“A Provisional Framework for Evaluating the Epistemic Value of Translational Research Initiatives”, International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, Porto, Portugal, July 20-25.

Session on Psychiatric Kinds and Natural Kinds, Metaphysics of Science Summer School https://socmetsci.org/2025-summer-school June 27, 2025. (Invited)

“Building Bridges Without Blueprints: The Epistemology of Translational Team Neuroscience”, Society for Philosophy and Neuroscience (SPAN) – Inaugural Meeting, Washington University in St. Louis, May 1-3, 2025 (Invited)

The Epistemic Promise of Collaborative Triangulation in TRIDENT. IHPST, University of Toronto, February 7, 2024. (Invited)

Bridging Translational Gaps Through Open Science Partnerships. Initiative for Translational Neuroscience/TRanslational Initiative to DeRisk NeuroTherapeutics Meeting (ITN/TRIDENT), McGill University, Montreal, QC, November 6-8, 2023. (with Richard Gold)

Improving Public-Private Partnerships to Accelerate Drug Discovery, McGill-Western Initiative for Translational Neuroscience (ITN) Symposium, McGill University, Montreal QC, November 7, 2023.

Exploring Regulatory Flexibility to Optimize Drug Discovery. Canadian Network for Learning Healthcare Systems and Cost-Effective ‘Omics Innovation (CLEO) 2nd Workshop for Learning Healthcare Systems: Policy and RWE frameworks for life-cycle technology assessment, McGill University, Montreal QC, October 11-12, 2023. (Invited)

Unraveling Discovery Dynamics in Open Science Partnerships. Explanation and Complexity in Biology & Psychology: A Workshop in Honour of Bob Richardson. University of Cincinnati, Department of Philosophy, September 21-22, 2023. (Invited)

Kinding Cognition: Commentary on Muhammad Ali Khalidi’s Cognitive Ontology: Taxonomic Practices in the Mind-Brain Sciences Book Symposium, APA Pacific San Franscisco, April 5-10, 2023.

Collaborations at the Intersection of Naturalism and Epistemology of Science with a Focus on Translational Cognitive Neuroscience, The New Naturalism Workshop, WIKO Berlin, Oct. 13-14, 2022. (Invited)

Making Explicit How Conceptual-Theoretical Frameworks Shape Discovery in Neuroscience, Nencki School of Ideas in Neuroscience, Nencki Open Lab, Warsaw, Poland, July 1-July 8, 2022. (Invited)

Novel Tool Development, Exploratory Experimentation and the Dynamics of Control: The Rodent Touchscreen Operant Chamber as a Case Study, Florida State University, April 8, 2022. (Invited)

Epistemic Communities as Knowledge Drivers in Neuroscience. Summer Seminar Series in Neuroscience and Philosophy (SSNAP) Closing Conference 2021, Duke University [via Crowdcast], June 4-5, 2021. [Invited by Felipe De Brigard]

Touchscreens, Open Science and the Epistemic Community. Minds, Models and Mechanisms: New Directions in Philosophy of Psychiatry Workshop, Saarland University, [via Zoom], April 21-23, 2021. [Invited by Lena Kastner]

Touchscreens, Open Science and the Epistemic Community. touchscreencognition.org’s Mouse Translational Research Accelerator Platform (MouseTRAP) Seminar Series. Western University, London, ON, February 23, 2021. [Invited by Julie Dumont]

Cognitive Ontologies, Epistemic Communities and Coordinated Pluralism. The Problem of Cognitive Ontology: Implications for Scientific Knowledge. Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, November 5, 2020. [Invited by Adina Roskies]

Exploring the dynamics of novel experimental paradigm development: The Rodent Touchscreen Operant Chamber as a Case Study. Workshop on Continuity, Improvement and Innovation in Experimental Methodology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, October 30-31, 2019. [Invited by Jutta Schickore]

Creating Epistemically Successful Research Infrastructures: Translational Cognitive Neuroscience as a Case Study. CLMPST2019: 16TH INTERNATIONAL
CONGRESS OF LOGIC, METHODOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, August 5-10, 2019, Prague, CZ. [Invited by Hanne Andersen]

Translational Cognitive Neuroscience and Collaborative Kinds. Natural Kinds in Cognitive Science Workshop, June 26-29, 2019, York University, Toronto, Ontario. [Invited by Muhammad Ali Khalidi]

“Optogenetics, Pluralism and Progress”, Neural Mechanisms Online 2019 Speakers’ Series, May 3, 2019. https://www.neuralmechanisms.org/webinarseries2019.html (Invited)

“Coordinating Scientific Perspectives in Experimental Contexts: Lessons from Translational Cognitive Neuroscience and the RDoC Project”, Culture, Brain and Mind Program, McGill University, Montreal, QC, (March 28, 2019). (Invited)

“Philosophy of Neuroscience as a Complement to Neuroscience”, Brain and Mind Institute, Western Interdisciplinary Research Building, London, ON. (March 1, 2019).

“Coordinated Pluralism and Cumulative Neuroscience”. Understanding Replication Across the Sciences. Rotman Institute of Philosophy’s Annual Conference. Rotman Institute, University of Western Ontario. London, ON. (October 12-14, 2018).Video of talk

“Translational Cognitive Neuroscience: How Do We Learn From Animals?” Alumni Lecture, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA, March 15, 2018) (Invited)

“Extraordinary” Cognitive Science in an Era of Novel Tool Development and Big Data. Cognitive Science Program and Philosophy Department, Indiana University (Bloomington, IN, September 29, 2017) (Invited)

Coordinated Pluralism as a Means to Facilitate Integrative Taxonomies of Cognition.

• Philosophy Department, McMaster University (Hamilton, ON,  March 17, 2017). [Invited by Sandra LaPointe]
• Cognitive Science Program, Marquette University (Milwaukee, WI. March 9, 2017). [Invited by Corinne Bloch] Video online: https://streaming.mu.edu/Watch/r9P6CpXw
• Operations and Cognitive Ontology Workshop. Washington University in St. Louis (St. Louis, MO. February 1, 2017). [Invited by Carl Craver.]

Explaining Mental Illness: Will a Single Explanatory Model Do? London Library Lecture Series. Langdon Public Library (London, Ontario. October 12, 2016).

The Replication Crisis in Science. Philosophy of Science Cafe. Robarts Research Institute, University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario September 30, 2016).

Experimentation and Mechanistic Explanation in the Mind-Brain Sciences. Causality in the Sciences of the Mind-Brain Conference, Aarhus University (Aarhus, Denmark, June 27-29, 2016).

The Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) Project: Can neuroscience revolutionize psychiatric classification?

• Neuroscience Graduate Diploma Program, York University (Toronto, ON, March 18, 2016).
• Philosophy Department, Clark University (Worcester, MA, September 24, 2015).
• Explanations of Cognition Workshop, University of Stirling (Stirling, UK, July 20-22, 2015). [Invited by Zoe Drayson]
• La Société de Philosophie Analytique, Invited Symposium on La philosophie de la psychiatrie (Montreal, QC June 2015). [Invited by Luc Faucher]

Construct Stabilization and the Unity of Neuroscience. Philosophy and the Cognitive Sciences Pre-SSPP Workshop at Loyola University (New Orleans, LA, April 2015).

Neuroscientific Kinds through the Lens of Scientific Practice. Southern Society for Psychology and Philosophy Annual Meeting, Invited Symposium on Natural Kinds (New Orleans, LA, April 2015).

Construct Stabilization and the Unity of the Mind-Brain Sciences.

• Department of Philosophy. University of Waterloo, (Waterloo, ON, February 2015). [Invited by Heather Douglas]
• Department of Philosophy, Michigan State University, (East Lansing, MI, March 14, 2014). [Invited by Dan Steel]

Is the Next Decade in Neuroscience a Decade of the Mind? Philosophy: Crossing Disciplines Undergraduate Conference, University of Western Ontario, (London, Ontario, March 2, 2014).

Construct Stabilization and Experimentation in Neuroscience.

• Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, University of Toronto, Colloquium Series. (Toronto, Ontario, January 29, 2014).
• University of Calgary. (Calgary, Alberta, January 24, 2014). [Invited by Megan Delehanty]
• Experimentation in Neuroscience Workshop, Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh.(Pittsburgh, PA, November 22-23, 2013). [Invited by Mazviita Chirimuuta]

Integrating Psychology and Neuroscience: The View from the Philosophy of Experiment. University of Western Ontario’s Eleventh Annual Graduate Conference in Philosophy of Mind, Language and Cognitive Science.(London, ON, May 23-25, 2013).

Café Scientifique (panelist), Neuroscience Meets Psychiatry: the Promise of New Treatments. Just Us Spring Garden Coffeehouse, (Halifax, NS, CANADA. [Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Café Scientifique grant, Neuroscience Meets Psychiatry: the Promise of New Treatments (SCI 116810).], March 29, 2012). [Invited by Serife Tekin]

Promoting Mental Health: Challenges for Psychiatry and Neuroscience. Novel Tech Ethics, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, (Halfax, NS, CANADA. [Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Café Scientifique grant, Neuroscience Meets Psychiatry: the Promise of New Treatments (SCI 116810)], March 28, 2012). [Invited by Serife Tekin]

Reviving the Mind in Cognitive Neurobiology: Towards Perspectival Pluralism in the Experimental Context.

• Department of Philosophy and Center for Neurodynamics, University of Missouri-St Louis, (St. Louis, MO, March 2, 2012).
• Department of Philosophy, University of Western Ontario (London, ON, CANADA, January 31, 2012).
• Department of Philosophy, York University (Toronto, ON, CANADA, January 13, 2012).

The Place of the Mind in Contemporary Neuroscience. Department of Philosophy, Mississippi State University, (Mississippi, MS, October 21, 2011). [Invited by John Bickle]

The Place of the Mind in Contemporary Neuroscience. Neurophilosophy Forum, Georgia State University, (Atlanta, GA, September 30, 2011).

Linking Models of Cognitive Neurobiological Experiments to Explanatory Models of Cognition—A Fundamental Role for Mental States. Delaware Cognition and Neuroscience Workshop. University of Delaware, (Delaware, Maryland, September 16 &17, 2011).

The Absence of Mind in the Neuroscientific Study of Cognition. 2011-2012 University Honors Program First Thursday Lecture Series, UAB, Birmingham, AL. (September 1, 2011).

Obstacles to Naturalizing the Mind: Insights from the Philosophy of Experiment, Current Topics in Philosophy of the Human Sciences. (Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany, June 18-19, 2010). [Invited by Uljana Feest]

Learning and Its Representation. Workshop: Turtles All the Way Down: Philosophical Approaches to Minds, Brains and Multiplicity. (McMicken College of Arts and Sciences and Department of Philosophy, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, October 2008).

The Unity of Neuroscience from a Contemporary Philosophical Perspective. Haddin Humanities Lecture, (UAB, Birmingham, AL, September 2008).

Mind as Matter: Challenges for the New Physicalism. Philosophy Speaker Series, (Clark University, Worcester, MA, September 2008).

Testing the Limits of Neuroepistemology. 44th Annual Philosophy Colloquium (University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, May 2008).

The Multiplicity of Experimental Protocols: A Challenge to Reductionist and Non-Reductionist Models of the Unity of Neuroscience. Neuroscience and the Mind-Brain Relationship Workshop, (Centenary College, Shreveport, LA, October 2007).

Extending Mechanistic Claims Beyond the Neurobiological Laboratory. Workshop on Neural Mechanisms, Explanation and Reduction in the Neurosciences. (Center for the Study of Mind in Nature, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway, September 2007).

Reliability and Validity of Experiment in the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory. (Philosophy Department, University of Alabama at Birmingham, January 2007).

Reliability and Validity of Experiment in the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory. (Philosophy Department, San Francisco State University, January 2007).

Public Outreach Presentations

Canadian Association for Girls In Science (CAGIS) Outreach Activity. (w/Melissa Jacquart, Phoebe Friesen & Shari Monner). University of Western Ontario (London, ON Canada, March 21, 2013).

Two Different Perspectives on Mind. Philosophy and Neuroscience Speakers Series. London Library (London, ON Canada, October 17, 2012).

Your Mind and Other Minds: A Discussion. Donaldson Correctional Facility, (Bessemer, AL, May 8, 2012).

Conference Presentations and Published Abstracts*

 “Reflections on Collaborations with Neuroscientists” as part of the SRPoiSE Cognate Society session: Engaging science with philosophy: Case studies, empirical data, and reflections on collaborations between philosophers and scientists. Philosophy of Science Association Bi-annual Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA, November 10-13, 2022.

Novel Tool Development and the Dynamics of Control, Philosophy of Science Bi-annual Meeting, November 2021.

The Exploratory Character of Hypothesis Driven Experiments in Rodent Behavioral Neuroscience as part of Symposium: “Exploring the Senses of Exploratory Experimentation”, British Society for Philosophy of Science Association Meeting, Exeter, UK, July 2022.*

What Kind of Kinds are Optimal for Causal Discovery in Translational Research? Causality discussion, Crowdcast follow-up to “Elucidating the Causality in Causal Brain Circuits: Theory, Methods and Applications” Organization for Human Brain Mapping Annual Conference  https://www.crowdcast.io/e/ohbm-causality, June 2020.

What Kind of Kinds are Optimal for Causal Discovery in Translational Research? Symposium, “Elucidating the Causality in Causal Brain Circuits: Theory, Methods and Applications” Organization for Human Brain Mapping Annual Conference, Online, June 2020.

Can Rodent iPads Revolutionize Our Understanding of Cognition?  Tool Development in Neuroscience: A Science-in-Practice Workshop, Pensacola Beach, FL, September 26-27, 2019.

Commentary on Thomas Polger and Lawrence Shapiro’s The Multiple Realization Book. Author Meets Critics Session, Pacific APA (Seattle, WA, April 2017).

Optogenetics, Pluralism and Progress. Philosophy of Science Association Bi-Annual Meeting (Atlanta, GA, November 2016).

Construct Stabilization and the Unity of Neuroscience. Philosophy of Science Association Bi-Annual Meeting (Chicago, IL, November 2014).

Batra S, Sullivan JA, Geldmacher DS. Qualitative assessment of self-identity in advanced dementia. Poster presented at the 13th Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (Boston, MA. July 2013).

Batra S, Sullivan JA, Geldmacher DS. Qualitative assessment of self-identity in advanced dementia. Poster presented at Dementia Care @AAIC: Translating Research to Practice (Boston, MA. July 2013).

Is Construct Validity Necessary for Mechanistic Explanations of Cognitive Functions? Symposium on Taxonomic Practices in the Scientific Study of Cognition: Do Valid Constructs Matter? Fourth Biennial Meeting of the Society for the Study of Science in Practice, (Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (IHPST), Victoria College, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, June 2013).*

The Place of the Mind in Contemporary Neuroscience. (w/Floh Thiels), 2011 Annual Society for Neuroscience Meeting, (Washington DC, November 2011).*floh&jackiesfnposterversion2 floh 8nov11

Experimental Paradigms, Cognitive Functions and Realization. Realization, Multiplicity and Experimentation in Biology, Psychology & Neuroscience Workshop, (University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, February 2010).

Medical Models of Psychopathology. Philosophy of Medicine Roundtable (Erasmus University, Rotterdam, Netherlands, October 2009).

The Implications of Experimental Practice for Cognitive Models of Schizophrenia. Workshop on Natural Kinds and Classification in Psychopathology (University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, April 2009).

Challenges for Medical Models of Addiction. (w/Harold Kincaid). 17th European Congress of Psychiatry. (Lisbon, Portugal, January 24-28, 2009).kincaidsullivan

Learning and Its Representation. Philosophy of Science Association Biennial Meeting. (Pittsburgh, PA, November 2008).

Reliability, Validity and The Experimental Process: A Neurobiological Case Study. First Biennial Meeting of the Society for the Philosophy of Science in Practice. (University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands, August 2007). spsp2007_book.1

Memory Consolidation, Multiple Realizations and Modest Reductions. Philosophy of Science Association Bi-Annual Meeting, (Vancouver, BC, November 2006).

Reward, Reinforcement and the Dopamine System: Making Conceptual Transitions Across Multiple Levels of Organization. Neurophilosophy: The State of the Art, (California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, June 2005).Poster2-2

The Study of Learning and Memory Then and Now: Conceptual Problems and Experimental Limitations. Sullivan, J.A., Machamer, P.K., Thiels, E. Learning and Memory Workshop, (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, April 2005).*SullivanMachamerThiels2005.pdf

The Study of Learning and Memory Then and Now: Evidence for Conceptual Change? Sullivan, J.A., Machamer, P.K., Thiels, E., Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, (San Diego, CA, November 2004).* posteriii

Differential Recruitment of ERK in two forms of LTP in the adult hippocampus in vivo. Sullivan, J.A., DeLoreia C.E., Kanterewicz, B.I., Thiels, E. Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, (New Orleans, LA, November 2003).*

Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase: A General Plasticity Kinase. National Science Foundation Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training Program (NSF-IGERT) Symposium, (Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, June 2003).

Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase: One Cascade, Two Forms of Synaptic Plasticity. Sullivan, J.A., Kanterewicz, B.I., Thiels, E. Learning and Memory Workshop, (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, April 2003).*

The Role Of Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase in LTP vs. LTD in the Adult Hippocampus In Vivo. Sullivan, J.A., Kanterewicz, B.I., Thiels, E., Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, (Orlando, FL, November 2002).*

Levels of Analysis, Reduction and Neuroscience. (Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition (CNBC), Mellon Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, January 2002).

Leveling Reduction with Peter Machamer. Pittsburgh-London Workshop in Philosophy of Biology and Neuroscience, (Birbeck College, London, England, September 2001).

Invited Commentaries

Invited commentary on Sarah Robin’s “Optogenetics and the Mechanism of False Memory”, Southern Society for Psychology and Philosophy Annual Meeting,(New Orleans, LA, April 2015) commentsonSara4

Invited commentary on Kathryn Tabb’s “Philosophy of Psychiatry after Diagnostic Kinds”, Early Career Scholars Conference in Philosophy of Psychiatry: Overcoming Mind-Brain Dualism in 21st Century Medicine, Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA, November 21-22). (remotely)commentsonKatie3

Invited commentary on Robert Foley’s “Flexible Intentional Action as a Criterion for Consciousness”, Canadian Philosophical Association Annual Meeting, Brock University (St. Catherine’s, ON, May 2014).

Invited commentary on Serife Tekin’s “Self-insight in the Time of Mood Disorders”, Southern Society for Philosophy of Psychology (SSPP) Annual Meeting, (New Orleans, LA, March 2011).sspcommentsforserife1-2

Invited commentary, “An Ode to Peter Machamer”. Peterfest at The Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA, October 2009).

Invited commentary on Melody Dye, Michael Ramscar and Nal Kalchbrenner’s article “No representation without taxation: The costs and benefits of learning to conceptualize the environment”, Society for Philosophy and Psychology (SPP) Annual Meeting, (Bloomington, IN, June 2009).CommentaryonDye&colleagues

Invited commentary on Kenneth Aizawa’s The Biochemistry of Memory Consolidation and Multiple Realization. Society for Philosophy and Psychology (SPP) Annual Meeting, (Wake Forest University, Wake Forest, NC, June 2005).commentary

Invited commentary on Steven Quartz’s Toward a Developmental Evolutionary Psychology: Genes, Development and the Evolution of Human Cognitive Architecture. Proceedings of the Pittsburgh Workshop in Hist. and Phil. of Biology, (Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, March 2002). commentary on Quartz

The Place of the Mind in Contemporary Neuroscience. (w/Floh Thiels), 2011 Annual Society for Neuroscience Meeting, (Washington DC, November 2011).*floh&jackiesfnposterversion2 floh 8nov11

Challenges for Medical Models of Addiction. (w/Harold Kincaid). 17th European Congress of Psychiatry. (Lisbon, Portugal, January 24-28, 2009).kincaidsullivan

Reward, Reinforcement and the Dopamine System: Making Conceptual Transitions Across Multiple Levels of Organization. Neurophilosophy: The State of the Art, (California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, June 2005).Poster2-2

The Study of Learning and Memory Then and Now: Conceptual Problems and Experimental Limitations. Sullivan, J.A., Machamer, P.K., Thiels, E. Learning and Memory Workshop, (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, April 2005).*SullivanMachamerThiels2005.pdf

The Study of Learning and Memory Then and Now: Evidence for Conceptual Change? Sullivan, J.A., Machamer, P.K., Thiels, E., Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting, (San Diego, CA, November 2004).* posteriii