functional Segregation of Body-Brain Signals in the Area Postrema |
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Emily Robinson, MIT
Short Talk: A Vagal-to-Sympathetic Reflex Controls Lung Vascular Leak |
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| 9:30–9:50 AM |
Coffee Break |
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| 11:30–1:00 PM |
Poster Setup |
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| 11:30–2:30 PM |
On Own for Lunch |
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| 1:00–10:00 PM |
Poster Viewing |
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| 2:30–4:30 PM |
Symposia Spotlight 1: Frontiers of Sensory Neuroscience |
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Mark Dombrovski, University of Colorado Boulder
Short Talk: From Vision to Action: Molecular Control of Synaptic Connectivity Shaping Visual Behavior |
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Seungwon (Sebastian) Choi †, UT Southwestern Medical Center
Short Talk: Functional Dissection of the Brainstem Touch Circuits |
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Zachary R Lewis, Allen Institute for Brain Science
Short Talk: Defining Sympathetic Cell Types and Circuits in Brain-Body Communication |
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Brooke C Jarvie †, University of California, San Francisco
Short Talk: Gut–Brain Control of Postprandial Gastrointestinal Motility |
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Gwenaelle S. Geleoc †, Boston Children's Hospital
Short Talk: Patient-derived Retinal and Inner Ear Organoids to Assess Therapies for Usher Syndrome |
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Florian Hollunder, The Rockefeller University
Short Talk: A Circuit Logic for Social Flexibility in Drosophila |
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Peng Li †, University of Michigan
Short Talk: Interoceptive Circuits for the Generation and Modulation of Breathing Patterns |
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Andrew Shuster †, Harvard Medical School
Short Talk: The Functional Diversification of Somatosensory Neuron Repertoires Across Mammalia |
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| 4:30–5:00 PM |
Coffee Available |
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Victoria Abraira, Rutgers University
Context is Key: How Spinal Cord Neuromodulation Shapes Our Somatosensory Experiences |
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Alexander Chesler, Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Molecules and Cells for Touch, Thermosensation, and Pain |
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David D. Ginty, HHMI/Harvard Medical School
Touch Sensory Neurons and their Spinal Cord Circuits |
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Nitsan Goldstein, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Short Talk: Central Amygdala Neurons Regulate Autonomic Responses to Pain |
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Lindsey Salay †, Caltech
How Touch Drives Desire: A Circuit Linking Contact and Affective State |
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| 7:00–8:00 PM |
Social Hour with Dinner |
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| 7:30–10:00 PM |
Poster Session 1 |
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Wednesday, January 20, 2027
| 8:00–8:50 AM |
Keynote Address (Joint) |
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Mark L. Andermann, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
How Motivation Shapes Perception |
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| 8:50–9:10 AM |
Coffee Break |
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| 8:50–11:10 AM |
Body-Brain Interoception II (Joint) |
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Sung-Yon Kim, Seoul National University
Transforming Body Signals into Behavior: How Swallowing Quenches Thirst |
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Amber L. Alhadeff, Monell Chemical Senses Center
Dissociating Circuits for Satiety and Aversion |
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Yoav Livneh, Weizmann Institute of Science
Sensations and Prediction in Brain-Body Interactions |
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Britya Ghosh, Baylor College of Medicine
Short Talk: Role of GI Mechanosensation in Sensing Fullness State and Shaping Feeding Behavior |
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Chen Ran, The Scripps Research Institute
Short Talk: Anatomical and Functional Architecture of Ascending Brainstem Interoceptive Pathways |
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| 11:10–1:00 PM |
Poster Setup |
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| 11:10–3:00 PM |
On Own for Lunch |
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| 1:00–10:00 PM |
Poster Viewing |
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| 3:00–4:30 PM |
Career Roundtable |
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| 4:30–5:00 PM |
Coffee Available |
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| 5:00–7:00 PM |
Eyes and Ears |
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Katie Kindt, NIDCD - National Institute of Health
Using Transgenic Zebrafish to Light up Hair-Cell Synapse Formation and Function |
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Jeffrey R. Holt, Boston Children's Hospital
Mechanotransduction in Auditory Hair Cells: A Tale of Two Channels |
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Wei Li, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine
Biology of Glaucoma: Feeling the Pressure |
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Xin Duan, University of California, San Francisco
Perivascular Neurons Instruct 3D Vascular Lattice Formation via Neurovascular Contact |
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| 7:00–8:00 PM |
Social Hour with Dinner |
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| 7:30–10:00 PM |
Poster Session 2 |
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Thursday, January 21, 2027
| 8:00–11:00 AM |
Chemosensation |
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Vanessa Ruta, Rockefeller University
Circuits for Adaptive Behaviors |
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Emily Liman, University of Southern California
How We Taste - Diverse Roles of a Proton Channel |
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Maude Baldwin, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology
Evolution of Sensory and Physiological Systems |
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Raquel A Reilly, Yale University
Short Talk: Temperature Sensing by an Insect Gustatory Receptor |
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Yijie Pan †, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Short Talk: Homeostatic Scaling in an Olfactory Learning Circuit Compensates for Inter-individual Variation |
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James Jeanne †, Yale University
Short Talk: Structured Glomerular Convergence Implements Olfactory Feature Combination |
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Bhagyashree Senapati †, University of Oxford
Short Talk: Visceral Signaling of Post-Ingestive Malaise Directs Memory Updating in Drosophila |
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| 9:00–9:20 AM |
Coffee Break |
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| 11:00–2:30 PM |
On Own for Lunch |
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| 2:30–4:30 PM |
Symposia Spotlight 2: Frontiers of Sensory Neuroscience 2 |
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Eric Figueroa †, University of California, San Francisco
Short Talk: Female Gut Pain: Estrogen Hijacks a Gut Paracrine Pathway |
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Zhikai Liu, Harvard Medical School
Short Talk: Vagal Blood Volume Receptors Compensate for Hemorrhage and Posture Change |
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Marcin Szczot †, Linkoping University, Sweden
Short Talk: Hierarchical Organization of Pelvic Mechanosensory Pathways Revealed by Activity Labeling |
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Zixuan Deng †, The University of Chicago
Natural Motion Statistics Unify Direction Computations |
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Teja Pratap Bollu, Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Short Talk: A Neural Geometry for Forelimb Proprioception in the Cervical Spinal Cord |
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Ilayda Alkislar †, UCSF
Short Talk: Emotional Brain Center Evokes Learned Breath-Holds to Avoid Airborne Irritants |
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Allan-Hermann Pool, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Short Talk: Wiring Injury to Pain: Cell-Type Logic of the Spinal Cord's Ascending Output |
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Ling-Yu Liu, University of Michigan
Short Talk: Brainstem Premotor Circuits Transform Dental Sensory Input into Coordinated Jaw Opening |
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| 4:30–5:00 PM |
Coffee Available |
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| 5:00–6:45 PM |
Somatosensation |
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Theanne N. Griffith, UC Davis
New Insights into Sodium Channel Function in Somatosensory Neurons |
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John Tuthill, University of Washington
Neural Control of Respiration in Drosophila |
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Ishmail John Abdus-Saboor, Columbia University
Body-Brain Circuit for Lung Cancer Induced Pain |
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Zoe K Sarafis †, Harvard University
Short Talk: Structural and Biomechanical Basis of Pacinian Vibration Tuning |
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| 6:45–7:00 PM |
Meeting Wrap-Up: Outcomes and Future Directions |
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| 7:00–8:00 PM |
Social Hour with Dinner |
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| 8:00–11:00 PM |
Entertainment |
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