October 07, 2022
Linda Blaser
Glassman Brain, Mind, Behavior Symposium marks 10 years, November 3–4
The 2022 Robert B. Glassman Memorial Brain, Mind, and Behavior Symposium to be held Thursday, November 3 and Friday, November 4 will mark 10 years this year.
The symposium consists of a series of talks given by Lake Forest College faculty and alumni on November 3 and a poster session where Lake Forest students and alumni will present their original research on November 4.
This unique symposium is a highlight of the College’s award-winning Brain Awareness Week, Monday, October 31 through Friday, November 4.
The Glassman Symposium will begin with a set of interdisciplinary faculty and alumni talks. This year’s topics focus on reducing the effects of math anxiety on learning, the role of dopamine in autism, how art and science collide in the classroom, using biomarkers to uncover Alzheimer’s disease, and when hints hurt memory. The talks will be held via Teams from 7 to 9 p.m.
The following lectures will be presented:
- “Worked examples reduce the Effets of Math Anxiety on Learning”—Elayne Vollman, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Lake Forest College
- “Dopamine in Autism: A Modulator of Cortico-Striatal Development?”—Michael Janecek ’18, PhD candidate, University of Pittsburgh
- “The Mind Onstage: How art and science collide in the classroom”—Chloe Johnston, Associate Professor of Theater, Lake Forest College
- “MicroRNAs Mark the Spot: Using biomarkers to uncover Alzheimer’s disease mechanisms”—Sierra Smith ’17, PhD candidate
- “A New Frontier for Improving Police-Community Relations”—Vivian Ta, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Lake Forest College
A research poster session will be held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in Calvin Durand Hall. 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, Iowa State University, Washington University at St. Louis, and University of Wisconsin–Madison.
“The Glassman Symposium is unique in that it allows current students and alumni to connect and share their research with one another,” Associate Dean of Faculty and Professor of Psychology Matt Kelley noted. “It’s hard to believe that it’s been 10 years since we renamed this symposium to honor the late Bob Glassman. Bob loved nothing more than sparking student curiosity and allowing them opportunities to engage with interesting ideas, which is a guiding principle of the Symposium.”
An art sculpture inspired by the 2021 annual education theme in neuroscience, “COVID and the Brain,” will be unveiled. Art students collaborated with science students on creation of the piece.
The Brain Awareness Week Faculty/Student Symposium was renamed the Robert B. Glassman Memorial Brain, Mind, and Behavior Symposium in 2013 in honor of the late Professor of Psychology Robert Glassman, who played a leading role in developing Lake Forest’s popular neuroscience major.
The Glassman Symposium and all Brain Awareness Week events are free and open to the public.