Dr. Edward Chang is a neurosurgeon who treats adults with difficult-to-control epilepsy, brain tumors, trigeminal neuralgia, hemifacial spasm and movement disorders. He specializes in advanced brain mapping methods to preserve crucial areas for speech and motor functions in the brain. He also has extensive experience with implantable devices that stimulate specific nerves to relieve seizure, movement, pain and other disorders. He is the Chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery. Chang's research focuses on the brain mechanisms for speech, movement, emotion, and learning.
Daniela Zarnescu, Ph.D. Penn State, College of Medicine
The Zarnescu Laboratorystudies the molecular mechanisms of aging and neurodegenerative diseases with a focus on RNA processing and cellular metabolism. We use a combination of molecular, genetic, bioinformatic and pharmacological tools, and a diverse array of experimental models, including fruit flies, cultured cells and patient tissues. We also seek to develop therapeutics for neurodegenerative disorders.
Vadim N. Gladyshev is a professor of medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, who specializes in antioxidant biology. He is known for his characterization of the human selenoproteome. He is also known for his work on the effects of aging in humans. He has conducted studies on whether organisms can acquire cellular damage from their food; the role selenium plays as a micro-nutrient with significant health benefits; In 2013 he won the NIH Pioneer Award. In 2021, he was elected member of the U. S. National Academy of Sciences.
Guoping Feng joined the McGovern Institute in 2010 and current serves as its associate director. He is a faculty member in the brain and cognitive sciences department, where he holds the James W. (1963) and Patricia T. Poitras Professorship. Feng is also the director of model systems and neurobiology in the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute.
Yousin Suh, Ph.D. Columbia University, Department of Genetics and Development
Yousin Suh is the Charles and Marie Robertson professor of reproductive sciences in obstetrics and gynecology, professor of genetics and development, and director of reproductive aging at Columbia University. She investigates the (epi)genetic component that underlies the interface of intrinsic aging and disease. Her approach is based on the identification of (epi)genome sequence variants associated with age-related disease risk or its opposite, that is, an unusual resistance to such disease.
A growing body of evidence suggests that older Black adults bear a disproportionate burden of cognitive impairment and dementia compared to other racial and ethnic groups. Despite this disparity, they are under-represented in aging studies. This presentation will present results from a longitudinal epidemiologic cohort of older Black adults who have been followed for over 20 years to document novel risk factors for cognitive decline and risk of Alzheimer's disease. Innovative strategies to engage and retain the cohort will also be highlighted.
Ileana Cristea is a Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology at Princeton University. Her laboratory investigates mechanisms of cellular defense during infection with human viruses.
Ruslan Medzhitov was born in 1966 in Tashkent. He earned a Bachelor of Science at Tashkent State University before going on to pursue a PhD in biochemistry at Moscow State University. In 1992 he read an article by Charles Janeway about a hypothetical flip-flop triggered innate immunity.
Huda Akil, Ph.D. Michigan Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan
Huda Akil is a Syrian-American neuroscientist whose research has contributed to the understanding of the neurobiology of emotions, including pain, anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. Akil and her colleagues are best known for providing the first physiological evidence for a role of endorphins in the brain and demonstrating that endorphins are activated by stress and can cause pain inhibition.
Sandeep Robert Datta, M.D., Ph.D. Havard Medical School
The brain allows animals to successfully interact with a natural world that is rich with opportunity and rife with danger. These interactions are mediated by sensation and movement, which are used by animals to learn about their environment and to make useful predictions about the future. A major challenge facing neuroscience is to understand how the brain builds meaningful patterns of movement in unrestrained settings where animals can freely sense and act based upon their own motivations and desires.
This page was last updated on Friday, August 16, 2024
