Vanderbilt University Medical Center this week plays host to the second annual Brain Awareness Week ‹ a series of events, programs, lectures and demonstrations dedicated to raising public awareness of brain research.
These events include:
€ "Memory Systems of the Brain," a lecture presented by Larry R. Squire. Ph.D., VA Medical Center, University of California, San Diego, on Thursday, March 13, at 4:15 p.m. in room 103 Wilson Hall.
€ A symposium on informed consent for patients with mental impairments and other emergency situations where the patient's ability to assess treatment is limited, hosted by VUMC's Institutional Review Board, Office of Health Policy Development and the FDA, will be held in 208 Light Hall at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, March 14. Paul W. Goebel, associate director for Human Subjects Protection for the FDA, will speak at the event.
€ On Tuesday, March 18, Dr. Steven M. Reppert, Harvard Medical School, will give a lecture entitled "Why Moths Fly at Night: Comparative Analysis of Clock Gene Regulation." The lecture will be held in room 114 Buttrick Hall at 4 p.m.
€ A career day for high school students will be held on Wednesday, March 19. Jeanette J. Norden, Ph.D., associate professor of Cell Biology will lead a hands-on lesson in neuroanatomy for area high school students, and other guest speakers will be present to speak about careers in neuroscience.
€ The spring Pharmacology Forum on "The Molecular Basis of Drug Addiction" will also be held Wednesday, March 19, at 1 p.m. in 214 Light Hall.
€ Students from Martin Luther King Magnet High School will participate in laboratory tours under the theme "How Alcohol Affects Your Brain" on Thursday, March 20, at 8 a.m. in room 107 of the Hobbs Building. This seminar will be lead by Dr. Alan Leshner, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
€ John A. Sweeney, Ph.D., Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, will speak in the Kennedy Center regarding "New Developments in Imaging the Brain with Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging" at 4 p.m.
€ Dr. Warren J. Strittmatter, Duke University Medical Center, will address current understanding of Alzheimer's disease in "Alzheimer's Diseas: From Genes to Proteins to Therapy," 4 p.m. Thursday, Room 214, Light Hall.
€ Brain Awareness Week will close on Saturday, March 22, with a seminar by Dr. Herbert Y. Meltzer, professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology, entitled "The Torment and Triumph of Schizophrenia: John Nash, Full Knowledge, and the Nobel Prize." The seminar will be held at Cumberland Science Museum at 7 p.m.