Migraine headache is one of the most debilitating disorders in the world and treatments are insufficient. The Sowers laboratory studies the neurocircuitry underlying migraine and post-traumatic headache. Our preclinical laboratory focuses heavily on the sensory abnormalities associated with migraine and post-traumatic headache, including photophobia, spontaneous pain and touch hypersensitivity. Our lab’s research uses functional MRI, optogenetic and DREADD approaches to better understand the circuits contributing to those sensory abnormalities. We recently identified the deep cerebellar nuclei as possible sensory integration centers underlying sensory abnormalities in migraine. We are a VA associated lab and part of the VA Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Visual Loss with a special emphasis on Veteran related problems in headache. Post-traumatic headache is similar to migraine and affects about 50% of Veterans who saw combat in war zones. Our hope is to one day identify brain regions that can be manipulated in humans to treat headache. Our promotion of a multi-disciplinary and collaborative approach to tackle these important questions in headache medicine offers trainees room to grow and become wonderful independent scientists.
Dr. Sowers was recently featured in Medicine Iowa, a publication of University of Iowa Healthcare featuring stories of research and education at Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine. View the article here: https://medicineiowa.org/fall-2025/levi-sowers-shedding-light-migraine-and-post-traumatic-headache
Iowa Neuroscience Institute Events
Neuroscience Interdisciplinary Graduate Program Guest Speaker: Dr. Erin Calipari, PhD
Psychological and Brain Sciences Colloquium: Ulrich Mayr
The Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences is excited to welcome Dr. Ulrich Mayr for this colloquium event. Ulrich is a Lewis Professor and Department Head of the Psychology Department at the University of Oregon. Dr. Mayr's primary research focus is on the relationship between memory, attention, and cognitive control, both from a general and a developmental/life-span perspective. His research methods include behavioral experiments, eye-tracking, and EEG or fMRI neuroimaging. As a...
2025 Neuroscience Research Day Keynote Speaker: Gregory Corder, PhD
Keynote Speaker Announcement: Dr. Gregory F. Corder
2025 Neuroscience Research Day – Monday, November 3, 2025
The Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience is pleased to announce Dr. Gregory F. Corder, Ph.D., as the keynote speaker for the 2025 Neuroscience Research Day. Dr. Corder is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Corder’s keynote presentation, titled “Pain, Poppies, Placebos, and...
Iowa Neuroscience Institute Seminar: Michael Yassa, PhD
Seminar Title TBD
Michael Yassa, PhD
Professor, Neurobiology and Behavior
James L. McGaugh Endowed Chair in the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
Professor, Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Professor, Neurology
Director, Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory
Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Charlie Dunlop School of Biological Sciences
University of California, Irvine
Iowa Neuroscience Institute seminars feature top neuroscientists from around the country sharing their latest...
Carver College of Medicine Events
REDCap Advanced Training
This is the fourth step in the REDCap training series. In this training we will cover advanced features such as:
Importing data from a CSV file Ways to customize your data entry experience with form display logic Making your forms more dynamic and personalized with context aware smart variables Sending automated, conditional email alerts Ensuring data is high quality by executing data quality rules, creating data 'missingness' codes, and opening data queriesRegister by clicking the...
Neuroscience & Pharmacology Faculty Seminar - Katelin Dannen, PhD and Adele Stewart, PhD
Accessible Pharmacology
Katelin Dannen, PhD
Assistant Professor
Associate Chair for Education
Dept of Neuroscience and Pharmacology
University of Iowa
Sex- and region-dependent regulation of dopamine reuptake by progesterone receptors
Adele Stewart, PhD
Assistant Professor
Dept of Neuroscience and Pharmacology
University of Iowa
TriNetX Basic Training
This training will provide an in-depth look at TriNetX and show you how to use the tool. We will go through building a study, searching for a specific population, and finally what information you can gather from the specific cohort. We will also discuss next steps on getting data extracted for research.
After this training you will have a thorough understanding of how to use TriNetX and what the process is to get data extracted for research studies.
Register by clicking the virtual event link...
Pain Interest Group Workshop - Agatha Greenway
The potential role of a cerebellar-cingulate circuit in migraine
Presented by Agatha Greenway
Graduate Student in Dr. Levi Sower's Lab
ACB Seminar Series - Emily Liu
Emily Liu, a Cell and Developmental Biology Graduate Student in Dr. Amy Ryan's Lab will present a seminar titled "Intra and Intercellular Interactions Driving Lung Remodeling in Pulmonary Lymphangioleiomyomatosis."