Brain awareness week is back! Join us for a series of talks during the week of October 27. All events are open to the public.
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 Department, 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.
Brain Awareness Week runs from October 27–31, and features three keynote lectures along with the Ninth Annual Robert B. Glassman Memorial Brain, Mind, and Behavior Symposium.
2025 Brain Awareness Week
Monday, October 27
Opening Keynote Lecture
Science and Education for Good—How Neuroscience can create a more informed and equitable world (particularly in this geopolitical moment)
Melina Uncapher, Ph.D.
Founder and CEO, Scientific and Engineering Technical Assistance for Education R&D (SETA-ED)
4:15 p.m., Tarble Room, Brown Hall
Co-sponsors: Philosophy and Education Departments, Legal Studies and Public Policy Programs, The Ethics Center
Tuesday, October 28
Nu Rho Psi Keynote Lecture
Pathways to Maximizing Healthspan: Lessons in Resistance and Resilence in Brain Aging
Dr. Emily Rogalski Ph.D.
Rosalind Franklin Professor of Neurology, University of Chicago
4:15 p.m., Tarble Room, Brown Hall
Co-sponsors: Biology Department, Health Professions Program, Future Health Professionals, and Tribeta (Biology Honor Society)
Wednesday, October 29
2025 Annual Mind and Society Dialogue Lecture
The Great Happiness Self-Sabotage: How Brains & Big Bucks Can Undermine Happiness
Dr. Rajagopal Raghunathan, Ph.D.
Zane Centennial Professor of Business, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas Austin
4:15 p.m., presented via Teams
Contact Professor Shubhik DebBurman (debburman@lakeforest.edu) for a Teams link.
Co-sponsors: Economics, Business & Finance and Psychology Departments, Entrepreneurship & Innovation Program, and the American Marketing Association
Thursday, October 30
Robert B. Glassman Memorial Brain, Mind, and Behavior Symposium Day One
Faculty and Alumni Talks
All talks will be in Tarble Room, Brown Hall
- 6:30 p.m. Reception
- 7:00 p.m. Welcome Remarks, Synapse
- 7:05 p.m. Naomi Wentworth, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Chair of Psychology, Lake Forest College, Self-Organization: Lessons From Infant Eye Movements
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7:25 p.m. Aiden Houcek ’20, Ph.D. candidate, Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Unlocking Silent Synapses on Metastatic Tumor Cells
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7:45 p.m. Donald Meyer, Ph.D., Professor of Music, Lake Forest College, Music As Magic
- 8:05 p.m. Zoe Walts ’21, Ph.D. candidate, Department of Population Health Science, University of Wisconsin (Madison), Stress and Colorectal Cancer: Implications for Patient Outcomes and Health Equity
- 8:25 p.m. Shubhik DebBurman, Ph.D., Disque D. & Carol Gram Deane Professor of Biological Sciences, Lake Forest College, Powerful Yeasts Model Deadly Brain Diseases Caused by Toxic Protein Shapes
- 8:45 p.m. Closing Remarks, Synapse
Friday, October 31
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 2025 Brain Awareness Week Sponsors and Organizers
Brought to you by:
Departments of Biology, Economics/Business/Finance, Education, Neuroscience, Philosophy, and Psychology, Programs in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Legal Studies and Public Policy, the Health Professions Program, and the Ethics Center.
Organized by:
Nu Rho Psi (Neuroscience Honor Society) in collaboration with Synapse (the neuroscience student organization).
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.
Contact Dr. Shubhik DebBurman at debburman@lakeforest.edu or 847-735-6040 with questions.
November 08, 2024
Brain Awareness Week, Glassman Symposium draws interested crowds
October 22, 2024
College’s award-winning Brain Awareness Week begins October 28
