Brain Awareness Week: Brain School

Brain School

An annual Brain Awareness Week campaign hosted by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC

Ask a Brain Expert: Questions and Answers Here

Brain School 2024: Read More

Brain School 2024: The Craving Brain: Food and Drugs

March 11

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Brain School Speakers

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Michael Friedlander, Ph.D. , home
Virginia Tech Vice President for Health Sciences and Technology and Executive Director of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute
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Warren K. Bickel, Ph.D. (b. 1956, d. 2024) , home
Virginia Tech Carilion Research Professor; Founding Director of the Addiction Recovery Research Center and the Center for Health Behaviors Research
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Alex DiFeliceantonio, Ph.D. , home
Assistant Professor and Associate Director, Center for Health Behaviors Research

Expo Presenters

Food and the Brain

The DiFeliceantonio Lab

Into the Brain with Technology

The Legon Lab

ACQUIRE Therapy Building Neural Connections

Neuromotor Research Clinic

Studying Brain Development in See-through Zebrafish

The Pan Lab

Brain Anatomy 101: Real Brains

Kristopher Rau

Measurements in the Brain

The Van der Heijden Lab

Caputuring Images of the Brain

Maosen Wang

Unlocking the Power of Exercise: How Mitochondria in Your Brain Boost Memory and Learning

The Yan lab

Ask a Brain Expert

Is the electricity in my brain the same thing that powers my phone?

Can the brain be changed without surgery?

What's going on inside your brain when you're dreaming?

Is the brain able to change, or am I wired this way for life?

Share brain science with your students

Resources for Educators

On-Demand Brain School Content

Tune into dozens of lectures presented by brain scientists during past Brain Schools.

2023

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Brain School Lecture: Electricity is Life - Fire in the Brain! , home
March 13, 2023, 6 - 6:20 p.m. | Michael Friedlander, Ph.D., Executive Director, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, and Vice President, Health Sciences and Technology, Virginia Tech
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Brain School Lecture: When Things Go Haywire , home
March 13, 2023, 6:20 - 6:40 p.m. | Matt Weston, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
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Brain School Lecture: Changing Brain Activity Non-invasively , home
March 13, 2023, 6:40 - 7 p.m. | Wynn Legon, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
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Brain School Lecture: Dreamscapes and Nightmares , home
March 13, 2023, 7 - 7:20 p.m. | Sujith Vijayan, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of Neuroscience, Virginia Tech

2022

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Archived Brain School Lecture: Neurobehavioral Processes in the Prevention and Treatment of Lifestyle-Related Diseases , home
March 14, 2022, 6:30 - 7:00 p.m. | Jeff Stein, Ph.D. | Brain School Lecture
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Archived Brain School Lecture: Emotional Synchrony - Learning from the Mouse Brain , home
March 14, 2022, 5:30 - 6:00 p.m. | Alexei Morozov, Ph.D. | Brain School Lecture
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Archived Brain School Lecture: Children and Neuromotor Diagnoses - Maximizing Development , home
March 14, 2022, 6:00 - 6:30 p.m. | Stephanie DeLuca, Ph.D. | Brain School Lecture

2021

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Archived Brain School Lecture: Healthy Moms, Healthy Infants: Maternal Influences of Brain Development
Mar. 16 at 5:30 p.m. | Brittany Howell, Ph.D. | 2021 Brain School Lecture
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Archived Brain School Lecture: Fishing for Insights: What Zebrafish Tell Us About How The Brain Works
Mar. 16 at 6 p.m. | Albert Pan, Ph.D. | 2021 Brain School Lecture
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Archived Brain School Lecture: Building Baby's Brain
Mar. 18 at 5:30 p.m. | Anthony-Samuel LaMantia, Ph.D. | 2021 Brain School Lecture
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Archived Brain School Lecture: Why Do We Eat What We Eat?
Mar. 18 at 6 p.m. | Alexandra DiFeliceantonio, Ph.D. | 2021 Brain School Lecture

2020

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Brain School events planned for March, 2020 were cancelled.

2019

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Archived Brain School Lecture: How Different Brains Construct Different Views of the World
Mar. 11 2019, 5:30 p.m. | Michael Friedlander, Ph.D. | Brain School
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Archived Brain School Lecture: Insights from Animal Brains that are Shaping Our Future
Mar. 11 2019, 5:30 p.m. | Audra Van Wart Ph.D. | Brain School
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Archived Brain School Lecture: What Frogs Have Taught Us About Our Rhythms and Blues
Mar. 12, 2019, 5:30 p.m. | Michael Fox, Ph.D. | Brain School
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Archived Brain School Lecture: Shedding Some Light into Sleep Problems in Modern Times
Mar. 12, 2019, 6:00 p.m. | Edmundo Rubio, M.D. | Brain School
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Archived Brain School Lecture: Animal Farm: Influences of Animal Research on Advancing Treatment for Human Brain Injuries
Mar. 13, 2019, 5:30 p.m. | Pamela VandeVord, Ph.D. | Brain School
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Archived Brain School Lecture: Ringing the Bell on Getting Your Bell Rung
Mar. 13, 2019, 6:00 p.m. | Melanie Prusakowski, M.D. | Brain School
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Archived Brain School Lecture: The Aging Brain: Targeting Synapses to Prevent Cognitive Decline
Mar. 14, 2019, 5:30 p.m. | Gregorio Valdez, Ph.D. | Brain School
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Archived Brain School Lecture: Normal Aging vs. Dementia: What's Happening to Me?
Mar. 14, 2019, 6:00 p.m. | Brian Unwin, M.D. | Brain School

2018

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Archived Brain School Lecture: The Nature of Addiction
Mar. 13, 2018, 6:00 p.m. | Panel Discussion on Addiction | Brain School
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Archived Brain School Lecture: Brain Invasion: How Small Things Have Big Consequences
Mar. 14, 2018, 6:00 p.m. | Michael Fox, Ph.D. | Brain School
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Archived Brain School Lecture: Kids' Night: Digital Devices and Development
Mar. 15, 2018, 6:00 p.m. | Panel Discussion on Digital Devices and Development | Brain School

2017

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Archived Brain School Lecture: Your Brain is Not Wireless (Yet): How Do You Change Connectivity Between Your Neuronal Landlines?
Mar. 13, 2017, 5:30 p.m. | Michael Friedlander, Ph.D. | Brain School
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Archived Brain School Lecture: From Brains to Bytes to Brain-Computer-Interfaces
Mar. 14, 2017, 5:30 p.m. | Stephen LaConte, Ph.D. | Brain School
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Archived Brain School Lecture: Shaping Children's Brains and Behavior: New Findings
Mar. 15, 2017, 5:30 p.m. | Sharon Landesman Ramey, Ph.D. | Brain School
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Archived Brain School Lecture: Early Childhood Education: What Works and What Doesn't
Mar. 16, 2017, 5:30 p.m. | Greg J. Duncan, Ph.D. | Brain School

2016

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Archived Brain School Lecture: What Our Brains Don't 'See'
Mar. 14, 2016, 5:30 p.m. | Michael Fox, Ph.D. | Brain School
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Archived Brain School Lecture: The Epileptic Brain
Mar. 15, 2016, 5:30 p.m. | Susan Campbell, Ph.D. | Brain School
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Archived Brain School Lecture: Learning, Memory, & The Aging Brain
Mar. 16, 2016, 5:30 p.m. | Rosalyn Moran, Ph.D. | Brain School
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Archived Brain School Lecture: Pain, It’s Not Just In Your Mind: Can You Make It Go Away?
Mar. 17, 2016, 5:30 p.m. | Michael Friedlander, Ph.D. | Brain School

2013 - 2015

2015

Understanding the Cerebral Cortex: The Legacy of Roanoke's Vernon Mountcastle
Mar. 16, 2015 | Michael Friedlander, Ph.D.
Food for Thought: Chefs Celebrate Brain Awareness Week
Mar. 16, 2015 | Restaurants and Specialty Stores throughout Roanoke
At the Crossroads: Art, Science, Research
Mar. 17, 2015 | Michael Friedlander, Ph.D. and Liz Lerman
Development of the Social Brain
Mar. 18, 2015 | Pearl Chiu, Ph.D.
The Developing Brain: Conception to Birth
Mar. 23, 2015 | Michael Fox, Ph.D.
How the Earliest Experiences in Life Affect a Baby's Brain and Behavior
Mar. 25, 2015 | Craig Ramey, Ph.D.

2014

Mapping Depression Circuits: Foundation for New Treatment Strategies Using Deep Brain Stimulation
Mar. 6, 2014 | Helen Mayberg, M.D.
Your Brain on Advertising
Mar. 12, 2014 | Ann Harvey Tanner, Ph.D.
Brain Assembly: Making the Right Connections Through Genes and Experience
Mar. 13, 2014 | Michael Fox, Ph.D.
How Social Relationships Help Build (and Rehabilitate) Our Brains
Mar. 20, 2014 | Sharon Ramey, Ph.D.
The Biological Basis of How We Learn, Remember, and Use Information
Mar. 27, 2014 | Michael Friedlander, Ph.D.

2013

Food for Thought: Chefs Celebrate Brain Awareness Week
Mar. 11, 2013 | Restaurants and Specialty Stores throughout Roanoke
Mythbusters: The Truth About Your Brain
Mar. 11, 2013 | Audra Van Wart, Ph.D.
The Stuff of Brains and How They Process Information
Mar. 11, 2013 | Michael Fox, Ph.D. and Rosalyn Moran, Ph.D.
How Brains Make Sense of the World
Mar. 12, 2013 | Michael Friedlander, Ph.D. and Jamie Tyler, Ph.D.
Brain Power: The Role of Exercise and Diet in Maintaining Healthy Synapses
Mar. 12, 2013 | Gregorio Valdez, Ph.D.
When Brains Do Things We Would Rather They Didn't
Mar. 13, 2013 | Warren Bickel, Ph.D. and Pearl Chiu, Ph.D.
Willpower and Addiction
Mar. 13, 2013 | Warren Bickel, Ph.D.
How Brains Grow and Age
Mar. 14, 2013 | Sharon Ramey, Ph.D., Michael Friedlander, Ph.D., and Gregorio Valdez, Ph.D.
Reading Your Mind: How to Decode the Brain Mid-Thought
Mar. 21, 2013 | Stephen LaConte, Ph.D.