Frontiers Fall Series 2021

October 1: Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang

Time: 12:00 PM Central Time

Building Meaning Builds Teens’ Brains: Adolescents’ narratives predict their neural development and young adult wellbeing 

A major achievement of adolescent development is the capacity to integrate abstract cognitive construals with affective experiences to construct meaningful, transcendent narratives about one’s self and the world—coming to feel strongly about complex social issues. Dr. Immordino-Yang will discuss longitudinal, neuropsychological studies of the processes underlying such capacities, and the implications for innovation in education, adolescent mental health support, and juvenile justice.   

She is a Professor of Education at the USC Rossier School of Education and Professor of Psychology at the Brain and Creativity Institute.

October 15: Dr. Michael Platt

Time: 12:00 PM Central Time

Neuroscience and the Future of Management

Despite massive job losses during the COVID19 pandemic, a massive talent crunch looms. This shortfall, combined with accelerated reshaping of the industry landscape, present challenges and opportunities for management. Dr. Platt will discuss new advances in the use of neuroscience and advanced analytics to address these challenges. Neuroanalytics offers greater precision in talent identification and training, as well as new approaches to enhancing team dynamics, employee onboarding, and developing a culture of innovation. 

He is the James S. Riepe University Professor of University at Pennsylvania.

October 29: Dr. Jerillyn Kent

Time: 12:00 PM Central Time

The Cerebellum: Contributions to Cognition and Implications for Psychopathology

Dr. Jerillyn Kent reviews the accruing evidence of cerebellar contributions to higher-order cognitive functions. She will present her work investigating cerebellar abnormalities in individuals with psychotic disorders and briefly discuss evidence of transdiagnostic cerebellar abnormalities.

She is assistant professor at UT Dallas School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

Thursday, November 4: Dr. Sid O'Bryant virtual & IN PERSON

Time: 12:00 PM Central Time

Registration includes in-person or virtual attendance. Lunch is provided in person.

Biomarkers of Alzheimer’s Disease among Diverse Populations – the Health & Aging Brain Study 

Dr. O' Bryant is one of the world's leading experts in blood-based biomarkers of Alzheimer's. A major goal of his research is the identification and elimination of health disparities in Alzheimer's disease faced by underserved communities. In this talk, he will cover the must updated data regarding AD biomarkers across these three racial/ethnic groups as well as discuss the implications for novel clinical trials. As well as share the data access link as the data is freely available to the global scientific community.

He is Professor and Executive Director, Institute for Translational Research at University of North Texas Health Science Center. 

November 12: Dr. BoKyung Park

Time: 12:00 PM Central Time

The Psychology of Group Membership: A Social, Cultural, and Affective Neuroscience Perspective

People have a tendency to protect their positive evaluation about ingroup members, ignoring new negative information about them. People also have a tendency to behave more favorably towards their ingroup members. Dr. Park will discuss the computational and neural underpinnings of these effects, advocating emotional expression from others as one of the important cues to signal group membership.  

She is assistant professor at UT Dallas School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

December 3: Dr. Lin Lin

Time: 12:00 PM Central Time

Intersections of the Brain and Technology