The Union League Club of Chicago proudly partnered with the Allen Institute for Brain Science to host a special symposium, “Mapping the Brain: A Path to Curing Neurological Disease.”
The workings of the human brain and the mechanisms that control its activity remain a mystery, but incredible advances are being realized and are igniting new pathways of understanding. In a 2009 WIRED article, as writer Jonah Lehrer succinctly put it, “to map the brain is to map its afflictions.” Lehrer was referring to the unfolding Allen Human Brain Atlas and its potential to lead to new methods of diagnosis and more effective treatments of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other neurological diseases.
The ULC Public Affairs’ Subcommittee on Health and Life Sciences, in partnership with the Allen Institute for Brain Science, invited guests to a unique half-day symposium on the Allen Human Brain Atlas and the benefits that technological tools are bringing to research from leading neuroscience physicians and scientists. Speakers included:
- The Honorable John Edward Porter, Chair, Research America!
- Allan Jones, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Allen Institute for Brain Science
- David Van Essen, Ph.D., Department Head, Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University, St. Louis
- John Kessler, MD, Chairman, Department of Neurology, Northwestern University, and director, Northwestern University Stem Cell Institute
- Frank Walsh, Ph.D., Wolfson Centre for Age Related Diseases, Kings College, London; Former SVP, Wyeth Research Discovery
This event also featured a keynote luncheon address by William Thies, Ph.D., Chief Medical and Scientific Officer, Alzheimer’s Association.
This was an extraordinary opportunity to hear from leaders of the neurological research community and to learn about the groundbreaking Allen Human Brain Atlas.
