Scientists to present ninth annual 'Brain School' event for the community to celebrate Brain Awareness Week
Each March, the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC presents Brain School in recognition of Brain Awareness Week, an international campaign to raise awareness for better brain health through research, education, and outreach.
Virginia Tech scientists at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC will celebrate the amazing brain with their annual Brain School program, “The Adaptive Brain in Health and Disease,” from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday, March 14 at 2 Riverside Circle in Roanoke. In addition to a faculty neuroscience program, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows will share their work and passion for brain science.
With more cells than there are stars in the galaxy, our brains keep a whole host of bodily functions correctly working — and we don’t even have to think about doing it.
Our brains enable us to understand the world, to build memories, to create, and to feel emotions. They endow us with all the qualities that make us human.
Now, for the ninth straight year, Virginia Tech scientists at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC will celebrate the amazing brain with its annual Brain School program, “The Adaptive Brain in Health and Disease,” from 5 to 7 p.m. on Monday, March 14.
Brain School at the Health Sciences and Technology campus is Virginia Tech’s official recognition of the global Brain Awareness Week. Community members are invited to attend the public event. Hands-on educational activities for the community start at 5 p.m. in the atrium at 2 Riverside Circle in Roanoke, prior to three public lectures presented by local neuroscientists from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
“This is a great event because it gives scientists and the public opportunities to have a dialogue on some of the most fascinating topics in the science of brain and mind," said said Michael Friedlander, executive director of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute and Virginia Tech’s vice president for Health Sciences and Technology. “Brain research is one of the hallmark areas of excellence that is transforming Virginia to a leading brain state. We hope to engage as many community members as possible to share the excitement of brain science. In addition to the presentations by faculty research team leaders, we are fortunate to have several of the outstanding graduate students and postdoctoral fellows share their work and passion for brain science with the community. ”
Friedlander is an elected member of the Dana Brain Alliance, the foundation that started and organizes International Brain Awareness Week to educate the public about the wonders of brain science and the impact it has on our everyday lives. Working with the Dana Brain Alliance, the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute has been designated annually over the past nine years as the official coordinating entity for brain awareness week in Southwest Virginia. This year's event is part of Virginia Tech's sesquicentennial, celebrating 150 years of impact and engagement
Please register in advance to attend Brain School in person. Face masks are required.
2022 Brain School Schedule on Monday, March 14:
- 5 p.m.: Neuroscience learning activities for all ages in the atrium.
- 5:30 p.m.: “Introduction to Brain Awareness Week and Brain School,” presented by Friedlander.
- 5:35 p.m. “Emotional Synchrony – Learning from the Mouse Brain,” presented by Alexei Morozov, assistant professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute.
- 6:05 p.m.: “Children and Neuromotor Diagnoses – Maximizing Development,” presented by Stephanie DeLuca, associate professor and director of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Neuromotor Research Clinic.
- 6:35 p.m.: “Neurobehavioral Processes in the Prevention and Treatment of Lifestyle-Related Diseases,” presented by Jeff Stein, assistant professor and associate director of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Center for Health Behaviors Research.
Brain School panelists 2022 Alexei Morozov, Stephanie DeLuca and Jeff Stein of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute will give the public a scientists-eye view of the brain on March ww for Brain Awareness Week.
