Brain Awareness Week

Brain awareness week is back! Join us for a series of talks during the week of October 28. All events are open to the public.

people listening to a presentation

Brain Awareness Week is full of great speakers and student presentations that engage everyone in the medical mysteries of the mind.

The annual Brain Awareness Week (BAW) is a nationally recognized innovative academic outreach program at the College with the overall goal to educate and engage on broad issues of Brain, Mind, and Behavior. 

BAW first began in 2003 and is collaboratively organized annually by the neuroscience student organizations Nu Rho Psi and SYNAPSE, with contributions by the Neuroscience Program, the Biology Department, and the  Psychology Department. The National Society for Neuroscience recognized the 2010 Lake Forest College program with its first inaugural and annual Brain Awareness Week Award.

BAW 2024 Poster

Brain Awareness Week runs from October 28 to November 1, and features three keynote lectures along with the Ninth Annual Robert B. Glassman Memorial Brain, Mind, and Behavior Symposium

2024 Brain Awareness Week

Monday, October 28

Virginia LeeThe Opening Keynote Lecture

Transmission of Misfolded Proteins in Neurodegenerative Disorders: A Common Mechanism of Disease Progression

Virginia Lee, Ph.D.
John H. Ware 3rd Endowed Professor in Alzheimer’s Research, Director of the Center of Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania

4:15 p.m., presented via Teams
Contact Professor Shubhik DebBurman ( debburman@lakeforest.edu) for a Teams link.

Tuesday, October 29

Gabrielle StarrThe Nu Rho Psi Keynote Lecture

Why Brains Crave Beauty: Learning the Arts and Creativity

Gabrielle Starr, Ph.D.
President, Pomona College

4:15 p.m., presented via Teams
Contact Professor Shubhik DebBurman ( debburman@lakeforest.edu) for a Teams link.

Wednesday, October 30

Adele DiamondThe Annual Mind and Society Dialogue Lecture

Translating Neurobiological Insights Into How To Aid Children’s Executive Functions: How Montessori Had Much of This Right

Dr. Adele Diamond, Ph.D.
Canada Research Chair Tier I Professor of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, University of British Columbia

4:15 p.m., Tarble Room, Brown Hall

Thursday, October 31

Robert B. Glassman Memorial Brain, Mind, and Behavior Symposium Day One
Faculty and Alumni Talks
All talks will be in Tarble Room, Brown Hall 

  • 7:00 p.m. Welcome Remarks, Synapse
  • 7:05 p.m. Hannah Carlson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Neuroscience & Psychology, Lake Forest College, “Tranq-Dope”, a Deadly Combination: Assessing the Behavioral and Pharmacological Impact of Combined Fentanyl and Xylazine
  • 7:25 p.m. Saul Bello Rojas ’16, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, Oregon Health Sciences University, Development and Structure of Motor Control in Spinal Cord
  • 7:45 p.m. Catherine Reedy, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of English, Lake Forest College, Infected Brains and Pestilent Congregations in Shakespeare
  • 8:05 p.m. Sarah Applebey ’18, Ph.D. Candidate in Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Room for Dessert?: Sex Differences in the Brainstem Control of the “Dessert Stomach”
  • 8:25 p.m. D. Blaine Moore, Ph.D., Professor of Neuroscience, Lake Forest College, “Molecular Scissors” and Alzheimer’s Disease
  • 8:45 p.m. Closing Remarks, Synapse

Friday, November 1

Robert B. Glassman Memorial Brain, Mind, and Behavior Symposium Day Two
Undergraduate and Alumni Research Poster Session 

4:00 - 6:30 p.m., Calvin Durand Hall, Mohr Student Center

4:00 p.m. Chicago Society for Neuroscience Reception

4:30 p.m. Welcome Remarks and Unveiling of Annual Neuroscience Sculpture

4:45 - 6:10 p.m. Poster Viewing
Enjoy posters and exhibits by current students and recent alumni of original student/faculty research conducted at Lake Forest, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, Midwestern University, Northwestern University, University of Minnesota, Illinois Institute of Technology, and Rush University.

6:10 p.m. Closing Ceremony
Introduction,  Nu Rho Psi
Closing Remarks for Brain Awareness Week and Glassman Symposium
Recognition of student scholars and celebratory photo

The 2024 Brain Awareness Week Sponsors and Organizers

Brought to you by:

Departments of Art, Biology, Education, Music, Philosophy, Psychology, and Theater, Programs in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, and Neuroscience, Health Professions Program, Forest Bluff School, and students organizations: ASBMB, Psi Chi, Future Health Professionals.

Organized by:

Nu Rho Psi (Neuroscience Honor Society) and Synapse (the brain awareness student organization at Lake Forest College).

Thanks to:

The Offices of Printing Services, Communication and Marketing, Parkhurst Dining, and Library and Information Technology.
Thanks to Rosemary Thomas ’18 for the logo design.