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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute

@zuckermanbrain.bsky.social
796 followers 149 following 145 posts

Created by @columbiauniversity.bsky.social to be the world's foremost neuroscience institute, we are deciphering the brain — how it develops, works, endures and recovers.

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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
This year's prestigious Wolf Prize in Medicine goes to our very own @columbiauniversity.bsky.social Charles Zuker: "For revolutionizing our understanding of taste, the last of our senses to be elucidated.” zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/wolf-prize-g... @columbiamed.bsky.social
Charles Zuker
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Don't miss next week's event, Embodied Memory: zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/embodied-mem... Sarah Ruhl, Kathy Chalfant, and Daphna Shohamy, PhD, will explore the connections between storytelling, performance, and the science of the mind.
embodied memory
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Don't miss our Stavros Niarchos Foundation Brain Insight Lecture: Finding Meaning in Memories. Tomorrow, 6:30 PM (EST): zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/stavros-niar... Three experts will bridge computational and experimental neuroscience approaches to examine the role memory plays in our lives.
Featuring Daphna Shohamy, PhD; Ashok Litwin-Kumar, PhD; moderated by Isabel Low, PhD.
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Congratulations to Briana McRae, PhD, for her new @rockefellerinst.bsky.social New York State Science Policy Fellowship! The fellowship recognizes her research on motherhood brain changes and her advocacy for federal research funding: rockinst.org/news/article...
Briana McRae
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
@npr.org reports on a recent Sawtell lab discovery of brain cells that keep electric fish from blinding themselves while sensing their environment. Listen here! www.npr.org/2026/09/04/n.... Read more at zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/electric-fis...
Sawtell NPR
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Join us in October for the Teacher Institute for Neuroscience & Society! NYC middle school educators will explore the intersection of neuroscience and climate change through four interactive workshops. Earn a $400 stipend & 10 CTLE credits. Apply now bit.ly/teacher-neur...
Teacher Institute for Neuroscience & Society
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Imagine yelling while trying to listen. That’s kind of what electric fish do when they scan their environs by emitting and detecting electric fields. Nate Sawtell & team have discovered the mental circuitry that makes this feat possible @nature.com zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/electric-fis...
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Which computer models of the brain best capture what an actual brain does? The Kriegeskorte lab and colleagues are answering this question by forcing AIs to disagree with each other, using bespoke images. Learn more in @natneuro.nature.com zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/why-are-scie...
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Join us for Embodied Memory: a closing conversation with playwright and Alan Kanzer Writer-in-Residence Sarah Ruhl. Featuring actress Kathy Chalfant, and neuroscientist Daphna Shohamy, PhD. 🗓️ October 5th, 4:00 pm Learn more and register: zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/embodied-mem...
Sarah Ruhl
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Congratulations to this year’s @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social BRAINYAC teen grads! Our summer research program pairs 10th & 11th graders from partner schools with @columbiauniversity.bsky.social neuroscientists for hands-on lab experience and mentorship. The future of science is in good hands!
BRAINYAC graduatesBRAINYAC graduatesBRAINYAC graduatesBRAINYAC graduates
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
What is the source of consciousness in the human brain? Read more from Michael Shadlen, a neuroscientist who studies decision-making: zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/how-consciou...
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Join us for our next Stavros Niarchos Foundation Brain Insight Lecture: Finding Meaning in Memories. Wed 09/16, 6:30 PM. Experts will bridge computational and experimental approaches to examine the role memory plays in our lives. Learn more & register: zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/stavros-niar...
Featuring Daphna Shohamy, PhD; Ashok Litwin-Kumar, PhD; moderated by Isabel Low, PhD.
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Where does curiosity come from? Neuroscientist @jenbussell.bsky.social wants to know. She found that mice, like us, seek information with no external benefit. Her new Nature Neuroscience research links this desire for knowledge to cells in the brain's orbitofrontal cortex. See tinyurl.com/3xjt8e5c
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Scientists have long debated whether neurons are jacks of all trades or tend to specialize in one thing. Now @stefanofusi.bsky.social, @lorenzoposani.com & Liam Paninski present new evidence in @nature.com shedding light on how the brain performs complex tasks. tinyurl.com/yj3ew8en
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
What was the Zuckerman Institute up to in the 2025-2026 academic year? See for yourself in our Yearly Recap: zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/2025-2026-ac...
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
🧠✨Saturday Science will be at Manhattanville Community Day! Free activities for children of all ages to explore the science of the brain. And featuring the BioBus Mobile Lab! 📍605 W 129th St 🗓️ Saturday, June 27 ⏰ Drop in anytime from 12–3 PM Register at bit.ly/SatSciJune2026
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Is forgetting useful? This was among the deep questions about how memories are formed and used explored at Local Circuits, a symposium that brought together leading experts in biological and artificial intelligence @columbiauniversity.bsky.social zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/symposium-me...
Christine Denny, PhD, presenting research on the molecular mechanisms underlying memory. Credit: Eileen Barroso.
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Join us on June 18 for the capstone event of our Jazz Artist-in-Residence, Linda May Han Oh. The performance will be followed by a conversation reflecting on her residency, key learnings, ongoing questions, future projects, and collaborations: zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/afternoon-li... 🎶🧠🎶
Grammy Award–winning bassist and composer, Linda May Han Oh
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
🧠✨ What is the physical form of a memory? Join us on 06/18 for the opening of The Shape of Memory, a new site-specific installation by artist Maya Ciarrocchi, created in collaboration with neuroscientists @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social RSVP: bit.ly/AELmemory
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Tiny changes can have profound effects on life. Lochlan Krupa, an undergraduate working in the @bendeskylab.com lab, knows this well. He recently discovered that the duplication of a single gene gave fish a new ability to make a vitamin from their food zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/science-life...
Hand holding a salamander, mountains in the background. Texbox reads: "Growing up in a rural commune taught me to pay attention to living things ..."
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Read more: zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/brain-contro...
Fictional illustration of a brain-controlled hearing aid.
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
What different insights might a playwright and a neuroscientist have about memory? Our own Daphna Shohamy, Alan Kanzer Writer-in-Residence Sarah Ruhl and Carol Becker shared stories from their lives about how memory affects their work: news.columbia.edu/news/neurosc...
From left to right: Sarah Ruhl, Alan Kanzer Writer-in-Residence at Zuckerman Institute; Daphna Shohamy, Kavli Professor of Brain Science and director/CEO of the Zuckerman Institute; and Carol Becker, professor and dean emerita of School of the Arts at the Lenfest Center for the Arts. Photo by Joel Jares.
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Check out the new @pbs.org South Florida documentary “The Resilient Brain” featuring our own @columbiauniversity.bsky.social @kenmiller.bsky.social discussing the mind, brain and behavior: allhealthtv.com/program/the-...
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
What can science teach us about brain health? @columbiauniversity.bsky.social ’s Daphna Shohamy and other leading neuroscientists discuss the latest research on memory, the mind and brain health with @pbs.org @southfloridapbs.bsky.social. Tune in and learn more! youtu.be/RtIN0Qhq0Zo?...
"Memories change with time, orienting us toward the future." — Daphna Shohamy
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Congratulations to our own @michaelshadlen.bsky.social , MD, PhD, who was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences! This recognition celebrates excellence and leadership in the sciences and across disciplines.
Michael Shadlen
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
🧠 ✨ Join us for Saturday Science on April 25, 1–4 PM. Through hands-on activities and interactive demos, explore how the brain gathers information, builds connections and supports learning at every stage of life! Free and open to the public: zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/saturday-sci...
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Join us for our next SNF Brain Insight Lecture: The Brain-Body Connection, on 04/22 Experts will bring together perspectives from neuroscience, genetics, and physiology to uncover what the fruit fly can tell us about our own brain-body connection. zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/stavros-niar...
Featuring Wes Grueber, PhD; Mimi Shirasu-Hiza, PhD; Amanda González-Segarra, PhD.
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
A rare opportunity to meet our director, Daphna Shohamy, live in Rome! Don’t miss her talk on ‘The Neuroscience of Memory and Meaning’ on April 14, during Galileo Week at the American Academy in Rome. 🔭🧠🇮🇹
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
How does one study memory? What questions do you ask? What methodologies do you use? How does memory construct the present? How do we use it to reconstruct the past in stories, memoir, and dramatic work? Join us on April 9 for Where Ideas Come From: Art, Neuroscience, and Memory. bit.ly/4sM7uaW
Brain scans like these helped scientists classify how study participants made decisions. (Credit: Jonathan Nicholas / Shohamy lab/ Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute)
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
By analyzing brain activity throughout the lives of mice, Itamar Kahn, Gagan Wig, Ezra Winter-Nelson & team found that the rodent’s brain ages similarly to that of a human. Studying mice could therefore be a way to learn about how our brains decline as we grow old. @pnas.org tinyurl.com/38xwm5hv
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
🧠 ⚙️ Saturday Science: The Human Machine How does your brain help you think, move, learn, and adapt to the world around you? Join us on Saturday, March 28, from 1–4 PM to explore the incredible systems that make the human brain work. bit.ly/SatSciTHM #SaturdayScience #Neuroscience #BrainWeek
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Curious about the mind and brain? Join us during #BrainAwarenessWeek and learn more about the questions our scientists are asking about the brain. Be curious with us! 🧠 🔍💡 zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/curiosity-co...
A group of children is looking at a brain-shaped cherry tree in blossom.
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Our #BrainWeek is off to a good start! We always love talking about memory, the brain and health with @pbs.org South Florida and colleagues from @sinaibrain.bsky.social @mpfneuro.bsky.social. Stay tuned for air dates!
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
It’s #BrainAwarenessWeek! We are part of s an international campaign to celebrate the wonders of the mind and brain. Join us for free public events! zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/brain-awaren...
Saturday Science participants - photo by Sirin Samman
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
How do jazz musicians keep time together? How does the brain stay in sync with the rhythms of day and night? Join us at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem on March 19, 2026, for Music on the Brain! 🧠🎼 www.eventbrite.com/e/music-on-t...
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Our Saturday Science program welcomed the 10,000th brainy visitor last month! Join us at our next free, public event on March 28! Have some hands-on fun and explore how the brain helps us think, move and learn. Register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/saturday-s... 📸 Photos by Sirin Samman
Saturday Science participants, photo by Sirin SammanSaturday Science participants, photo by Sirin SammanSaturday Science participants, photo by Sirin SammanSaturday Science participants, photo by Sirin Samman
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
What’s the best way to work as a team across continents on some of the biggest challenges in #neuroscience? Our researchers and colleagues at the @intlbrainlab.bsky.social reveal 20 lessons from their partnership: www.cell.com/neuron/abstr...
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Neuroscientists are always looking for new tools that can bring the brain into sharper focus. For postdoc Daniel Du, that means shooting lasers at state-of-the-art microscopes to take better snapshots of the building blocks of the brain: zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/science-life...
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
How do you make one of the best microscopes in biology even better? Postdoc Daniel Du of the Fitzpatrick lab zapped electrons with a laser. The new research in @elife.bsky.social with Cornell’s Maxson lab promises improved snapshots of the brain: zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/making-world...
Close-up of a laser that can improve cryo-electron tomography images. (Credit: Fitzpatrick lab).
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
This Valentine’s week, find out what fighting fish and jazz soloists have in common. 🐟🎷❤️ Next Thursday, 02/12, join us for Music on the Brain: The Dance Before the Embrace, an evening of live jazz and brain science at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. bit.ly/MotBFeb2026 #jazz #neuroscience
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Neuroscience for NYC high school students? Yes, please! We're celebrating the NYC educators that help us bring brain science from @columbiauniversity.bsky.social labs into the classroom. Read more! 🎓 🧠 🎓 zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/neuroscience...
During a seminar on how the brain controls movement, Ramsha Farooq (left) and Sean McFadden (right) practiced a brain-machine interface activity. (Photo by Steve Myaskovsky)
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
One week to go: the circuits that move us. Our next Stavros Niarchos Foundation Brain Insight Lecture will bring together perspectives from computational, experimental, and clinical approaches to discuss how form meets function in the brain. zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/stavros-niar...
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Join us on Feb. 19 for a powerful VR journey to 1937 Addis Ababa, where Ethiopian civilians sought refuge amidst devastating violence. Explore history with artist Ezra Wube, historian Dr. Angelo Caglioti and moderator Dr. Mulugeta Abebe. zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/art-ed-lab-y...
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
This Valentine’s week, find out what fighting fish and jazz soloists have in common. Join us for Music on the Brain: The Dance Before the Embrace, an evening of live jazz and brain science, at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem February 12, 7–8 pm 🧠🎼
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Join us for our next Stavros Niarchos Foundation Brain Insight Lecture: The circuits that move us. Experts will bring together perspectives from computational, experimental, and clinical approaches to discuss how form meets function in the brain. zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/stavros-niar...
Featuring Lea Duncker, PhD; Hemali Phatnani, PhD; moderated by Leslie Sibener, PhD.
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Congratulations to @franckp.bsky.social, awarded this year’s @fondationfyssen.bsky.social International Prize jointly with Pierre Vanderhaeghen! Read more about their research on genes that guide human brain development. www.thetransmitter.org/spectrum/pro...
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
Our Alan Kanzer Postdoctoral Fellowship program is accepting new applications! The fellowship offers a competitive salary, broad-ranging collaboration opportunities and access to state-of-the-art facilities and equipment. Learn more!! zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/columbia-neu...
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
Columbia University’s Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute and Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons are seeking an outstanding Assistant Professor (tenure-track) in Neuroscience. Applications received by November 22, 2025 will receive full consideration. Learn more: bit.ly/columbianeuro
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
What makes @columbiauniversity.bsky.social's Center for Theoretical Neuroscience unique? A cadre of top-tier theoretical neuroscientists and a super-collaborative culture. Find out more about the center on its 20th anniversary: zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/how-mathemat...
Kavli graduate student Tuan Nguyen of Columbia’s Center for Theoretical Neuroscience presents new research at ZIFest (Credit: Sirin Samman)
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Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
Join us for Music on the Brain: From Tension to Groove. Pianist and composer Kelly Green teams up with Dr. Anna Zhukovskaya from @zuckermanbrain.bsky.social to uncover the science behind resilience, creativity, and rhythm. 🎼 ❤️🧠 Thursday 11/13 7:00 PM at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem.
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