Maiken Nedergaard, a pioneering neuroscientist and codirector of the Center for Translational Neuromedicine, has been elected a 2025 international fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. The honor recognizes academic innovators whose work has led to patented technologies, translational breakthroughs, and broad societal impact. It is the highest professional distinction awarded solely to inventors.

After more than four decades of service to the University and the Rochester community, Jeff Wyatt, attending veterinarian, executive director of animal resources, and professor of comparative medicine and of environmental medicine, will retire at the end of the year. Pradeep Dumpala, previously associate director of laboratory animal resources at SUNY Upstate Medical University, will succeed him to lead the University’s animal care and use programs.

Are you utilizing the tuition reimbursement benefit for the fall 2025 semester? Ensure that you submit your supporting documents (tuition bill, proof of payment, and final grades) to Workday within 90 days of completing the course. Find more information on the tuition benefits website.

William Barber II, a minister, civil rights leader, and social justice advocate, will be the keynote speaker at the University’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Address. The event is Thursday, January 29, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in Strong Auditorium on the River Campus. The MLK Address celebrates its 25th anniversary and is sponsored by the Office of the President, the Office of Mentoring and Student Advocacy, and the Office of University Engagement and Enrichment. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Desire and Abundance: American Culture and the Still Life features a selection from the Memorial Art Gallery’s collection of American still lifes, spanning from the 1800s to the present. Taken together, these artworks present an array of items that underscore shifting tastes in American art, commerce, and daily life. The exhibition opens on December 13 and runs through July 5.

Online grief circles with the Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence are a biweekly gathering to honor pain and sorrow. The next sessions are on Thursday, December 18, and Thursday, January 1, from 4 to 5 p.m.

“Good Night Lights,” a December tradition at Golisano Children’s Hospital, is back—with area first responders bringing holiday joy to young patients. Follow the UR Medicine and URochester Instagram pages for photos.