Podcasts about neuroscience sfn

In this special episode of Stories of WiN, Dr. Nancy Padilla shares essential tips on how to make the most of your Society for Neuroscience (SfN) annual meeting experience.

Dr. Mitchell joined the University of Florida in 2015 as a Preeminence Professor of Neuroscience in the Department of Physical Therapy and McKnight Brain Institute. He founded and directs the UF Center for Breathing Research and Therapeutics (BREATHE) and the NIH-funded graduate and postdoctoral training program of the same name. A major focus of BREATHE is to understand and treat impaired breathing and airway defense (swallowing/cough) caused by neuromuscular injury or disease. Dr. Mitchell also serves as Deputy Director of the UF McKnight Brain Institute. For the past three decades, Dr. Mitchell pioneered studies of neuroplasticity in the neural system controlling breathing. Areas of active investigation include: intracellular and intercellular mechanisms of long-lasting respiratory motor plasticity triggered by repeated exposure to brief episodes of low oxygen (intermittent hypoxia), the ability to harness that intermittent hypoxia-induced spinal plasticity to treat respiratory and non-respiratory paralysis following spinal injury and during motor neuron disease (ALS), cell-based strategies to treat breathing deficits, and the impact of systemic inflammation on breathing and its control. Investigations span intracellular, intercellular and physiological systems level mechanisms, and translation to humans with acquired or neurodegenerative neurological disorders (SCI and ALS). Dr. Mitchell grew up in California where he received his B.S. (Biological Sciences) and PhD (Developmental and Cell Biology) degrees from the University of California at Irvine. After two years of post-doctoral training at the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in Goettingen, Germany, he moved to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After one year as a postdoc, Dr. Mitchell became an Assistant Professor in 1981, and then the ranks to become Professor and Chair of the Department of Comparative Biosciences (17 years) and director of the NIH funded Respiratory Neurobiology Training Program (14 years). He chose to leave the University of Wisconsin for the opportunity to join the University of Florida and create the BREATHE Center. Dr. Mitchell has been recognized for his research and teaching accomplishments, including a National Institutes of Health MERIT Award, the Norden Distinguished Teacher Award, the Pfizer Research Award on multiple occasions, the Steenbock Professorship for Behavioral and Neural Science, and distinguished lectureships from the Society for Neuroscience (SFN), American Physiological Society (APS), Association of Chairs of Departments of Physiology (ACDP), American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA), and the Oxford Conference for Modeling and the Control of Breathing.

Last month, I attended the Society for Neuroscience conference in Washington, DC and interviewed neuroscientists from across the world about their research. This is the first in a multi-part series called "SfN Shorts" that features these brief (5-10 minute) discussions. I hope that these interviews showcase just how broad a field neuroscience is, and just how many different kinds of research are contained within this field. Interview 1: Nicholas Cottam, a graduate student at Delaware State University, on how we study the genetic disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). Interview 2: Dr. Johnson, a professor at Wits University in South Africa, on how alcohol and diabetes jointly affect the brain. Interview 3: Allison Reed, an undergraduate student at High Point University, on whether THC can help protect the brain against injuries like strokes. Interview 4: Tara Barnes and Anna Estremsky, undergraduates at St. Mary's College of Maryland, on what we can learn from woodpeckers about chronic head injuries. Interview 5: Dr. Yuryanni Rodriguez, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Miami, on the different ways our taste buds can sense sweet taste. Follow along with the posters here: https://inplainenglishpod.org/2023/12/05/season-3-episode-3-society-for-neuroscience-sfn-shorts-part-1/ In Plain English now has a Discord server! Join ⁠⁠here ⁠⁠to chat with other listeners, past experts, and guests about science, suggest new episode topics, and more! Remember to follow In Plain English on ⁠⁠Facebook ⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠to keep up with the latest announcements! If you are able, please consider ⁠⁠becoming a Patron⁠⁠ to help support In Plain English! And check out our ⁠⁠Where to Listen⁠⁠ page to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform! Intro/Outro music credit: Sam Brunwasser (⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/visualsnowbeats⁠⁠)

The Society for Neuroscience annual meeting, a big conference in neuroscience, is about to start. This year, it's in Washington. And here is a sneak peek of the meeting for you. Along with editors at Springer Nature, I got the chance to ask a bit about the meeting before it starts shortly. It was a mash up of a press conference of sorts and a wider discussion with colleagues from Scientific American and from Nature Neuroscience. In this podcast episode, you will hear questions from them and from me and responses by Dr. Oswald Steward, the president of the Society for Neuroscience (SFN) and Dr. Damien Fair who is the chair of the SfN Public Education and Communication committee. (Art J. Jackson) (Music: Billiard Balls by Raw, licensed from artlist.io)

Professor Peter Andras is the Dean of the School of Computing, Engineering & the Built Environment. Previously, Peter was the Head of the School of Computing and Mathematics (2017 – 2021) and Professor of Computer Science and Informatics at Keele University from 2014 – 2021. Prior to this he worked at Newcastle University in the School of Computing (2002 – 2014) and the Department of Psychology (2000 – 2002). He has a PhD in Mathematical Analysis of Artificial Neural Networks (2000), MSc in Artificial Intelligence (1996) and BSc in Computer Science (1995), all from the Babes-Bolyai University, Romania. Peter's research interests span a range of subjects including artificial intelligence, machine learning, complex systems, agent-based modelling, software engineering, systems theory, neuroscience, modelling and analysis of biological and social systems. He has worked on many research projects, mostly in collaboration with other researchers in computer science, psychology, chemistry, electronic engineering, mathematics, economics and other areas. His research projects have received around £2.5 million funding, his papers have been cited by over 2,400 times and his h-index is 25 according to Google Scholar. Peter has extensive experience of working with industry, including several KTP projects and three university spin-out companies, one of which is on the London Stock Exchange since 2007 – eTherapeutics plc. Peter is member of the Board of Governors of the International Neural Network Society (INNS), Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and member of the UK Computing Research Committee (UKCRC), IEEE Computer Society, Society for Artificial Intelligence and Simulation of Behaviour (AISB), International Society for Artificial Life (ISAL) and the Society for Neuroscience (SfN). Peter serves on the EPSRC Peer Review College, the Royal Society International Exchanges Panel and the Royal Society APEX Awards Review College. He is also regularly serving as review panel member and project assessor for EU funding agencies. Outside academia, Peter has an interest in politics and community affairs. He served as local councillor in Newcastle upon Tyne, parish councillor in Keele and stood in general elections for the Parliament. He has experience of working with and leading community organisations and leading a not-for-profit regional development consultancy and project management organisation.   Ref: https://www.napier.ac.uk/people/peter-andras 

In questo audio il prezioso incontro Paolo Canevari artista Domenica Bueti neuroscienziata. L'intervista è in Contemporaneamente di Mariantonietta Firmani, il podcast pensato per Artribune.In Contemporaneamente podcast trovate incontri tematici con autorevoli interpreti del contemporaneo tra arte e scienza, letteratura, storia, filosofia, architettura, cinema e molto altro. Per approfondire questioni auliche ma anche cogenti e futuribili. Dialoghi straniati per accedere a nuove letture e possibili consapevolezze dei meccanismi correnti: tra locale e globale, tra individuo e società, tra pensiero maschile e pensiero femminile, per costruire una visione ampia, profonda ed oggettiva della realtà. Con Paolo Canevari e Domenica Bueti parliamo di arte e neuroscienze: tra tecnica e intuizione, finanziamenti e politica, necessità esporre la società alla complessità. È un incontro straordinariamente ricco di spunti e riflessioni profonde. L'opera ha vita propria e il suo valore simbolico prescinde dall'artista, dal pubblico, e dal tempo. Ed ancora, il cervello è un creatore di realtà, dove il tempo, non discreto, scorre tra meccanismi neurofisiologici e circuiti neruali. L'artista è come un virus, e la potenza del messaggio è funzione della rigorosa sintesi, la tecnica è a servizio del gesto poetico universale. Nella ricerca scientifica le strumentazioni tecniche sono condivise su scala internazionale, tra divertimenti e ambiti culturali, e molto altro. ASCOLTA L'INTERVISTA!! GUARDA IL VIDEO!! https://youtu.be/kqM-yHk-4gM BREVI NOTE BIOGRAFICHE DEGLI AUTORI Paolo Canevari artista italiano di fama internazionale, di terza generazione nella sua famiglia. I suoi lavori sono presenti in rinomate collezioni private e pubbliche. A partire da: MoMA, New York; Louis Vuitton pour la Creation, Paris; Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation, Miami; Centro Luigi Pecci, Prato; MART, Trento e Rovereto. Ed ancora: Perna Foundation, Capri; Johannesburg Art Gallery; Istituto Nazionale per la Grafica Calcografia Nazionale, M.A.C.R.O. e MAXXI Roma, e molto altro.Gomma degli pneumatici e colore nero, sono suoi strumenti d'elezione, pur utilizzando differenti media: disegno, video, animazioni, scultura e installazioni, dalla forte connotazione concettuale. Con un linguaggio personale indaga gli aspetti quotidiani e più intimi della memoria, cui sovrappone simboli e icone, cultura pop, rappresentazione storica e coscienza politica. Del suo lavoro scrivono Andrea Camilleri e Valerio Magrelli, critici e curatori internazionali come: Alanna Heiss, Klaus Biesenbach, Chrissie Iles, Brett Littman, Germano Celant. Vive a New York, espone in numerose collettive internazionali a Los Angeles, Parigi, Kiev, Vienna, Francoforte, Dublino, Ginevra, Taiwan, Liegi. Invitato in rassegne prestigiose come: la Quadriennale di Roma (1999), Biennale di Liverpool 2004; la Whitney Biennale (2006), Biennale di Venezia (2007), Quadrilateral Biennial di Rijeke, Croazia (2014), Bangkok Biennale (2018). Domenica Bueti neuroscienziata dal 2016 è professore associato di neuroscienze Cognitive alla Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati di Trieste. Alla (SISSA) dirige il “Laboratorio di Percezione del Tempo”, sostenuto da European Research Cuncil (ERC) e da Ministero Italiano dell'Università e della Ricerca (MIUR). Laurea in psicologia all'Università di Padova, dottorato alla Sapienza di Roma, ricercatore alla University College London (UCL), al Policlinico Universitario e al Politecnico (EPFL) Losanna.Inoltre, lal 2016 è direttore di ricerca al Biomedical Imaging Research Center (CIBM), École Polytechnique Lausanne Federal Reserve (EPFL), Svizzera. Tra I molti premi nel 2017 vince il bando “Fare” del MIUR. Poi, nel 2015 European Research Council le conferisce un contributo di consolidamento del progetto: “Come il cervello umano padroneggia il tempo (BiT)”. Inoltre è revisore per le molte agenzie di finanziamento come: French National Funding Agency (ANR), Swiss National Funding Agency (SNF), Israel Science Foundation (ISF), Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). Membro di Society for Neuroscience (SfN) e Japan Neuroscience Society (JNS). In fine è autrice di numerose ricerche, con oltre 1800 citazioni, è revisore in oltre 26 autorevoli riviste scientifiche di biologia e psicologia; consulente redattore ed editor per molte prestigiose testate scientifiche.

Melissa Garcia, CAE is the Associate Executive Director for the Society for Neuroscience (SfN). Having spent her career at SfN in seven different roles, Melissa has worked across several functions including meeting programming and education, process improvement, project management, association governance, scientific publications, science policy and advocacy, marketing and communications, and information technology with a focus on business development, innovation, and program expansion. She currently sits on the CESSE board, and is a 2016 recipient of Association Forum/USAE's Forty Under 40 and Association Trends' Young & Aspiring Professionals awards. Host and Founder: Lowell Aplebaum - CEO & Strategy Catalyst at Vista Cova Producer and Operations: Amy Hager - Strategy Advisor at Vista CovaVideo and Audio Editing: Kaelyn SandersMusic: Slow Burn by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4372-slow-burnLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Emery Neal Brown | Anesthesiology and Consciousness Host David Bramante speaks with Emery Neal Brown about his recent award from the Society of Neuroscience (SfN) (the Swartz Prize) for Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience, and discusses his research and experience with anesthesia and consciousness, including the black box of neuroscience, burst suppression, computational neuroscience, and several research programs that he's involved in. Emery is the Warren M. Zapol Professor of Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School and at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and a practicing anesthesiologist at MGH. At MIT he is the Edward Hood Taplin Professor of Medical Engineering and professor of computational neuroscience, the Associate Director of the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, and the Director of the Harvard–MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology. He is also one of only 19 individuals who has been elected to all three branches of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, as well as the first African American and the first anesthesiologist to be elected to all three National Academies. Learn more about Emery here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emery_N._Brown Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1fmWufR6vdGbsrQg0F3ZGS?si=7O2xecO2QUSicUgGwVdR_w Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-david-bramante-show/id1525266196#episodeGuid=849441c3-0cdd-4135-b3f5-039d182cdec3 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/GmYuwHzCO4w PS. Emery discusses that he prefers Star Trek over Star Wars at the end of the show, and that his favorite episode is called Ultimate Computer. Check it out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ultimate_Computer About this show: The David Bramante Show | Discussing the relationship between humans, machines and the future. Host David Bramante researches and reads a massive amount of books on consciousness, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, tech singularity, robots, robotics, and futurism. He talks to cutting-edge researchers, scientists, and futurists, to learn more about where we're headed as a species. For more info, visit https://www.DavidBramante.com

In this episode Danni is talking to Dr. Adriana Bankston, a Principal Legislative Analyst in the University of California. Adriana talks about her interesting journey that started with a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology and her decision to shift to policy and advocacy. Adriana talks about the importance of ensuring mental support in academia, providing young researchers and scientists with practical tools to advance their careers, and leaving your field of research. During this long-distance interview Danni drank Amaretto and Adriana drank her morning coffee.Dr. Adriana Bankston is a Principal Legislative Analyst in the University of California Office of Federal Governmental Relations (UC FGR). In this role, Dr. Bankston serves as an advocate for UC with Congress, the Administration and federal agencies. Prior to this position, Dr. Bankston was a Policy & Advocacy Fellow at The Society for Neuroscience (SfN), where she provided staff support for special and on-going projects, including SfN's annual lobby event and the society's annual meeting.Dr. Bankston earned her Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology from Emory University, and her B.S. in Biological Sciences from Clemson University.Enjoy the episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Genome-wide association studies, or GWAS, are very helpful in telling researchers where to focus their attention. They point out genetic linkers that have the potential to be used as medicines or diagnostics. GWAS identify genes or clusters of genes associated with greater risk for diseases and disorders. But GWAS aren't a silver bullet... Dr. Liz Tunbridge studies genetic risk factors for various psychiatric disorders. She has noted that while GWAS are very useful, they have many limitations, and the interpretations of such studies can be very complicated. Listen in to learn more about the challenges of turning this statistical information into something tangible and the complex therapeutic impacts of gene families.   About Dr. Tunbridge Dr. Elizabeth "Liz" Tunbridge is an Associate Professor at Oxford University. Her research focuses on how individual genetic variants change brain function in psychiatric disorders, with the hope that understanding this can lead to better treatments for patients. Dr. Tunbridge is very active on Twitter! Check out her TED Talk titled "Would there be mental illness in a utopia?" Dr. Tunbridge is also a writer for The Conversation. Learn more about her research here.   More Information This episode features was recorded in San Diego, CA, where Connor Wander attended the BrightFocus Alzheimer’s Disease Fast Track conference, followed by the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting. The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is a well-known conference, drawing 28 thousand people annually. Any other questions?  Let us know!  We appreciate your feedback. You can now support the podcast at https://www.patreon.com/sfspodcast.  Many thanks to our past and present supporters!  Thanks to Plant Warrior for their support.  Use discount code SFS10 at checkout for 10% off your purchase of plant-based protein.

Women are almost twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease as men. However, this is NOT because they live longer. When we look into the aging brain, males and females experience different timelines. The molecular underpinnings of these sex differences could make a huge impact on our understanding of Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Roberta Diaz Brinton is spearheading research into sex differences in Alzheimer's disease. She works to discover how to protect the aging female brain from these increased risk factors. This episode features another throwback recorded in San Diego, CA, where Connor Wander attended the BrightFocus Alzheimer's Disease Fast Track conference, followed by the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting.   About Dr. Brinton Dr. Roberta Diaz Brinton leads the Center for Innovation in Brain Science at the University of Arizona that studies diseases of aging, Alzheimer’s, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s and ALS. Dr. Brinton is an internationally recognized expert in the systems biology of Alzheimer’s disease. She is developing the first regenerative therapeutic to regenerate the degenerated brain. Her analysis focuses on the brain at greatest risk for Alzheimer’s: the aging female brain. Her findings show that the sex difference in Alzheimer’s disease is not because women live longer than men, as commonly thought, but rather because the disease starts earlier in the female brain. Her insights into these key transition states of the aging brain provide therapeutic opportunities to prevent, delay, and treat neurodegenerative disease.   More Information Read more about Dr. Roberta Diaz Brinton's research and scholarship. Learn more on the Brinton Lab Website. The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is a well-known conference, drawing 28 thousand people annually. In contrast, AD Fast Track is a much smaller conference put on by BrightFocus, a foundation built to support AD and glaucoma research and awareness. Many of the speakers at the event were directly supported by BrightFocus (Lamb, Brinton, Head, Grinberg). Alzheimer's disease research is reinventing itself in the wake of past failures. New understandings of disease complexity, paired with recent advances in technology and a renewed surge in funding for research fuels new hope for a cure or treatment. Yet we aren't putting all our eggs in one basket. This series explores Alzheimer's disease research and the variety of research strategies with the common goal of curing Alzheimer's disease.   Any other questions?  Let us know!  We appreciate your feedback. You can now support the podcast at https://www.patreon.com/sfspodcast.  Many thanks to our past and present supporters!  Thanks to Plant Warrior for their support.  Use discount code SFS10 at checkout for 10% off your purchase of plant-based protein.

This week's episode features another throwback recorded in San Diego, CA, where Connor Wander attended the BrightFocus Alzheimer's Disease Fast Track conference, followed by the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting. We talked with Dr. Elizabeth Head, who studies the link between Down Syndrome and Alzheimer's disease with the hopes of improving lives for both patient classes. Listen to hear about this super interesting and very promising work!   About Dr. Elizabeth Head Dr. Elizabeth Head has recently moved from the University of Kentucky to the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and joined the UCI MIND institute. Dr. Head has published over 150 peer reviewed papers, over 30 review papers and book chapters and serves as a grant reviewer for the National Institutes on Health. Dr. Head has dedicated over 20 years to the study of aging and Alzheimer’s disease with a focus on people with Down Syndrome. Catch Dr. Head's livestream where she answers the question: "Are there any promising vaccines for Alzheimer's" on May 3rd, 2019.   More Information Learn more about The International Brain Bank for Down Syndrome-Related Alzheimer's disease mentioned in the podcast. Also watch a presentation by Dr. Head on how to improve quality of life in Down Syndrome and Alzheimer's disease.   The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is a well-known conference, drawing 28 thousand people annually. In contrast, AD Fast Track is a much smaller conference put on by BrightFocus, a foundation built to support AD and glaucoma research and awareness. Many of the speakers at the event were directly supported by BrightFocus (Lamb, Brinton, Head, Grinberg). Alzheimer's disease research is reinventing itself in the wake of past failures. New understandings of disease complexity, paired with recent advances in technology and a renewed surge in funding for research fuels new hope for a cure or treatment. Yet we aren't putting all our eggs in one basket. This series explores Alzheimer's disease research and the variety of research strategies with the common goal of curing Alzheimer's disease.   Listen to our Alzheimer's Fast Track Series Ep. 39: Alzheimer’s Disease Research Part I with Drs. Diane Bovenkamp, Frank LaFerla, and Bruce Lamb Ep. 41: Alzheimer’s Disease Research roundtable with Drs. Cynthia Lemere, Charles Glabe, and Lea T. Grinberg   Any other questions?  Let us know!  We appreciate your feedback. You can now support the podcast at https://www.patreon.com/sfspodcast.  Many thanks to our past and present supporters!  Thanks to Plant Warrior for their support.  Use discount code SFS10 at checkout for 10% off your purchase of plant-based protein.

This week’s episode marks the 2nd of a series focused on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research.  All episodes were recorded in San Diego, CA, where Connor Wander attended the BrightFocus Alzheimer’s Disease Fast Track conference, followed by the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting. The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is a well-known conference, drawing 28 thousand people annually.  In contrast, AD Fast Track is a much smaller conference put on by BrightFocus, a foundation built to support AD and glaucoma research and awareness.  Many of the speakers at the event were directly supported by BrightFocus (Lamb, Brinton, Head, Grinberg). Alzheimer’s disease research is reinventing itself in the wake of past failures.  New understandings of disease complexity, paired with recent advances in technology and a renewed surge in funding for research fuels new hope for a cure or treatment.  Yet we aren’t putting all our eggs in one basket.  This series will explore Alzheimer’s disease research and the variety of research strategies with the common goal of curing Alzheimer’s disease.   In This Episode Listen in to a roundtable with Drs. Cynthia Ann Lemere, Charles Glabe, and Lea T. Grinberg to learn about current research on the causes and possible treatments for Alzheimer's Disease.  We also discuss possible misrepresentations of the Amyloid cascade hypothesis, as well as applications of 3D printing in brain scan models. Special thanks to all podcasts guests and to Martha and Rachel from BrightFocus!   More Information Listen to a brief summary of Alzheimer’s disease signs and symptoms with Dr. Diane Bovenkamp. Find more quick chats on the BrightFocus Foundation website, including some tips and support for Alzheimer’s disease caregivers. The Amyloid cascade hypothesis is commonly discussed in Episode 41: Alzheimer’s disease roundtable. Listen to a discussion of Amyloid beta’s putative role as an ancient ant-microbial peptide in the brain in Episode 13: Amyloid Beta: Villain, or Hero in Alzheimer’s Disease? This possible role for Amyloid beta is important in the Amyloid cascade hypothesis; the idea that amyloid beta is the first thing to go wrong in AD, and triggers a chain reaction causing tau to aggregate and kill neurons.  This is a commonly discussed hypothesis in Alzheimer’s research, and is often referenced in this series. Learn more with a detailed infographic on the Amyloid cascade hypothesis.  It’s in a perspective piece discussing the recent developments in AD research by Biogen, and Eisai, two companies working on Alzheimer’s disease therapeutics like such as anti-amyloid or anti-tau antibodies, which have shown some promise in AD clinical trials. For more in-depth analysis of developments in AD and other neurodegenerative diseases, check out Alzforum.org for Alzheimer’s disease background reading. Read about and see images of protein maps in the human brain that help identify markers of brain disease.     Any other questions?  Let us know!  We appreciate your feedback. You can now support the podcast at https://www.patreon.com/sfspodcast.  Many thanks to our past and present supporters!  Thanks to Plant Warrior for their support.  Use discount code SFS10 at checkout for 10% off your purchase of plant-based protein.

This week’s episode marks the 1st of a series focused on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research.  All episodes were recorded in San Diego, CA, where Connor Wander attended the BrightFocus Alzheimer’s Disease Fast Track conference, followed by the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting. The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is a well-known conference, drawing 28 thousand people annually.  In contrast, AD Fast Track is a much smaller conference put on by BrightFocus, a foundation built to support AD and glaucoma research and awareness.  Many of the speakers at the event were directly supported by BrightFocus (Lamb, Brinton, Head, Grinberg). Alzheimer’s disease research is reinventing itself in the wake of past failures.  New understandings of disease complexity, paired with recent advances in technology and a renewed surge in funding for research fuels new hope for a cure or treatment.  Yet we aren’t putting all our eggs in one basket.  This series will explore Alzheimer’s disease research and the variety of research strategies with the common goal of curing Alzheimer’s disease.   In This Episode Listen in to hear an overview of the BrightFocus AD Fast Track conference and current standing of Alzheimer’s disease research.  We also focus on animal models of Alzheimer’s disease. @6:07 Dr. Diane Bovenkamp introduces BrightFocus and the AD Fast Track Conference. @21:00 Dr. Frank LaFerla breaks down amyloid beta and tau in Alzheimer's disease research. @37:31 Dr. Bruce T. Lamb describes the MODEL-AD project, which seeks to better simulate Alzheimer's disease in animal models. Special thanks to all podcasts guests and to Martha and Rachel from BrightFocus!     More Information Listen to a brief summary of Alzheimer’s disease signs and symptoms with Dr. Diane Bovenkamp. Find more quick chats on the BrightFocus Foundation website, including some tips and support for Alzheimer’s disease caregivers. The amyloid cascade hypothesis is commonly discussed in Episode 41: Alzheimer’s disease roundtable. Listen to a discussion of Amyloid beta’s putative role as an ancient ant-microbial peptide in the brain in Episode 13: Amyloid Beta: Villain, or Hero in Alzheimer’s Disease? This possible role for Amyloid beta is important in the Amyloid cascade hypothesis; the idea that amyloid beta is the first thing to go wrong in AD, and triggers a chain reaction causing tau to aggregate and kill neurons.  This is a commonly discussed hypothesis in Alzheimer’s research, and is often referenced in this series. Learn more with a detailed infographic on the Amyloid cascade hypothesis.  It’s in a perspective piece discussing the recent developments in AD research by Biogen, and Eisai, two companies working on Alzheimer’s disease therapeutics like such as anti-amyloid or anti-tau antibodies, which have shown some promise in AD clinical trials. For more in-depth analysis of developments in AD and other neurodegenerative diseases, check out Alzforum.org for Alzheimer’s disease background reading.     Any other questions?  Let us know!  We appreciate your feedback. You can now support the podcast at https://www.patreon.com/sfspodcast.  Many thanks to our past and present supporters!  Thanks to Plant Warrior for their support.  Use discount code SFS10 at checkout for 10% off your purchase of plant-based protein.

I caught Andre Snellings on the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) floor and grabbed him quickly to do an interview about NeuroNexus and Michigan Electrodes. We quickly talk about some of the advantages of the Michigan array which has the advantage of being a 3-dimensional electrode. The electrodes are also customizable, "if a customer can draw it on a piece of paper, we can make it" Andre has since left to work as a fantasy basketball writer at ESPN. Let's wish him the best of luck!

Dr Joern Rickert is the CEO of Cortec and I had a chance to sit down to talk with him during the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) in November 2017. In this episode we talk about a bit of what SfN is like and then we continue on to Coretec's technology. Their goal is to make the human brain connectable to Artificial intelligence. They specialize in making soft electrodes and even have made electrodes that can connect to peripheral nerves. They are very versatile and can make many modifications based on what the partners need. Although I enjoyed this interview very much, I am a bit low energy because I had a bit of a fever during the interview.