UChicago Neuroscience community reunited in the 2023 Retreat

The two-day event held by the Neuroscience Institute happened at the Q Center in St. Charles, IL. More than 160 people attended.

Photos: Manu Ferreira

The Neuroscience community at The University of Chicago gathered last Thursday and Friday, the 14th and 15th, in the 2023 edition of the Neuroscience Retreat. The event, promoted by the Neuroscience Institute at the Q Center in St. Charles, had a diverse schedule full of talks presented by faculty members, students, and guests, poster presentations, and recreational activities.

Among the list of speakers, there were national-recognized names in Neuroscience, such as Professor Aryn Gittis, Ph.D., from Carnegie Mellon University, and Marc Freeman, Ph.D., the Director of the Vollum Institute at Oregon Health and Sciences University.

During the event, faculty members, postdocs, and graduate students had the chance to present their research as well. Poojya Ravishankar, a rising sixth-year graduate student in the Computational Neuroscience (CNS) program, had attended the Retreat before but this was the first time she gave a talk.

"It's a huge privilege to share in front of such a good audience. It helped me to get better clarity about my project, and it’s also exciting to show something that you are very passionate about,” said Ravishankar.

Hagerah Malik, MSTP/CON graduate student in Arac Lab, also presented for the first time at the Retreat and said that despite the nervousness, she felt very comfortable in front of the audience. “I knew that they were friendly, and it just felt like a very safe place to talk about my research, answer questions, and engage with the community.”

Career development

In addition to hearing from neuroscience researchers, the retreat was also an opportunity to build community and participate in career development workshops. Staff scientist Gregg Wildenberg, Ph.D., presented “Demystifying the Chalk Talk”, a panel that aimed to help students to understand the best format and strategy to conduct that kind of presentation.

“I like the Chalk talk component because it's even still very mysterious for me. So, I appreciate the sentiment of trying to demystify it and sort of prepare students for that future inevitability,” said Wildenberg.

Professor Jason MacLean, PhD, highlighted that this edition of the retreat was “particularly good” because the community was there all together as more than 160 people attended the event. “You get a chance to catch up with people that you haven't seen in a while because we're all busy in our lives or doing our things. And then, you get to meet all the new incoming students. That is important.”

Retreat attendees also enjoyed social gatherings and recreational activities, such as playing board/card games, giant yard games, volleyball, biking, walking, and running on the Fox River.

Students poster presentations | Photos by Manu Ferreira

This article was published on the Neuroscience Institute website.

Published: By: Manu Ferreira - 9/20/2023 01:28:00 PM

Supply shortage affects furniture and appliances production

These past two years have been harsh for homeowners and housing businesses. The increase in demand and supply chain problems created backlogs and material shortages, especially the ones that come from overseas. In some places, delivery can be delayed for weeks or even months. 

Published: By: Manu Ferreira - 5/02/2022 04:18:00 PM

Community mural painting reunites C-U residents in Urbana

Champaign-Urbana residents got together on Tuesday to paint the “Reading is Magic” mural in Urbana. The community painting was promoted by Urbana Free Library. The goal was to get local people involved in fun activities.

Photo by Manu Ferreira

“The community was part of designing the mural, and now we are in that painting phase. We’ve already got two murals on both sides of Cunningham Township Supervisors' Office, and we are adding this third mural to give folks an opportunity to paint alongside the artist,” says Rachel Storm, the Urbana Arts and Culture Coordinator.

Participants worked with the professional muralist Langston Allston. He has been creating public art since 2017. His work comes from a process of collaboration, reflection, and working closely with peers. “The mural was conceived in a co-work with community members, and we worked out the design over a period of time,” explains Allston.

People’s engagement surprised the project organization. The whole painting process lasted for only one week and a half. “This moved very quickly because we had so much support from the community. This mural was started last week, and we are on the third part of the mural, which was an additional part,” affirms Storm.

“People seem enthusiastic about working, which is why we’re doing an additional wall. Everybody that is coming it’s been really excited about making paintings and putting themselves to work,” says Langston Allston.

Passwolf heard about the community painting online on social media and registered herself and her mom to work as volunteers. She is proud of her decision. "I love the context and the style of it, so it’s really exciting that I’ll be able to see it, drive by it, and it will be like ‘oh, I helped to paint that’.”

Rachel Storm also encourages people to apply for the 2022 Urbana Art Grants. It funds all sorts of art projects that are accessible to the public, such as exhibitions, dance, film, video, music, theater, visual arts, crafts, performing arts, and more. “We really want art to thrive in this city and to be a huge part of the city life.”

To celebrate the new mural, the Urbana Free Library will promote an unveiling and a ribbon-cutting ceremony today at 11:30 A.M. The event is open to the public.

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This article was published on the UI7 Newsroom website.

Published: By: Manu Ferreira - 4/22/2022 11:18:00 AM

Film festival “Ebertfest” back to its in-person edition in Champaign

Movie lovers from all over the country will be reunited in Champaign for the 22nd Ebertfest. Starting next Wednesday, April 20th, the traditional film festival returns to its annual in-person edition at the Virginia Theater after two years.

Photo by Manu Ferreira

To celebrate its comeback, the event features award-winning movies, discussions with filmmakers, music presentations, and other unique experiences for the public.

“We usually have about 12 movies every festival. This time we have four music performances that are integrated into the festival. And a lot of the movies are about comedy or about music. So, we wanted to return with a kind of a joyous event,” says Andy Hall, the Assistant Festival Director.

The list includes “Soy Cubana” by Jeremy Ungar, “Nightmare Alley” by Guillermo Del Toro, the documentary “Summer of Soul”, and a silent movie that will be screened along with a full live orchestra.
“The Chicago Mob and Orchestra directed by Renee Baker will join us this year on Saturday morning to score the movie “Siren of the Tropics”, which is a Josephine Baker movie from the 20s,” explains Hall.
The Virginia Theater is all ready to receive the public. The space was recently renovated. “During COVID, when we were shut down, we put in a new sound system and a new climate control system for the auditorium. Both of those were pretty big projects,” affirms Mitch Marlow, the Virginia Theatre’s PR Manager.

Since we are coming back from a pandemic, producers are taking one safety measure to make the audience more comfortable. “We decided to have empty seats between groups. So, people will feel that there is still a little bit of space between them and strangers that they might meet at the event,” explains Andy Hall.

Mitch Marlow says the expectation is that the Ebertfest will be well attended. “One of the films is already sold out and the other ones are getting close.”

Despite all excitement of having the festival back, unfortunate news: the comedian Gilbert Gottfried, one of the headline guests, passed away this week.

“We are devastated. After talking to him for so long and looking forward so much to having him with us at the festival. But we are still very honored and privileged to have the movie 'Gilbert' scheduled at the event. We are excited to have the director with us still to talk about the person Gilbert was,” declares Hall.

The event’s producers also found a way to honor the comedian. “We are dedicating the whole festival to the memory of Gilbert Gottfried this year,” reveals.

Ebertfest will happen from April 20 to 23, 2022. Tickets and festival passes are available on the website www.thevirginia.gov. University of Illinois students have a special discount.

For more details, visit the website www.ebertfest.com.
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This article was published on the UI7 Newsroom website.

Published: By: Manu Ferreira - 4/15/2022 09:43:00 AM

COVID-19 second booster available in Champaign-Urbana

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expanded eligibility for an additional dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for certain individuals. People that fit in the pre-requisites are eligible to take the second booster.

Photo by Fred Zwicky | Illinois News Bureau

“Boosters are safe, and people over the age of 50 can now get an additional booster four months after their prior dose to increase their protection further. This is especially important for those 65 and older and those 50 and older with underlying medical conditions that increase their risk for severe disease from COVID-19,” says CDC’s announcement.

The vaccines are available upon registration at Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, Promise Healthcare, Carle Health, OSF HealthCare, Christie Clinic, and Pharmacies. Visit the website www.vaccinefinder.org to schedule appointments at local pharmacies.

As important as getting vaccinated is to get tested in case of having any symptoms. People who need to take a test in the state of Illinois can order At-home rapid tests or head to one of the SHIELD saliva-based test locations.

According to the Deputy Administrator and the Epidemiologist of the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD), Awais Vaid, people who are fully vaccinated still have to take some precautions if test positive. “If you tested at home and the result is positive, if you have symptoms or if you don’t have symptoms, you should still isolate for a period of 5 days,” recommends.

All the instructions on what to do once a person tests positive are posted on the Public Health District website. “If you have any questions, you can always call or email Public Health. We still have case investigators and contacts that can talk to you,” says Vaid.

Residents can contact CUPHD by phone at 217-239-7877 or email: coronavirus@c-uphd.org. For other information, visit the website: https://www.c-uphd.org/champaign-urbana-illinois-coronavirus-information.html

This article was published on the UI7 Newsroom website.

Published: By: Manu Ferreira - 4/08/2022 02:33:00 PM

Illinois community COVID-19 testing sites closing on March 31

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced that the ten community-based testing sites in the state are closing today, March 31st.

Market Place testing site in Champaign | Credit: Manu Ferreira 

Health officials say the end of federal funding and the drop in demand for tests is the reason the operations will be shut down in Aurora, Bloomington, Champaign, Fairview Heights, Rockford, Arlington Heights, Peoria, Harwood Heights, South Holland, and Waukegan.

“The State had a contract to run those sites, and it was supposed to be closed last year. But we had the surge of Delta and then the Omicron in the Fall as well. So, the State decided to extend those,” explains Awais Vaid, the Deputy Administrator and the Epidemiologist of the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District.

Demand for tests at the Community-Based sites reached a peak of more than 1,040 tests per day at each site in November 2020. However, according to IDPH, this number dropped considerably with each site seeing fewer than 50 individuals per day.

“Right now, the testing site at the Market Place Mall was not being utilized as much. Five or 10 people in a day were testing, so the numbers were very small.”

Rainika Young, who works at the Market Place site collecting samples for tests, says the demand is not as high as before. “When I first started working here it was crazy busy. The line was all the way back to the mall. But now, we get maybe a couple of cars every 10 or 15 minutes.”
According to Dr. Vaid, another reason for the closing of the community-based test sites are the At-home rapid tests, which are offered for free by the Federal government, and the SHIELD saliva-based test. “It is also sponsored by the State. So, the State is already paying for testing for anybody that wants to get tested. It is much faster and easier to do as well,” affirms.

The SHIELD system was created by the University of Illinois in 2020 and was recently expanded statewide. The CovidSHIELD requires only a small amount of saliva from an individual and provides results within six to 12 hours. It is also an option free of charge.

You can order at-home COVID-19 tests on the website www.covidtests.gov. To schedule a saliva-based test visit the website www.shieldillinois.com.

Five of the locations that are closing (Aurora, Arlington Heights, South Holland, Fairview Heights, and Peoria) also provide vaccinations. This service will be suspended as well. To find COVID-19 vaccines available near you, visit www.vaccines.gov.

This article was published on the UI7 Newsroom website.

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Published: By: Manu Ferreira - 3/31/2022 12:31:00 PM

Fundraising projects in Champaign-Urbana to support Ukraine

It’s been one month since Russia invaded Ukraine. More than 3.5 million people have fled the country looking for a safe place to live. Organizations all over the world started fundraising projects to help the refugees.

Credit: Farrah Anderson/Illinois Newsroom

Here in Champaign-Urbana, the Ukrainian Student Association has raised over twelve thousand dollars with various initiatives, like rallies, t-shirt fundraisers, and a collaboration with other clubs on campus. Its President Larysa Brandys says they have been working to spread awareness about what is happening in Ukraine and to collect as many donations as possible.

“We are currently in process of planning a number of fundraisings with other organizations on campus such as UofI UNICEF chapter and the Center for Children Action Network. We're also planning a vigil scheduled for April 7th. It's going to be a collaboration with some other schools across the US that have Ukrainian clubs,” explains Brandys.

Another project on the University of Illinois campus was created by Carle Illinois College of Medicine. The students launched a medical and physical goods supply drive to get additional aid to the region. “These people need help, and the things they need are things many of us have lying around our homes. We all have the ability to make a difference in this crisis,” affirms Dylan Mann, a fourth-year medical student, and co-lead on the relief project. 

Small businesses are also stepping up to support Ukraine. Central Illinois Bakehouse in Champaign recreated a traditional Ukrainian garlic bread to raise funds for children and families. 

“We’re selling Pampushky for $20 each and 100% of the sale, all $20, is going to benefit the International Rescue Committee,” says the Brand Manager Miranda Martin.

The International Committee is an organization that is currently in Poland supporting Ukrainian refugees with essential supplies and psychological care. Miranda says they are happy to bake for such an important cause. 

“It’s a wonderful benefit to be able to give back to not only our community but to the global community. We love being able to benefit all of the people of the world and just not our small town.”

The goal is to sell five hundred Pampushky, which sum up a total of ten thousand dollars in donations. “We have currently sold a hundred twenty-six. We are matching the first ten thousand dollars in donations, which will be five hundred, so we are just going to stop when we hit our goal.”

The Pampushky is available at Central Illinois Bakehouse and Pekara Bakery in Champaign, at Urbana Farms Market, and Martinelli’s Market in Bloomington. It is also possible to order it online at centralillinoisbakehouse.com.

This article was published on the UI7 Newsroom website.

 

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Published: By: Manu Ferreira - 3/25/2022 06:28:00 PM

Urbana Fire Chief is Set to Retire in May

Urbana Fire Chief is set to retire in May. Chuck Lauss will leave the department after three and a half years of service. 

Chuck Lauss | Credit: Manu Ferreira

Lauss came to Urbana as fire chief in 2018 having a large background. He started his fire service in the city of Pekin, where he worked for 22 years. After retiring there, he commanded the fire department at Caterpillar facilities in the Peoria area for 5 years, and served the city of Peoria as an assistant fire chief and later fire chief. 

All together sum up to a 35-year career. “I love this job. It’s never been a job to me. You know, for 35 years I love it so much, I’ve never gone to work,” he says.

Although his time was short in Urbana, he is proud of his and the staff's accomplishments. Including plans for two new modern stations and six additional firefighters that will join the department in May.

"I’ve always said. It’s not me, it’s we. I’ve not done anything. I’ve been able to help with the direction and the vision, but it’s my department, it’s the staff that we work with. It’s we that have done all of this. Collectively, together.” affirms.

Chuck Lauss said that the crew always talks about things that are important for the department, such as the new stations, for example. “The firefighters have started collecting data on what the new stations should look like for health and safety purposes. We got all that stuff put together.”

The two old stations are a little over 50 years old now and don’t offer many facilities focused on health and safety. Therefore, they expect to implement workout and movie rooms, as well as nutrition and psychological programs.

“I want them to look at putting things in the stations that affect their retirement. We want them to retire healthy and happy,” explains.

The biggest challenge

Lauss says he has faced big challenges during his time in Urbana. The biggest one is Covid-19.

“It’s been a long process to navigate through, but as we had worked together with other staff members and with this awesome department, we maintained our staffing and we never had any reduction in services. But it has been a challenge of making sure we are complying with the testing, with the masking mandate, with the social distancing, all of that. We try to make sure that everybody stays safe,” states Lauss.

Now the plan is to move to South Carolina and enjoy his time with his wife. “I jokingly tell my wife that this 35-year love affair with my career is just coming to a close and we will spend a lot of more time together,” revealed the Chief adding that he will miss the fire service. 

"I’ll miss my Urbana firefighters. They’ve been part of my family, my life, but it’s time. It’s time to move on to the next chapter,” added 

Chuck Lauss’ last day in the office is on May 6th. But on the 5th, the city of Urbana will do a walkout ceremony to honor his service. The new fire chief will be announced by the mayor soon.

Credit: Manu Ferreira

*This article was published on the UI7 Newsroom website. Click here to watch the TV story. 

Published: By: Manu Ferreira - 3/09/2022 09:52:00 AM

“Coffee With a Cop” to return in March

Champaign Police Department has announced the return of the “Coffee with a Cop”. The event is an opportunity for residents to meet with police officers to ask questions, share concerns, and get to know each other.

Coffee with a cop | Photo courtesy

The goal of “Coffee with a Cop” is to break down barriers and offer time for one-on-one interaction in a relaxed setting to help bring Champaign-Urbana residents closer. Usually, most of the contact officers have with the community happens during emergencies, which doesn’t encourage them to build a relationship. Besides, the public may also be hesitant to approach officers while they’re on duty. 

“Whether it’s sharing a personal concern or just discussing the weather, an opportunity for engagement between our residents and Officers is always welcome, and I hope that all who can attend will join us,” said Interim Chief of Police Tom Petrilli. “Coffee with a Cop gives us a chance for open dialogue, and we look forward to a good morning of conversation.”

It is important to observe that Champaign Police Department is currently down on 26 officers from its authorized maximum, while the Urbana Police Department is down on about two. That means the event is a good opportunity to also thank the officers for the extra work they have been doing.

The first “Coffee with a Cop” of this year will take place on Friday, March 11th, from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. at Café Kopi on Walnut Street. Coffee is complimentary for those participating.

Coffee with a Cop is a nationally recognized initiative supported by The United States Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Events are held across the country, to advance the practice of community policing. For more information, visit www.coffeewithacop.com.

*This article was published on the UI7 Newsroom website.

Published: By: Manu Ferreira - 3/02/2022 11:13:00 AM