UT BRAINSTORMS: A Conversation on the Brain

The Department of Neuroscience at the University of Texas at Austin presents UT Brainstorms: A Conversation on the Brain. The purpose of UT Brainstorms is to connect with the community to inform and educate about neuroscience research and the influences it has on our daily lives. We seek a two-way conversation where we share our expertise about the brain and we listen to what it means in people’s lives and to the challenges they face as it relates to the brain.

When: The dates for the 2021 UT Brainstorms Series are listed below. A different topic and faculty speaker will be featured each date. Please check back regularly to learn more about upcoming speakers and topics!

Where: All Brainstorms public outreach events are currently virtual, and will be livestreamed at: Youtube.com/c/UTbrainstorms.

2022 Virtual UT BRAINSTORMS

Live Streamed at: Youtube.com/c/UTbrainstorms

Michael Mauk Ph.D.

The University of Texas at Austin
Department of Neuroscience

The Agile Brain: A conversation on how the brain controls skilled movements

Thursday, January 27, 2022 7:00 PM Central

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ABOUT

Michael Mauk is a Professor in the Department of Neuroscience and a member of the Center for Learning and Memory. He received his PhD in 1985 from Stanford University. After postdoctoral training at Stanford Medical School, he joined the faculty of the University of Texas Medical School at Houston in 1988. In 2007 he joined the Department of Neuroscience at UT-Austin. Dr. Mauk is known for innovative combination of experiments and computer simulations to study the cerebellum and motor learning.

Dr. Harold Zakon

The University of Texas at Austin
Department of Neuroscience

The Zombie Brain: A conversation about how parasites can take over the brain

Thursday, february 17, 2022 7:00 PM Central

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ABOUT

Dr. Harold Zakon, Professor in the Department of Neuroscience, received his Ph.D. in Neurobiology & Behavior from Cornell University in 1981. He did postdoctoral research at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, which is part of the University of California at San Diego from 1981-1983. He joined the faculty at the University of Texas in 1983.

He has served on grant review panels at the NIH, editorial boards of a number of scientific journals and advisory boards of scientific societies. He has won awards for his research, such as an NIH Research Career Development Award and a Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, as well as teaching excellence at UT. He has been a director and faculty member of the “Neural Systems and Behavior” summer course at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts (1995-2005), and the Chairman of international meetings including the “Gordon Research Conference in Neuroethology” at Oxford University (1999, 2002) and the International Society for Neuroethology (2010). He holds a position as Adjunct Scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA. He was a visiting Fellow at the University of Cambridge (2012) and at the Ludwig Maximilian University and University of Konstanz in Germany (2015).

Speaker TBA

Topic TBA

Thursday, March 24, 2022 7:00 PM Central

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ABOUT

Coming soon

Speaker TBA

Topic TBA

Thursday, April 21, 2022 7:00 PM Central

RSVP HERE ↗

ABOUT

Coming soon

_{PAST UT BRAINSTORMS}

2021-22 Series

August 26, 2021: The Learning Brain: A Conversation About Successful Studying as Informed by Neuroscience, Dr. Michael Mauk
September 23, 2021: The Spicy Brain: A Conversation About How We Perceive Heat, Dr. Eric Senning
October 21, 2021: The Stimulated Brain: A Conversation About Language, Movement, and Epilepsy, Dr. Liberty Hamilton
November 18, 2021: The Open Brain: A Conversation About How Cloud Technologies Help Advance Basic and Clinical Science, Dr. Franco Pestilli
January 27, 2022:
February 17, 2022:
March 24, 2022:
April 21, 2022:

2020-21 Series

August 27, 2020: The eLearning Brain: A Conversation about Socializing and Connecting in Virtual Classrooms, Dr. Kristin Patterson
October 15, 2020: 2020 Stresses on the Brain: A Conversation on the Neuroscience of Studying and Focusing in a Challenging Time, Dr. Michael Mauk
November 12, 2020: The COVID Brain: A Conversation About How COVID May Impact Our Brain Health, Dr. Esther Melamed
January 21, 2021: The Drunken Brain: A Conversation About How Science Discovers Drug Targets to Unravel Addiction, Dr. Jonathan Pierce
February 25, 2021: The Fooled Brain: A Conversation on How We Are Easily Misled When Processing Information and Making Decisions, Dr. Michela (Micky) Marinelli
March 25, 2021: The Sensing Brain: A Conversation About Animals, and Humans, with Extraordinary Sensory Systems, Dr. Harold Zakon
April 22, 2021: The Intoxicated Brain: A Conversation About Alcohol, Aggression and Fruit Flies, Dr. Nigel Atkinson
May 20, 2021: The Rhythmic Brain: A Conversation About Your Biological Clock, Dr. William Schwartz
June 24, 2021: The Silent Brain: A Conversation About Hearing Loss and Current Strategies for Hearing Restoration, Dr. Amy Lee

2019-20 Series

September 6, 2019: The Floating Brain: A Conversation about Navagation, Memory, and Weightlessness in Space, Dr. James Knierim
October 12, 2019: The Parkinson's Brain: A Conversation about Brain Circuits, OScillations and Deep Brain Stimulation, Dr. Charles Wilson
November 16, 2019: The Embodied Brain: A Conversation about Intersecting Physical and Mental Health, Dr. Marisa Toups
December 5, 2019: The Remembering Brain: A Conversation About How Memory Contributes to Children and Adults’ Ability to Navigate the World, Acquire New Knowledge, and Imagine Their Future, Drs. Christine Coughlin, Hannah Roome, and Nicole Varga
January 24, 2020: The Student Brain: A Conversation about the Neuroscience Behind Effective Studying, Dr. Michael Mauk
February 15, 2020: The Cyberman Brain: A Conversation about Mind Control, Dr. Boris Zemelman
March 7, 2020: The Ancient Brain: A Conversation about How Our Brains Evolved, Dr. Harold Zakon
May 28, 2020: The Threatened Brain: A Conversation about the Neuroscience of Stress and Resilience, Dr. Michael Drew
July 23, 2020: COVID on the Brain: A Conversation about Viruses, Pandemics and Vaccines, Dr. Daniel Leahy

2018-19 Series

September 29, 2018: The Craving Brain: A Conversation about Vulnerability to Drug Addiction, Dr. Micky Marinelli
October 18, 2018: The Developing Brain: A Conversation about Learning During Childhood & Adolescence, Dr. Alison Preston
November 10, 2018: The Inflamed Brain: A Conversation about Immune Responses, Addiction, Depression & PTSD, Dr. R. Adron Harris
December 13, 2018: The Artificial Brain: A Conversation about Brains, Computers, and Artificial Minds, Dr. Michael Mauk
January 19, 2019: The Curious Brain: A Conversation about How Basic Neuroscience Research Can Have Unexpected Clinical Relevance, Dr. Alex Huk
February 21, 2019: The Distracted Brain: A Conversation about Attention, Memory, and ... Uh, I Forget, Dr. Jarrod Lewis-Peacock
March 23, 2019: The Diminishing Brain: A Conversation about the Search for a Cure for Alzheimer's Disease, Dr. Michael Mauk
April 18, 2019: The Regenerating Brain: A Conversation about how Growing New Neurons Relates to Learning, Anxiety and Depression, Dr. Michael Drew
May 9, 2019: The Listening Brain: A Conversation about our Sonic World, Music and Hearing Impairments, Dr. Nace Golding

2017-18 Series

September 16, 2017: The Forgetting Brain, A Conversation about Memory, Alzheimer's, and Other Memory Disorders, Dr. Michael Mauk
October 14, 2017: The Miswired Brain, A Conversation about Autism, Dr. Audrey Brumback
November 9, 2017: The Eloquent Brain, A Conversation about Language and Thought, Dr. Alexander Huth
January 27, 2018: The Addicted Brain, A Conversation about Alcohol and Drug Addiction, Dr. Robert Messing
February 15, 2018: The Frightened Brain, A Conversation about Fear and Anxiety, Dr. Michael Drew
March 24, 2018: The Plastic Brain, A Conversation about Learning and Memory, Dr. Laura Colgin
April 21, 2018: The Vulnerable Brain, A Conversation about Predisposition to Alzheimer's and Other Neurological Disorders, Dr. Jonathan Pierce
May 17, 2018: The Electrical Brain, A Conversation about Neural Signaling and Epilepsy, Dr. MacKenzie Howard
June 9, 2018: The Broken Brain: A Conversation about How Brain Damage Informs Us About Brain Function, Dr. Michael Mauk