Summits & Symposia

The Raynor Cerebellum Project hosts regular events convening experts and collaborators in the field of cerebellar research. Our inaugural event, the Big Ideas Summit, took place in September 2022 — a summit with a diverse group of leading scientists who engaged in collaborative brainstorming to develop innovative research directions with the potential to improve the lives of people with cerebellar disease.

Upcoming Summits & Symposia

2024 RCP Big Ideas Summit

The 2024 Big Ideas Summit will be focused on creating new approaches to use invasive and non-invasive neural stimulation as a therapy for patients with cerebellar disorders. Participants of the Summit will include Neuroscientists, Neurosurgeons, and Neurologists, as well as experts in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Engineering

The Summit is not a conventional meeting, most of the time will be devoted to collaborative brainstorming, and there will be few or no talks or presentations.
The RCP plans to award one to two large grants ($5M) soon after the summit and possibly up to three in the next two years. The first $5M grant recipient will need to include a participant from the 2024 Summit.
The speed and magnitude of the funding opportunities are reflective of the RCP’s dedication to spark a major breakthrough in the neural stimulation field.

2nd Annual Big Ideas Summit

April 9-12, 2023
Scottsdale, Arizona

More information coming soon!

Historical Summits & Symposia

2022 RCP Big Ideas Summit

The 2022 Big Ideas Summit brought together an interdisciplinary group of more than 40 outstanding researchers to brainstorm and identify the most critical questions in the field with a strong but not exclusive focus on advancing areas with the greatest potential to improve the lives of individuals suffering from cerebellar diseases.

Identified and developed 4-6 major funding initiatives to be used to guide future publication of requests for applications
Participated in intensive, interactive, and free-thinking workshops aimed
at stimulating ideas for promising new research approaches and theories that can deepen our understanding of cerebellar disorders
Brought together researchers in systems and cognitive neuroscience, molecular/genetic neuroscience, disease modeling, neuroimaging, neurorehabilitation, and human translational neuroscience who are interested in forming new collaborations and developing innovative approaches to address challenges and advance scientific questions related to cerebellar research.

Inaugural Big Ideas Summit

September 16-18, 2022
Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa
Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico

2022 Big Ideas Summit Participants

Amy Bastian, Ph.D., P.T.
- Professor, Johns Hopkins University
- Chief Science Officer, Kennedy Krieger Institute
- Expertise in human studies of cerebellar dysfunction and rehabilitation strategies. Recent specific interest in cerebellar dysfunction during childhood.

Reza Shadmehr, Ph.D., M.S.
- Professor, Johns Hopkins University
- International leader in theory of movement control including human and animal model studies with a longstanding focus on cerebellar disease.

Timothy Ebner, M.D., Ph.D.
- Professor, University of Minnesota
- Expertise in the study of single neuron level cerebellar function in nonhuman primate models. Such models are an important consideration for RCP.

Mary Hatten, Ph.D.
- Professor, The Rockefeller University
- International leader in understanding how the cerebellum is formed during development and how that developmental program can be disrupted.

John Krakauer, M.D., M.A.
- Professor, Johns Hopkins University
- International leader in the theory of movement control and in the development of novel rehabilitation strategies, including unique immersive virtual environments.

Stephen Lisberger, Ph.D.
- Professor, Duke University
- International leader in how the cerebellum promotes learning of new skills and functions together with other brain areas.

Abigail Person, Ph.D.
- Associate Professor, University of Colorado
- Earlier career scientist with expertise in cerebellar circuits and movement control.

Indira Raman, Ph.D.
- Professor, Northwestern University
- International leader in ion channel molecules in the cerebellum. Mutations in these channels cause cerebellar diseases and are potential drug targets.

Sascha du Lac, Ph.D.
- Professor, Johns Hopkins University
- Expertise in both intrinsic and broader circuit-based understanding cerebellar function and its contribution to complex behavior.

Megan Carey, Ph.D.
- Group Leader, Champalimaud Center for the Unknown
- Expertise in cerebellum and its connection to other brain areas focusing on its role in coordinated movements. Additional expertise in quantitative behavioral analyses (e.g., advanced motion tracking).

Laurens Witter, Ph.D.
- Assistant Professor, Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital, University Medical Center Utrecht
- Early career investigator focused on the formation of “output” signals from the cerebellum that influence other brain regions.

Justus Kebschull, Ph.D.
- Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins University
- Early career investigator studying cerebellar development and using/developing cutting-edge genetic technologies to enhance understanding the diversity of cerebellar cells.

Javier Medina, Ph.D.
- Vivian L Smith Professor, Baylor College of Medicine
- International leader in understanding how cerebellar circuits use movement errors to enhance performance and the mechanisms by which these circuits also reinforce skilled movement.

Michael Hausser, DPhil
- Professor of Neuroscience, University College London
- International leader in how cerebellar circuits obtain and share information to support the computations required for efficient movement and thoughts. Strong computational expertise in addition to neuroscience.

Kathleen Millen, Ph.D.
- Professor/Associate Director, University of Washington/Seattle Children’s Research Institute
- International leader in development of the cerebellum and the genetic abnormalities that cause cerebellar malformations.

Chris De Zeeuw, M.D., Ph.D.
- Professor, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Chairman, Department of Neuroscience; Vice- Director, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience
- International leader in cerebellar function and dysfunction and more generally in movement control. Also does work exploring the intersection of neuroscience and robotics for therapy.

Roy Sillitoe, Ph.D.
- Professor, Baylor College of Medicine
- Expertise in understanding cerebellar development and the dissection of rodent models of human cerebellar disease.

Court Hull, Ph.D.
- Associate Professor, Duke University
- Expertise in dissecting cerebellar circuits with seminal contributions to understanding cerebellum role in reward.

Sheng-Han Kuo, M.D.
- Associate Professor, Columbia University
- Expertise in mechanisms whereby cerebellar dysfunction causes tremor.

Dagmar Timmann, M.D.
- Professor, Essen University Hospital, University of Duisburg-Essen
- Expertise in neuroimaging and neuromodulation studies of patients with cerebellar damage relevant to movement and cognitive function.

Anila D’Mello, Ph.D.
- Assistant Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT – August 2022) UT Southwestern (Sept 2022)
- New UTSW faculty member using advanced brain imaging in children and adults to define and dissect cognitive functions of cerebellum, including link to autism.

Catherine Stoodley, D. Phil.
- Provost Associate Professor, American University
- Expertise in human brain imaging of the developing cerebellum in typical and disease states, especially its role non-motor functions (including autism)

Richard Ivry, Ph.D.
- Professor, University of California, Berkeley
- Expertise in studies human subjects to dissect role of cerebellum in skill learning and social cognition.

Jörn Diedrichsen, Ph.D.
- Western Research Chair, Western University
- International leader in human brain imaging focused on defining functional organization of cerebellum and its connections with wider brain areas. Specific interest in cognitive functions of cerebellum.

Adam Hantman, Ph.D.
- Associate Professor, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
- Expertise in delineating how cerebellum, cortex, and basal ganglia communicate with each other and how this interaction goes awry in disease.

Paul Chadderton, Ph.D.
- Associate Professor, University of Bristol
- Expertise in studying mechanisms of neuron-to-neuron communication in cerebellum.

Michael Mauk, Ph.D.
- Professor, University of Texas at Austin
- Expertise in computational biology and theoretical models of cerebellar function and dysfunction.

Fekrije Selimi, DR2 CNRS
- Group Leader/Research Director, Collège de France, CNRS
- Expertise in how normal synaptic connections are established and maintained both within cerebellum and for other brain regions that send inputs to cerebellum.

Amanda Therrien, Ph.D.
- Institute Scientist, Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute
- Junior investigator with expertise in development of novel rehabilitative strategies for patients with cerebellar disease.

Jennifer Raymond, Ph.D.
- Professor, Stanford University
- Expert in circuit mechanisms of cerebellum control of motor learning and adaptation to sensory perturbations.

Jason Christie, Ph.D.
- Associate Professor, University of Colorado School of Medicine
- Expertise in circuit mechanism of cerebellar control of motor and cognitive functions with specific expertise in inhibitory mechanisms.

Phyllis Faust, M.D., Ph.D.
- Professor, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
- Expertise in neuropathology of cerebellar disease in humans and rodent models.

Erik Carlson, M.D., Ph.D.
- Assistant Professor, University of Washington
- Expertise in intersection between reward and cerebellar circuit, especially in relationship to cognitive disorders. Rodent and human studies.

Bradley Schlaggar, M.D., Ph.D.
- President & CEO, Kennedy Krieger Institute
- International leader in pediatric neurology and developmental neuroscience with strong expertise in brain imaging.

Samuel Young, Ph.D.
- Professor, University of Iowa
- Expertise in ion channel molecules Mutations in these channels causes cerebellar diseases and are potential drug targets.

Detlef Heck, Ph.D.
- Professor, University of Tennessee Health Science Center
- Expertise in the interaction of the cerebellum with the cerebral cortex in context of motor and cognitive function.