Megan Kirchgessner, PhD
@megkirch.bsky.social
🧠 scientist in NYC. NIDCD K99 fellow in Froemke lab @NYUmed. audition👂2P imaging 🔬and developmental systems neuro 👶. Prev: Simons Jr Fellow, UCSD NGP. Stories of WiN co-founder/director, marathon runner, foodie, IPA lover, and overly enthusiastic dog mom
Our latest profile is here! Dr. Lea Duncker (@leaduncker.bsky.social) uses statistical and theoretical approaches to study the neural basis of flexible behavior. Follow the link below to learn more! #StoriesOfWiN #WomenInNeuroscience www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
Dr. Lea Duncker — Stories of WiN
uses statistical and theoretical approaches to study the neural basis of flexible behavior
storiesofwin.org
Our next profile is here! Dr. Francesca Siclari studies how dreams can inform our understanding of consciousness. To learn more follow the link below! #StoriesOfWiN #WomenInNeuroscience www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
Dr. Francesca Siclari — Stories of WiN
studies how dreams can inform our understanding of consciousness
storiesofwin.org
It was such a joy to write about @binxuwang.bsky.social for @storiesofwin.bsky.social ! Really loved her story of her journey into neuroscience from physics, and looking forward to following her work as she entires an exciting new chapter of her career!!
Stories of WiN@storiesofwin.bsky.social · 4w agoOur next profile is here! Dr. Binxu Wang (@binxuwang.bsky.social) studies how representations are generated in the brain and in AI models. Follow the link below to learn more! #StoriesOfWiN #WomenInNeuroscience www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
🚨Applications are now open for our S.P.i.N.E.S. Postdoc Seminar Series 2026/2027! Deadline August 15th. Find all info and link to the application here: med.nyu.edu/departments-...
We're excited to share our latest profile! Dr. Suzanne Haber studies the circuits underlying reward-based learning & decision making, and how those circuits can be therapeutically targeted to treat disease. Follow the link below to learn more! #WomenInNeuro www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
Dr. Suzanne Haber — Stories of WiN
studies the circuits underlying reward-based learning and decision making, and how those circuits can be therapeutically targeted to treat disease
storiesofwin.org
We are thrilled to announce the 2026 Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Fellows! 40 remarkable postdocs pursuing transformative research in biological/biomedical sciences. This is the 7th Leading Edge cohort and we are so excited to welcome them! www.leadingedgesymposium.org/fellows/
Thrilled to shared our new preprint with @djabaudon.bsky.social ! Led by Ilaria Morassut, we explored "the extent to which early brain maturation requires interactions with the outside world". This wouldn't have been possible without our incredible collaborators, specially the @lanevol.bsky.social 🧵
Check out our latest profile! Dr. Megan Peters (@meganakpeters.bsky.social) studies how the brain represents & uses uncertainty and she also co-founded the online summer school, Neuromatch Academy. Learn more at the link below! #WomenInNeuroscience #StoriesOfWiN www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
Dr. Megan Peters — Stories of WiN
studies how the brain represents and uses uncertainty and she also co-founded the online summer school, Neuromatch Academy
storiesofwin.org
Since we’ve been running @storiesofwin.bsky.social for 7 years (!!!) now, I’ve started relistening to some of our older interviews and I will periodically reshare some of my favorites!
Our latest profile is here! Dr. Evgenia Salta studies the connection between neurodegeneration and neurogenesis. Follow the link below to learn more! #StoriesOfWiN #WomenInNeuroscience www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
Dr. Evgenia Salta — Stories of WiN
studies the connection between neurodegeneration and neurogenesis
storiesofwin.org
I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Carol over the last few years through the Simons SoF, so it was a particular joy to interview and write about her for Stories of WiN! I deeply admire her scientific contributions as well as her mentorship and leadership - we talked about all that and more!
Stories of WiN@storiesofwin.bsky.social · 3mo agoOur latest profile is here! Dr. Carol Mason (@carolannmason.bsky.social) studies the development of connectivity between the eyes and the brain. Click the link below to listen and learn more! www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202... #StoriesOfWiN #WomenInNeuroscience
Astrocytes do so much more than any of us thought - they even communicate among specific brain regions across hemispheres! The journey to this paper spanned nearly a decade, but I'm most excited to see what everyone else does with the tools we've built. There's so much for all of us to explore!
Astrocytes connect specific brain regions through plastic networks - Nature
Communication between distant brain regions is mediated by plastic networks of gap junction-coupled astrocytes.
nature.com
Check out our new profile! Dr. Anila D'Mello (@aniladmello.bsky.social) studies language and cognition, and how the underlying brain circuits are altered in neurodevelopmental disorders. Follow the link below to learn more! #WomenInNeuroscience #StoriesOfWiN www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
Dr. Anila D'Mello — Stories of WiN
studies language and cognition, and how the underlying brain circuits are altered in neurodevelopmental disorders
storiesofwin.org
Check out our latest profile! Dr. Laura DeNardo (@ladenardo.bsky.social) studies how the mPFC integrates environmental cues to control adaptive responses to threat. Click below to learn more! #StoriesOfWiN #WomenInNeuroscience www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
Dr. Laura DeNardo — Stories of WiN
studies how the mPFC integrates environmental cues to control adaptive responses to threat
storiesofwin.org
📣📣📣 This is a call for PhD students in neuroscience! ✅ Are you a senior PhD student in neuroscience? 🧠 ✅ Looking for career development opportunities?💼 ✅ Want to visit NYC in spring?🗽 ✅ Considering a postdoc at NYU? 🥼 ✅Apply for CoNNExINS! wp.nyu.edu/connexins/ Please RT!
“Astrocytes in the lateral septum may explain, or be at the basis of, the sex differences we observe in terms of social fear.” –Alexandre Charlet. By Holly Barker www.thetransmitter.org/spectrum/ast...
Astrocytes orchestrate oxytocin’s social effects in mice
The cells amplify oxytocin—and may be responsible for sex differences in social behavior, two preprints find.
thetransmitter.org
I had a great time talking to Meenakshi about my trajectory through neuroscience! Tune in for electric fish, imaging the hypothalamus, and trying to find a path in theory that stays relevant to the brain. Also, my early phd experiences of trying to do science when real life rears its head.
Stories of WiN@storiesofwin.bsky.social · 5mo agoWe apologize for the delay but our next profile is here! Dr. Ann Kennedy (@antihebbiann.bsky.social) combines theory & biological data to study how internal states shape social behavior by reconfiguring neural circuit dynamics. Follow the link to learn more! www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
We apologize for the delay but our next profile is here! Dr. Ann Kennedy (@antihebbiann.bsky.social) combines theory & biological data to study how internal states shape social behavior by reconfiguring neural circuit dynamics. Follow the link to learn more! www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
My travel to Cosyne was barred by the Trump admin, so I'm here on my personal dime. I care about the COSYNE community, I committed to co-chairing. And I always learn here. But the worst part about this travel ban is my lab colleagues— students and fellows—couldn't come. /1
Excited to be in Lisbon for my first #cosyne26 and to present TONIGHT on my work on developmental changes to spectral tuning and vocalization processing (and their interactions) in the postnatal auditory cortex! Poster 1-167, come to learn more or just to see me fight through the jet lag!
1/7 🧠 My journey into development begins with this work and question: how does the brain's spatial navigation system develop? We found that the neural networks for spatial navigation (tori and rings) are preconfigured and only later anchor gradually to the world with experience! 🧵
Edvard I Moser@edvardmoser.bsky.social · 5mo agoIs spatial navigation innate 🧠? Using #NeuroPixels we show that the #torus 🍩 underlying the #GridCell map exists already on day 10 in rats — before pups open eyes and ears and before they start upright walking. 🧵1:4 👇 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
I’m so honoured to be featured in Stories of WIN this month - sharing my career journey and how storytelling changed everything for me! 🧪🎙️
Stories of WiN@storiesofwin.bsky.social · 5mo agoHappy #WomensHistoryMonth! Thank you for helping us appreciate women in neuro & their stories! We believe in the power of storytelling, & our latest profile highlights Dr. Paula Croxson (@paulacroxson.bsky.social) who made science communication her career. Enjoy! www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
Had a blast talking to @doctheagrif.bsky.social and writing her profile! We talked about her spark for neuroscience, her awesome research on sensory physiology and proprioception, her additional work as a prolific children’s book author, highs and lows of her journey, and more!
Stories of WiN@storiesofwin.bsky.social · 6mo agoOur latest profile is here! Dr. Theanne Griffith (@doctheagrif.bsky.social) studies molecular, cellular, and circuit mechanisms for proprioception. Follow the link below to listen to our full interview! www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202... #WomenInNeurosciene #StoriesOfWiN
Our next profile is here! Dr. Eva Pool studies the role of affect in learning and decision making. Follow the link below to listen and learn more 💜 www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202... #StoriesOfWiN #WomenInNeuroscience
Where does learning through imitation happen in the brain? In juvenile zebra finches, we pinpoint a synaptic locus of song learning in a cortico-basal ganglia circuit and leverage this localization to measure the timescale of consolidation and make birds learn faster! #neuroskyence (1/14)
A synaptic locus of song learning
Learning by imitation is the foundation for verbal and musical expression, but its underlying neural basis remains obscure. A juvenile male zebra finch imitates the multisyllabic song of an adult tutor in a process that depends on a song-specialized cortico-basal ganglia circuit, affording a powerful system to identify the synaptic substrates of imitative motor learning. Plasticity at a particular set of cortico-basal ganglia synapses is hypothesized to drive rapid learning-related changes in song before these changes are subsequently consolidated in downstream circuits. Nevertheless, this hypothesis is untested and the synaptic locus where learning initially occurs is unknown. By combining a computational framework to quantify song learning with synapse-specific optogenetic and chemogenetic manipulations within and directly downstream of the cortico-basal ganglia circuit, we identified the specific cortico-basal ganglia synapses that drive the acquisition and expression of rapid vocal changes during juvenile song learning and characterized the hours-long timescale over which these changes consolidate. Furthermore, transiently augmenting postsynaptic activity in the basal ganglia briefly accelerates learning rates and persistently alters song, demonstrating a direct link between basal ganglia activity and rapid learning. These results localize the specific cortico-basal ganglia synapses that enable a juvenile songbird to learn to sing and reveal the circuit logic and behavioral timescales of this imitative learning paradigm. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. National Institutes of Health, K99 NS144525 (DCS), F32 MH132152 (DCS), F31 HD098772 (SB), R01 NS099288 (RM), RF1 NS118424 (RM and JP)
biorxiv.org
We're excited to share our next profile! Dr. Carla Shatz is a pioneering neuroscientist whose work reveals how early neural activity sculpts developing brain circuits & informs our understanding of neuroplasticity & neurodegenerative disease. Learn more below! www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
Dr. Carla Shatz — Stories of WiN
studies how early neural activity sculpts developing brain circuits and informs our understanding of neuroplasticity and neurodegenerative disease.
storiesofwin.org
🤓 So grateful to learn from powerhouses like Erin and @huda-akil.bsky.social during our Stories of WiN panel. We spoke about defining your legacy in science & beyond and a clear theme emerged: do science & lead according to your values. Listen here: www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
There was so much amazing wisdom and inspiration shared at this event - listen for yourself!!
Stories of WiN@storiesofwin.bsky.social · 7mo agoWe're kicking off 2026 with a special episode! Check out our panel discussion from our in-person event: Defining Your Legacy in Science and Beyond featuring @theerincalipari.bsky.social, @denisejcai.bsky.social & @huda-akil.bsky.social 💜 Listen below: www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
Well it’s been quite a year 🫠 but I’m happy and tremendously grateful to close it out on a personal science high-note - Ill be going to my first ever Cosyne, and I officially received the NOA for my K99/R00 from NIDCD 🙏 thank you Santa ie hardworking NIH staff for the best possible holiday gift 🥹
Such a pleasure to interview and write about @aliciache.bsky.social for our latest @storiesofwin.bsky.social ! I’ve admired her work for a while but loved hearing more about the backstory and her personal journey!
Stories of WiN@storiesofwin.bsky.social · 8mo agoWe're excited to share our latest profile! Dr. Alicia Che studies how early-life experiences impact cortical circuit assembly and function. Follow the link below to listen! #StoriesOfWiN #WomenInNeuroscience #WomenInNeuro www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...