Nancy Andreasen, M.D., Ph.D.
Andreasen up next in Discovery series
Nancy Andreasen., M.D., Ph.D., recipient of the inaugural Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science, will be the featured speaker at the Vanderbilt Discovery Lecture Series on Thursday, Sept. 28.
The talk, entitled "The Creative Brain: The Neuroscience of Genius,” will be held in 208 Light Hall at 3 p.m., with a reception immediately following in the lobby. The lecture is free and open to the public.
Andreasen is the chair of Psychiatry at the University of Iowa College of Medicine and director of the Iowa Mental Health Clinical Research Center.
One of the world's foremost authorities on schizophrenia, Andreasen was an early pioneer in applying neuroimaging techniques to study the neural basis of major mental illness and was among the first to suggest that schizophrenia was linked to abnormal brain development.
Andreasen's research has also provided significant insight into the brain mechanisms underlying language, emotion and the creative process.
She led the first extensive empirical study of creativity and was the first to recognize the association between creativity and manic-depressive illness.
In addition to being the first recipient of the Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science, Andreasen is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.
The Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science was recently established by Vanderbilt University School of Medicine to honor women who have made significant advances in the biological and biomedical sciences and have contributed positively to the mentorship of other women in science.
For a complete schedule of the Discovery Lecture series, go to www.mc.vander-bilt.edu/discoveryseries.