Every semester we are proud to host outstanding seminar speakers. Seminars will be held at 9:00 AM in the following rooms.
Fall 2026 - 1459 PBDB unless otherwise noted
Spring 2027 - 1117 MERF unless otherwise noted
Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa-sponsored events.
Fall 2026 - Spring 2027 Seminar Schedule
Fall 2026
DATE | SPEAKER | EVENT | TITLE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 9 | Angela Smith (Sluka lab) Graduate Research Assistant Dept of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science | Work-in Progress | Hypothalamic A11 dopamine neurons in chronic pain |
| Sept 16 | Corey B. Simon, DPT, PhD Associate Professor Orthopedic Surgery Duke University | Visiting Speaker Host: Ruth Chimenti, PhD | Presurgical immune biomarkers associated with pain intensity and pain interference recovery after total knee arthroplasty: findings from the PRIME-Knee study |
| Sept 23 | Timothy Fleagle, PT (Chimenti lab) Graduate Research Assistant Dept of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science | WIP | AI in Research Discussion Understanding Pain in Achilles Tendinopathy: The Role of T2DM & Artificial Intelligence: Helpful Tool or Future Overlord? |
| Sept 30 | Yaroslav Andrianov (Usachev lab) Graduate Research Assistant | WIP | Single-bouton presynaptic gating revealed in ex vivo dual-color two-photon calcium imaging |
| Oct 7 | Andrew Schrepf, PhD Assistant Professor Anesthesiology Obstetrics and Gynecology University of Michigan | Visiting Speaker Host: Susan Lutgendorf, PhD | The neuroimmune interface in chronic pelvic pain |
| Oct 14 | Alex Keyes, PhD (Usachev lab) Ryo Sasaki, PT, PhD (Chimenti lab) | WIP | Role of Complement C5a/C5aR1 Signaling in Chronic Neuropathic Pain Why is their performance different? — Pain performance discordance and its potential mechanisms |
| Oct 21 | Michael Huebner (Sowers lab) Walter Saide, PhD (Strack lab) | WIP | The Role of PACAP in Migraine and Post-Traumatic Headache Mutation of PRKAR1B produces robust deficits in learning, development, and nociception |
| Oct 28 | World Congress on Pain | ||
| Nov 4 | Nicole Scheff, PhD Assistant Professor Center for Neuroscience University of Pittsburgh | Visiting Speaker Host: Yuriy Usachev, PhD | |
| Nov 11 | Zoe Sirotiak, DPT Barbara Van Gorp, DPT, PT Clinical Specialist Orthopedic Physical Therapy | WIP | |
| Nov 18 | Society for Neuroscience Meeting | ||
| Nov 25 | Holiday Fall Break | ||
| Dec 2 | Daniel Patrick Corrigan, PT, DPT, PhD Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Cleveland Clinic | Visiting Speaker Host: Laura Frey Law, PhD | |
| Dec 9 | Dioneia Araldi, PhD Ezgi Yarasir Gillette, PT, PhD | WIP | |
Spring 2026
Spring 2026
DATE | SPEAKER | EVENT | TITLE |
| Jan 21 | Victoria Abraira, PhD Associate Professor Dept of Cell Biology and Neuroscience Rutgers University | Visiting Speaker Host: Yuriy Usachev, PhD | Context is Key: How Spinal Cord Neuromodulation Shapes Our Somatosensory Experiences |
| Jan 28 | Carol Vance, PT, PhD Clinical Assoc Professor Kathleen Sluka, PT, PhD Professor Phys Therapy & Rehab Sci Dana Dailey, PT, PhD Asst Prof Scientist Phys Therapy & Rehab Sci | WIP | Design and Results from the Fibromyalgia TENS in Physical Therapy Study (FM-TIPS): an embedded pragmatic trial |
| Feb 11 | Adriana Della Pietra (Russo lab) | WIP | Comparison of Phyto- and Endocannabinoid Effects in Migraine Models |
| Feb 25 | Walter Saide, PhD (Strack lab) | WIP | Mutations of PRKAR1B produce robust deficits in learning, development, and nociception |
| Mar 4 | Stephani Sutherland, PhD Science Writer Communications Director Acute to Chronic Pain Signatures (A2CPS) Consortium Bloomberg School of Public Health Johns Hopkins University | Visiting Speaker Host: Angela Smith (Sluka lab) | Science communication in pain research and society |
| Mar 11 | Timothy Fleagle (Chimenti lab) | WIP | LOAD and Nutrition as interventions for individuals with Diabetes and Achilles tendiopathy (LOAD-N-DM) |
| Mar 18 | SPRING BREAK | ||
| aPR 1 | Angela Smith (Sluka lab) | WIP | Hypothalamic A11 dopamine neurons in chronic pain |
| Apr 8 | Christine Goertz, PhD Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery Duke School of Medicine | Visiting Speaker Host: Kathleen Sluka, PhD | In Search of the Holy Grail for Low Back Pain. Or Anything that Works at All |
| Apr 15 | Zahra Amerian (Chimenti lab) | WIP | Preliminary Exploration of Ultrasound Imaging Biomarker for the Myofascial Component of Heel Pain |
| Apr 22 | Giovanni Berardi, PT, PhD Asst Professor | WIP | Metabolomic Profiling to Differentiate Fibromyalgia From Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Osteoarthritis, and Pain-Free Controls |
| Apr 29 | Omid Khoshavi Najafabadi (Frey Law lab) | WIP | From Referent Pain Anchors to Scenario-Based Assessment: Rethinking Pain Catastrophizing |
| May 6 | Ezgi Yarasir, PT, PhD | WIP | Stability and Sensitivity to Change in Pain Distribution in Fibromyalgia: Effects of Intervention Using Body Map |
Fall 2025
Fall 2025
DATE | SPEAKE | EVENT | TITLE |
| Sept 24 | Adriana Della Pietra, PhD (Russo lab) | WIP | Reduced glymphatic flow and facial allodynia induced by CGRP and mTBI are treated by an α1-noradrenergic receptor antagonist. Serine Hydrolase inhibitor AKU-005 to enhance endocannabinoids for treatment of migraine. |
| Oct 1 | Angela Smith (Sluka lab) | WIP | Characterization of Hypothalamic A11 Dopamine Neurons |
| Oct 8 | Walter Saide, PhD (Strack lab) | WIP | Mutation of PRKAR1B produces robust deficits in neurodevelopment, learning, and nociception |
| Oct 15 | Agatha Greenway (Sowers lab) | WIP | The potential role of a cerebellar-cingulate circuit in migraine |
| Oct 22 | Garry Gold, PhD Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging Stanford University | Visiting Speaker Host: Ruth Chimenti, PhD | Osteoarthritis: New insights from Imaging |
| Oct 29 | Zoe Sirotiak (Kohut lab & Phillips lab) | WIP | Allostatic load and pain-related symptom burden: Linking biology to somatic experience |
| Nov 5 | Gregory F. Corder, PhD Asst Professor Depts of Psychiatry & Neuroscience University of Pennsylvania | Visiting Professor Host: Levi Sowers, PhD | Mimicking opioid analgesia in cortical pain circuits |
| Nov 12 | Ezgi Yarasir, PT, PhD (Sluka lab) Alex Keyes, PhD (Usachev lab) | WIP | Exercise-derived biomarkers Dynorphinergic neurons in the lateral pons inhibit inflammatory, neuropathic, and post-surgical pain via a descending circuit |
| Nov 19 | Society for Neuroscience | ||
| Nov 26 | Fall Break | ||
| Dec 3 | Paul Casella, MFA Office of Faculty Affairs & Development Dept of Pediatrics Univ of Iowa | Special Lecture | Writing for Publication |
| Dec 10 | Timothy Fleagle (Chimenti lab) | WIP | Exploring the link between Type 2 Diabetes and Achilles Tendinopathy |
Spring 2025
Spring 2025
Fall 2024
Fall 2024
Spring 2024
Spring 2024
| Date | Speaker | Event | Title |
| Wed. Jan 24 9:00 AM | Levi Sowers, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Pediatrics University of Iowa | Special Lecture: Technical Rigor | An introduction to the use of optogenetic and chemogenetic tools in behavior |
| Wed. Jan 31 9:00 AM | Louis Kolling, PhD (Marcinkiewcz lab) Postdoctoral Research Scholar Dept of Neuroscience & Pharmacology Micah Johnson (Hultman lab) Gradute Research Assistant Department of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics | Work-in Progress | Semaglutide: A dual intervention for metabolic dysfunction and psychiatric disorders?” Brain-wide local field potential connectivity patterns underlying an evoked migraine-related network |
| Wed. Feb 7 9:00 AM | Carolina Valencia, PhD Clinical Assistant Professor College of Health Sciences University of Texas at El Paso | Visiting Speaker Host: Dr. Frey-Law | |
| Wed. Feb 14 9:00 AM | Adriana Della Pietra, PhD (Russo lab) Postdoctoral Research Scholar Department of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics Erik Zorrilla (Russo lab) Graduate Research Assistant Department of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics | Work-in Progress | |
| Wed. Feb 21 9:00 AM | Emine Bayman, PhD Associate Professor Dept of Biostatistics College of Public Health University of Iowa | Work-in Progress | |
| Wed. Feb 28 9:00 AM | Christine Blaumueller, PhD Director, Senior Scientific Editor & Writing Consultant Scientific Editing & Research Communication Core University of Iowa | Special Lecture: Grant & Paper Writing Skills | |
| Wed. Mar 6 9:00 AM | Benedict Kolber, PhD Associate Professor Department of Neuroscience University of Texas at Dallas | Visiting Speaker Host: | |
| Wed. Mar 13 | SPRING BREAK | ||
| Wed. Mar 20 9:00 AM | Alex Keyes, PhD (Usachev lab) Postdoctoral Research Scholar Dept of Neuroscience & Pharmacology Kavita Solanki, PhD (Usachev lab) Postdoctoral Research Scholar Dept of Neuroscience & Pharmacology | Work-in Progress | |
| Wed. Mar 27 9:00 AM | Adam Janowski, DPT (Sluka lab) Graduate Research Assistant Dept of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science Robert Wiederien, DPT (Frey Law lab) Graduate Research Assistant Dept of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science | Work-in Progress | |
| Wed. Apr 3 9:00 AM | Eric Kaiser, MD, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Neurology Perelman School of Medicine University of Pennsylvania | Visiting Speaker Host: Dr. Russo | |
| Wed. Apr 10 9:00 AM | Katherine Hadlandsmyth, PhD Associate Professor Dept of Anesthesia University of Iowa | Work-in Progress | |
| Wed. Apr 17 9:00 AM | Karley Monaghan (Benson lab) Graduate Research Assistant Dept of Neuroscience & Pharmacology Andrew Post (Chimenti lab) Graduate Research Assistant Dept of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science | Work-in Progress | |
| Wed. Apr 24 9:00 AM | Yassini Filali (Hultman lab) Graduate Research Assistant Department of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics Yaroslav Andrianov (Usachev lab) Visiting Scholar Dept of Neuroscience & Pharmacology | Work-in Progress | |
| Wed. May 1 9:00 AM | Emine Bayman, PhD Associate Professor Department of Biostatistics College of Public Health University of Iowa | Special Lecture |
Fall 2023
Fall 2023
Date | Speaker | Event | Title |
| Aug 31 *1459 PBDB | WIP Series Introduction Drs. Kathleen Sluka and Yuriy Usachev Timothy Fleagle (Chimenti lab) Graduate Research Assistant Dept of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science | Work-in Progress | Minimal Clinically Important Difference of Movement-evoked Pain in Musculoskeletal Pain Conditions |
| Sept 20 | Adam Janowski, DPT (Sluka lab) Graduate Research Assistant Dept of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science | Statistics Interpretation I | Statistics Interpretation: P-values, Effect Sizes, and Biological/Clinical Significance |
| Sept 27 | Levi Sowers, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Pediatrics University of Iowa | Special Lecture: Technical Rigor | |
| Oct. 4 via Zoom | Steven Cohen, MD Professor of Anesthesiology & Critical Care Medicine Director, Pain Medicine Division of Medical Education Johns Hopkins University | Visiting Speaker Host: Dr. Chimenti | Nociplastic pain and other predictors of pain procedure outcomes |
| Oct. 11 | Shaoshuai (Shirley) Chen (St. Marie & Herr labs) Alex Glebov-McCloud (Strack lab) | Work-in Progress | Preventing Post-Herpetic Neuralgia Through Shingles Vaccination PRKAR1B Mutation that Reduces Pain Sensitivity in Individuals with Marbach-Schaaf Neurodevelopmental Syndrome |
| Oct. 18 | Adam Janowski, DPT (Sluka lab) Graduate Research Assistant Dept of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science | Statistics Interpretation II | Stats Integration II: ANOVA vs Regression, main effects, and interactions |
| Oct. 25 | NO MEETING | ||
| Nov 1 | Stephanie Shiers, PhD Research Scientist II Project Lead, Human Tissue Procurement and Processing Core University of Texas at Dallas | Visiting Speaker Host: Dr. Usachev | Investigation of pathological abnormalities of diabetic neuropathy in the human dorsal root ganglia |
| Nov. 8 | Ashley Plumb (Sluka lab) Graduate Research Assistant Dept of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science Angela Smith (Sluka lab) Graduate Research Assistant Dept of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science | Work-in Progress | Elucidating the role of testosterone in the descending pain pathway after activity-induced muscle pain
Exploring the role of descending dopaminergic pain modulation in the transition to chronic pain |
| Nov. 15 | Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting | ||
| Nov. 22 | Thanksgiving Break | ||
| Nov. 29 | Giovanni Berardi, PhD (Sluka lab) Robert Bowers, DDS | Work-in Progress | Post-exertional Malaise & Immune Changes Following Exercise in Long-COVID and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Predictors of pain outcomes in dentistry - potential correlations beyond the mouth |
| Dec. 6 | Jamie Morton, PhD, RN (St. Marie lab) Postdoctoral Research Scholar College of Nursing | Work-in Progress | Concurrent Use of TENS and Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment |