Frontiers of BrainHealth
WHERE ARE THE FRONTIERS OF BRAIN SCIENCE?
Take a deep dive with leading experts.
Register for virtual to receive updates on talks and online access to our full virtual season.
Except where otherwise noted, you can also join us in person at Center for BrainHealth.
No registration is required at this time. Lunch begins at 11:30am and talks at noon.
For more information, contact brainhealthevents@utdallas.edu or visit our events FAQs.
Enjoy past Frontiers talks on YouTube
Neuroimmunology and Behavior
Michael Burton, PhD – Eugene McDermott Distinguished Professor, Department of Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Dallas
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As Director of the Neuroimmunology and Behavior Lab at UT Dallas, Dr. Michael Burton researches how the immune and nervous systems communicate to influence pain and comorbidities like depression and anxiety. His research interests extend into aging, nutrition, alcohol consumption and immune activation. Dr. Burton is a founding member of the Center for Advanced Pain Studies and has been selected as a 2024-2025 recipient of the Mayday Pain & Society Fellowship. More Information
Computational Neuroimaging and Biomarkers of Neurodegenerative Disease
Florence Chiang, MD, PhD – Assistant Professor, O’Donnell Brain Institute at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
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Dr. Florence Chiang’s research focuses on developing and translating computational neuroimaging methods to identify and implement imaging biomarkers of disease progression and treatment response in multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases. She is an NIH First Scholar in the UTSW Department of Radiology, Advanced Imaging Center.More Information
Psychosis Risk and Resilience During Adolescence: Insights From Women’s Neurodevelopment
Katherine Damme, PhD – Assistant Professor in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences and Center for Vital Longevity, UT Dallas
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Despite growing focus on early identification, intervention and prevention of psychosis in adolescence, little attention has been given to the preceding neurodevelopmental and pubertal context, a period also marked by initiation and rising gonadal hormones, having a powerful impact on the neuromaturation, connectivity and cognitive function. Dr. Katherine Damme's research explores how this developmental context may help explain sex differences in timing of psychosis onset and course. More Information
Defining Constructs with Context and Claims
Russell Almond, PhD – Associate Professor of Measurement and Statistics, Florida State University
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In the human sciences, there is often a need to measure properties of a person which cannot be directly observed. Constructs are artificial variables which measure the ability or tendency of someone to perform certain actions in certain contexts. Using examples from education, psychology and exercise physiology, award-winning researcher and statistician Dr. Russell Almond will illustrate procedures for measuring real-life constructs, including practices that can advance how tomorrow's researchers work to define, measure and improve brain health.More Information
The Dangers of Marijuana on Mental Health
Harold C. Urschel III, MD, MMA – Senior Consultant, Enterhealth, LLC and Francesca Filbey, PhD – Bert Moore Endowed Chair and Professor, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences; Director, Neuroimaging of Reward Dynamics Lab at UTD
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Addiction psychiatrist and author of the New York Times bestseller Healing the Addicted Brain, Dr. Harold Urschel teams up with Center for BrainHealth's Dr. Francesca Filbey, world-renowned expert in the brain mechanisms of addictive disorders – to discuss both the clinical and the basic science aspects of the myriad, harmful effects of marijuana on the human brain and body. More Information
Scale and Diversity to Empower Precision Aging
Matt Huentelman, PhD – Professor and Director, The Translational Genomics Research Institute
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Delivering the right treatment to the right patient at the right time can significantly improve outcomes while minimizing adverse events and side effects. Inspired by Precision Medicine in oncology, Dr. Matt Huentelman and his team apply these principles to the aging brain, aiming to align cognitive healthspan with lifespan and improve the prediction and prevention of age-related cognitive diseases, terming this approach "Precision Aging." This talk introduces internet- and lab-based approaches to advance this effort.More Information
Acoustic Experience Alters How You “See” the World
Stephen G. Lomber, PhD – Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and Director of the Cerebral Systems Laboratory, UT Arlington
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Dr. Stephen G. Lomber's lab has pioneered the use of focal cooling to reversibly deactivate regions of the cerebrum. His work examines cortical plasticity in the presence and absence of acoustic input and following the initiation of auditory processing through the means of cochlear prosthetics. He has received the Pioneer Award for Basic Science Research from the Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO) and the President’s Award from the Canadian Academy of Audiology. More Information
Psychology and Neuroscience of Human Values
Daniel Krawczyk, PhD – Deputy Director of Research, Debbie and Jim Francis Chair, and Professor of School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, UT Dallas
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Professor, author and podcaster Dr. Daniel Krawczyk studies reasoning, decision-making, human performance, and the relationships between the brain and behavior during these processes. His cognitive neuroscience research lab focuses on understanding reasoning and decision making using a diversity of methods, including behavioral studies, machine learning, imaging and brain stimulation. He has led multiple federally funded studies evaluating thinking and cognitive performance.More Information
Human Molecular Neuroscience Insight into the Next Generation of Pain Therapeutics
Theodore Price, PhD – Professor in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, UT Dallas
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The Center for Advanced Pain Studies (CAPS) at UTD focuses on developing non-opioid pain therapeutics. Dr. Theodore Price will discuss how his lab collaborates to profile the molecular composition of pain circuits in humans, and how they change when people have chronic pain, describing how this data can help validate targets and develop non-opioid pain therapeutics and seven companies working to achieve commercialization of these ideas and products. More Information
The Neuroscience of Emotional Fitness
Paul Zak, PhD – High-Impact Scientist, Author, Public Speaker; Professor of Economic Sciences, Psychology & Management at Claremont Graduate University; Director of Center for Neuroeconomics Studies
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The enormous increase in mental health disorders around the world demands a new view of brain health that satisfies the 4Ps: personalized, preventive, predictive and participatory. Dr. Paul Zak defines emotional fitness, shares research that has established the 4Ps for emotional health, and discusses findings from the launch of a scalable real-time app that measures emotional fitness neurologically and guides users to improved emotional fitness. More Information
The Pit Stop Model of Brain Care: A Lifelong Brain Health Service Line
Alvaro Pascual-Leone, MD, PhD – Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School; Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research and Deanna and Sidney Wolk Center for Memory Health, Hebrew SeniorLife; Linus Health
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The current approach to brain care is largely reactive, considered only when patients or families raise concerns. This approach is not working, and the more money is spent on it, the greater disability is generated. Dr. Alvaro Pascual-Leone proposes a transformative approach, leveraging technology and learning from car racing to establish a “pit stop model of brain care,” focused on a Brain Health Service Line designed to support individuals across the lifespan.More Information
We are located at 2200 West Mockingbird Lane Dallas, TX 75235
The entrance to the surface parking lot is on Forest Park Road. The talks will be held in the Brain Performance Institute building, the second building when you enter through the gate.