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Welcome to Part 2 of our mini-series discussing the development of the adolescent brain, intended for all audiences. In this second episode, learn about how adolescent brain development relates to our modern social environment. We discuss how adolescents learn to take the perspective of others, form their identity, regulate emotions, and interact with social media. Give us a listen and learn the neuroscience behind one of the most important stages of our life!

Please listen to Part 1 first! Part 1 Link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2024695/episodes/19386213, also available wherever you get your podcasts. 

To guide the discussion, we are joined by one of the world's leading research for the social adolescent brain, Dr. Eveline Crone.  Dr. Eveline Crone is a Professor of Developmental Neuroscience in Society at the Erasmus University Rotterdam and a professor in Neurocognitive Developmental Psychology at Leiden University. She helped pioneer the understanding of adolescence as a window of opportunity to handle the social environment, and continues to shape how we view the dynamic relationship between brain development and social contexts. The host for the episode is Dr. Matt Mattoni, a postdoctoral researcher at Northwestern University. 

Finally, for developmental scientists, please find three people outside of our field to share this episode with! This is a wonderful opportunity to share our science and its importance.

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Welcome to Part 1 of our mini-series discussing the development of the adolescent brain, intended for all audiences. In this first episode, learn about how adolescent brain development opens up a window of opportunity of learning, driven by risk-taking and the brain's reward response. This developmental period has important extensions into how adolescents make decisions and what we can do to create ideal environments. Give us a listen and learn the neuroscience behind one of the most important stages of our life!

To guide the discussion, we are joined by one of the world's leading research for adolescent brain develpoment, Dr. BJ Casey.  Dr. BJ Casey is the Christina L. Williams Professor of Neuroscience at Barnard College and Columbia University, where she directs the Fundamentals of the Adolescent Brain (FAB) Lab. Dr. Casey was one the first researchers to use neuroimaging to examine the developing human brain, and continues to be a driving force in the field. The host for the episode is Dr. Matt Mattoni, a postdoctoral researcher at Northwestern University. 

Part 2 is already up! In Part 2, we extend our discussion to the social contexts that are crucial to adolescence. Joined by Dr. Eveline Crone, we learn about how the adolescent brain thinks about others, regulates emotion, and what that means for our modern age of social media. Part 2 Link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2024695/episodes/19386230, also available wherever you get your podcasts. 

Finally, for developmental scientists, please find three people outside of our field to share this episode with! This is a wonderful opportunity to share our science and its importance.

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We are excited for a special episode this month, as guest host Dr. Arielle Keller (@ArielleKeller) interviews Dr. Sarah-Jayne Blakemore (@sjblakemore.bsky.social), the 2024 Flux Huttenlocher Award Winner.

Dr. Sarah-Jayne Blakemore is a Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge, and leader of the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Group. Her group's research focuses on the development of social cognition and decision making in the human adolescent brain, and adolescent mental health.

Dr. Blakemore is incredibly deserving of this award and graciously provided her time to discuss her career development, research, advice to trainees, and much more. Many thanks as well to Dr. Keller for hosting this episode! 

Full transcript can be found here: https://bit.ly/S4E3_Huttenlocher2025 

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In this episode, we take a closer look at the devastating impacts of federal funding cuts across the United States on developmental science and its trainees. We discuss how cuts are destabilizing training for early-career scientists and halting the vital research that they conduct. We further emphasize how scientists are organizing to fight back, and how we can take care of ourselves and each other along the way. For this crucial discussion, we are joined by Gabriel Leon, Shiba Esfand, and Dr. Scott Delaney — scientists who have each been impacted in different ways.

Visit our Buzzsprout for other episodes. 

For a full transcript of this episode, visit: bit.ly/49aZxoU

Learn more about Grant Witness: https://grant-witness.us/

Connect with our guests:

• Dr. Scott Delaney (@scott-delaney.bsky.social‬, LinkedIn)
• Shiba Esfand (@shibaesfand.bsky.social‬, LinkedIn)
• Gabriel Leon (LinkedIn, Website)

Connect with us on social media! We are always looking for ideas for episode topics, co-hosts, or guests. We're @FluxSociety on bsky, Facebook, and LinkedIn. 

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In this episode, we chat about the exciting growth of fetal, infant, and toddler neuroimaging and their active group, FIT'NG. We're joined by two leaders in the field, Dr. Tomoki Arichi and Dr. Courtney Filippi, who explain to us the unique research questions and methodologies in FIT neuroimaging. Along the way, we discuss differences between neuroimaging in other developmental stages, environment vs. genetics, the impact of FIT'NG, and much more. 

Reach out to our host: Matt Mattoni ([email protected])

Connect with us on social media! We are always looking for ideas for episode topics, co-hosts, or guests. @FluxSociety

Key Resources:

• https://fitng.org/

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 In this episode, we chat about using multiple large scale neuroimaging datasets for developmental cognitive neuroscience research. We highlight two exciting recent projects, including the Reproducible Brain Charts database and a foundational study on white matter development. Along the way, we chat about harmonizing multiple datasets, testing in multiple datasets for generalizations, replicability, practical challenges, and more. Matt is joined by two wonderful guests from Dr. Ted Satterthwhaite's lab who are pioneering these momentous efforts - Dr. Golia Shafiei and Audrey Luo

Reach out to our host:

• Matt Mattoni ([email protected])

Connect with our guests:

• Dr. Golia Shafiei: https://bsky.app/profile/goliashf.bsky.social
• Audrey Luo: https://bsky.app/profile/audreycluo.bsky.social 

Connect with us on social media! We are always looking for ideas for episode topics, co-hosts, or guests. @FluxSociety

Key Resources:

• Reproducible Brain Charts
• Two Axes of White Matter Development
• Reproducibilibuddy
• https://reprobrainchart.github.io/

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In this episode, we chat about strength-based approaches in developmental cognitive neuroscience and the importance of identifying and building upon individuals' strength rather than solely focusing on deficits/weaknesses. We explore how strength-based perspectives highlight individuals' resilience and adaptivity in the face of structural inequities, and the ways we can incorporate strength-based approaches in our work. Gavkhar is joined by wonderful guests who have done and are continuing to do impactful work in advancing strength-based research in our field -- Drs. Divyangana Rakesh, Monica Ellwood-Lowe, and Meriah DeJoseph.

For a full transcript, visit: bit.ly/S3E4-strength-based-in-dcn

Connect with our guests:

• Dr. Monica Ellwood-Lowe: @mellwoodlowe.bsky.social
• Dr. Meriah DeJoseph: @meriahdejoseph.bsky.social 
• Dr. Divyangana Rakesh: @divyangana.bsky.social

Relevant resources and discussed papers:

• Communicating and Expanding Research on Adversity Network  (https://cera-network.com/) 
• Monica E. Ellwood-Lowe, Gabriel Reyes, Meriah L. DeJoseph, Willem E. Frankenhuis; Caring for Children in Lower-SES Contexts: Recognizing Parents' Agency, Adaptivity & Resourcefulness. Daedalus 2025; 154 (1): 52–69. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/daed_a_02123
• DeJoseph, M. L., Ellwood-Lowe, M. E., Miller-Cotto, D., Silverman, D., Shannon, K. A., Reyes, G., Rakesh, D., & Frankenhuis, W. E. (2024). The promise and pitfalls of a strength-based approach to child poverty and neurocognitive development: Implications for policy. Developmental cognitive neuroscience, 66, 101375. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101375
• Rakesh, D., Sadikova, E., & McLaughlin, K. (2024). Beyond the income‐achievement gap: The role of individual, family, and environmental factors in cognitive resilience among low‐income youth. JCPP Advances, Article e12297. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcv2.12297
• Ellwood-Lowe, M. E., Whitfield-Gabrieli, S., & Bunge, S. A. (2021). Brain network coupling associated with cognitive performance varies as a function of a child's environment in the ABCD study. Nature communications, 12(1), 7183. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27336-y
• Banerjee, A. V., Bhattacharjee, S., Chattopadhyay, R., Duflo, E., Ganimian, A. J., Rajah, K., & Spelke, E. S. (2025). Children’s arithmetic skills do not transfer between applied and academic mathematics. Nature, 1-9.
• Hoff, Karla and Pandey, Priyank, Belief Systems and Durable Inequalities: An Experimental Investigation of Indian Caste (June 25, 2004). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=610395
• Taylor, E. K., Abdurokhmonova, G., & Romeo, R. R. (2023). Socioeconomic status and reading development: Moving from “deficit” to “adaptation” in neurobiological models of experience‐dependent learning. Mind, Brain, and Education, 17(4), 324–333. https://doi.org/10.1111/mbe.12351 

Reach out to your host, Gavkhar Abdurokhmonova ([email protected] | @gavkhar-a.bsky.social).

Connect with us on social media! We are always looking for ideas for episode topics, co-hosts, or guests. 

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This bonus episode takes a behind-the-scenes glimpse at last year's Neurohackademy, a data science and neuroimaging workshop hosted by the University of Washington's eScience Institute. Often attended by members of the Flux community, Neurohackademy is known for its fun and inclusive approach! We are joined by three graduate student participants from last year's program (Rohini Kumar, Dominique Lopiccolo, and Melissa Hansen) and Neurohackademy instructors Dr. Ariel Rokem and Dr. Noah Benson. 

Visit our Buzzsprout for other episodes. https://sensitiveperiods.buzzsprout.com

For a full transcript, visit: https://bit.ly/FluxSPS3EBonus

Episode links

• Information about Neurohackademy: https://neurohackademy.org/
• Link to apply to Neurohackademy 2025: https://neurohackademy.org/apply

Connect with our guests:

• UW eScience Institute: @uwescience.bsky.social, @uwescience on instagram
• Noah Benson: @noahbenson on GitHub
• Melissa Hansen: @melissamjhansen on X, @melissamhansen on GitHub
• Rohini Kumar: @rohini__kumar on X
• Dominique Lopiccolo: @D_Lopiccolo on X, @dominique-lopiccolo on GitHub, and  @d-lopiccolo.bsky.social
• Ariel Rokem: @arokem.org on Bluesky, @arokem on GitHub

Follow us on social media!

• Twitter: @FluxSociety
• Facebook: facebook.com/FluxSociety/
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/fluxsociety/

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Flux and cognitive neuroscience more broadly are increasingly focused on translating our science for public impact. Yet, we receive little training to know how to do this.  In this episode, we hear from Dr. Daniela Schiller and Dr. Bradley Voytek about their journeys through science communication, which include creating a graduate course teaching SciComm and writing a popular neuroscience book. Along the way, we touch on benefits for your own science, starting small, pursuing passions, and more.

Visit our Buzzsprout for other episodes. https://sensitiveperiods.buzzsprout.com
Of relevance:

• S1E2 on science communication and equity
• S2E2 on engaging in public policy

For a full transcript, visit: https://bit.ly/FluxSPS3E3

Episode links:

•  Nature Neuroscience article describing Dr. Schiller's course
• Dr. Voytek's outreach and book, "Do Zombies Dream of Undead Sheep?" 
• Upgoer5 1000 most used words text editor

Follow us on social media!
Twitter: @FluxSociety
Facebook: facebook.com/FluxSociety/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/fluxsociety/

Reach out to your host, Matt Mattoni ([email protected]) 

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We are excited for a special episode this month, as guest host Dr. Arielle Keller (@ArielleKeller) interviews Dr. Jennifer Pfeifer (@jennDSN), the 2024 Flux Linda Spears Mid-Career Award Winner.

Dr. Pfeifer is incredibly deserving of this award and gratiously provided her time to discuss her career development, advice to trainees, balancing life and work, and much more. As always, she was very reflective and insightful, and we hope you enjoy the conversation.

Many thanks as well to Dr. Keller for hosting this episode! If you would like to host an episode yourself, please reach out. This is a great opportunity for researchers at varying career stages to discuss topics you care deeply about and improve your science communication skills.

For a full transcript, visit: https://bit.ly/SPS3E2Transcript

Connect with us on social media! We are always looking for ideas for episode topics, co-hosts, or guests. 

X: @FluxSociety
Facebook: facebook.com/FluxSociety/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/fluxsociety/