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.

2021 Virtual UT BRAINSTORMS

Live Streamed at: Youtube.com/c/UTbrainstorms

Amy Lee, Ph.D.

The University of Texas at Austin

College of Natural Sciences, Department of Neuroscience

The Silent Brain: A Conversation About Hearing Loss and Current Strategies for Hearing Restoration

Thursday, June 24, 2021 7:00 PM Central

RSVP HERE ↗

ABOUT

Amy Lee received her PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Virginia under the mentorship of Kevin Lynch and went on to postdoctoral work with William Catterall at the University of Washington. She began her independent research career in 2002 as Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Pharmacology at Emory University. In 2009, she moved to the Dept. of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Iowa, where she rose through the ranks to full professor in 2015 and also served as Assistant Dean for Research in the Carver College of Medicine from 2014-2019. She is broadly interested in the structure/function relationships of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels, and the roles that these channels play in orchestrating the development and mature function of the nervous system.

Michael Mauk, Ph.D.

The University of Texas at Austin

College of Natural Sciences, Department of Neuroscience

The Learning Brain: A Conversation About Successful Studying as Informed by Neuroscience

Thursday, August 26, 2021 7:00 PM Central

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ABOUT

Michael Mauk is a Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at UT Austin. His research seeks to understand brain systems in terms of what and how they compute. The Mauk Lab is interested in computation and learning in the cerebellum and the mechanisms of working memory in prefrontal cortex and thalamus. To answer these questions, they combine the use of cerebellar-dependent behavioral paradigm, in-vivo tetrode recordings, reversible pharmacological manipulations, statistical analysis and large-scale computer simulations.

Eric Senning, Ph.D.

The University of Texas at Austin

College of Natural Sciences, Department of Neuroscience

Topic TBA

Thursday, september 23, 2021 7:00 PM Central

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ABOUT

Eric Senning completed his B.A. in Biochemistry at the Colorado College in Colorado Springs, CO. He then joined the lab of Dr. Andrew Marcus at the University of Oregon to investigate the microscopic fluctuations of mitochondria in cells and energy transfer in fluorescent proteins with Fourier Imaging Correlation Spectroscopy (FICS), a specialized fluorescence technique. After finishing his Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Oregon, Eric pursued his interest in dynamics of physiological processes by joining the lab of Dr. Sharona Gordon at the University of Washington as a post-doctoral fellow. His post-doctoral research on the ion channel TRPV1 encompassed single molecule fluorescence, energy transfer, and electrophysiological techniques. In 2017 Eric joined the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Texas at Austin.

The Senning lab focuses on the mechanisms of ion channel regulation in a class of sensory neurons known as nociceptors. The brain receives signals from the peripheral nervous system through the spinal cord. Some of these signals come in through the dorsal horn from DRG nociceptors, which extend processes out to the peripheral tissues, where molecular receptors act to change the excitability of the neuron. Because of its role in pain sensation, the Senning lab's research effort is directed at the function of TRPV1, which is a non-selective ion channel expressed in nociceptors.

Liberty Hamilton, Ph.D.

The University of Texas at Austin

Moody College of Communication, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences

Dell Medical School, Department of Neurology

Topic TBA

Thursday, october 21, 2021 7:00 PM Central

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ABOUT

Dr. Hamilton completed her Ph.D. in neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley and her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco Center for Integrative Neuroscience and Department of Neurosurgery. Her research interests include how speech sounds are represented in the auditory cortex and how these representations change during learning, development, and as a result of plasticity. To investigate this, she applies computational methods to intracranial electrophysiological recordings from patients undergoing surgical treatment for epilepsy. This work involves collaborations with clinicians and epileptologists at Austin's Dell Children's Hospital and through the UT Dell Medical School. She also uses noninvasive EEG in healthy populations to understand complex sound processing during naturalistic speech perception and production. Dr. Hamilton holds a joint appointment in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and the Department of Neurology at Dell Medical School.

She is also affiliated with the UT Austin Institute for Neuroscience, the UT CARE (Clinically Applied Rehabilitation Research and Engineering) Initiative , and the UT Austin Center for Perceptual Systems.

Speaker TBA

Topic TBA

Thursday, november 18, 2021 7:00 PM Central

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ABOUT

Pending.

_{PAST UT BRAINSTORMS}

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. Michael (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

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