Sponsored by:
Venue: THE POINT ROOFTOP BAR & RESTAURANT
The International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) promotes neuroscience internationally through training, education, research, outreach, and the publication of two journals, Neuroscience and IBRO Neuroscience Reports. With a vast global community of alumni, IBRO is committed to supporting researchers at all career stages worldwide.
Joined by Co-Chief Editor of Neuroscience, Prof. Sarah Spencer, and Dr. Jana Vukovic, IBRO Asia-Pacific Committee Member, IBRO President Prof. Tracy L. Bale will introduce the rich ecosystem of international career development opportunities within IBRO.
During the event, attendees will be able to network with IBRO representatives and other peers in a celebratory atmosphere, fostering community and collaboration while enjoying drinks and fruitful exchanges.
Speakers (by order of presentation)
Tracy L. Bale, PhD
President of IBRO
Tracy L. Bale is the Anschutz Foundation Endowed Chair in Women's Integrated Mental and Physical Health at the Ludeman Center and Professor and Director for InterGenerational Stress and Health and the Director for Sex Differences Research in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Washington in the Department of Pharmacology and her postdoctoral work at the Salk Institute with Dr. Wylie Vale. Her research focuses on the role of stress in neuropsychiatric disease and the sex differences that underlie disease vulnerability in humans using the mouse as a preclinical model. She serves on many advisory boards, including the NIMH Board of Scientific Counselors, and has received numerous awards, including the Medtronic Award from the Society for Women’s Health Research and the Daniel H. Efron Award from the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. She is the current President of the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO).
Sarah J. Spencer, PhD
Co-Chief Editor of Neuroscience
Prof. Sarah J. Spencer studied physiology at the University of Otago in New Zealand, followed by a physiology PhD at the University of Queensland, Australia, examining the role of the prefrontal cortex in control of the stress response. She performed post-doctoral work in Canada (Calgary University) into early life programming of the neuroimmune response and followed this up with research at Monash and then RMIT Universities in Melbourne, Australia into early life stress, obesity, immune challenge and how they alter the brain. Her current work centers around microglia and how they respond to challenges. Current ARC, NHMRC and JPND-funded projects in the lab investigate risk factors and markers for early detection of Alzheimer’s Disease; visualizing retinal microglia as a window into brain inflammation; understanding glial scarring in brain repair and identifying the mental health impact of juvenile SARS-CoV-2. She joined the IBRO journal, Neuroscience as a Co-Chief Editor in January 2024 and is based out of RMIT University in Australia.
Jana Vukovic, PhD
IBRO Asia-Pacific Regional Committee (APRC) member
Dr. Jana Vukovic heads the Neuroimmunology and Cognition team investigating the interactions between the brain and the immune system in health and disease. Dr. Vukovic received her PhD in 2008 from The University of Western Australia after working on the repair of injured nerve cell connections. She joined the Queensland Brain Institute at The University of Queensland (Australia) in 2009 to work in Professor Perry Bartlett’s laboratory before being awarded a Queensland Government Smart Futures Fellowship to continue her research into the importance of adult neurogenesis for behaviour and how microglia influence this process in ageing. Dr. Vukovic was awarded an ARC DECRA (2015-2018) and was jointly appointed as a group leader by the University of Queensland’s School of Biomedical Sciences (Faculty of Medicine) and the Queensland Brain Institute in 2015. In 2020, Dr. Vukovic was awarded the Viertel Senior Medical Fellowship to investigate the role of microglia and inflammatory processes following brain injury. Dr. Vukovic is a current member of the IBRO Asia-Pacific Regional Committee (APRC).