Category Archives: Neuroscience

Neuroscience

R&D alliance between Harvard and Deerfield announces first project agreement – Harvard Office of Technology Development

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January 08, 2020

Profs. Lauren Orefice and David Ginty discuss their research in more detail in a Harvard Gazette Q&A. (File photo: Harvard OTD.)

Cambridge, Mass. January 8, 2019 Lab1636, the R&D alliance between Harvard University and Deerfield Management Company, announced today its first project agreement to advance Harvard researchers innovations toward the development of novel therapeutics. Lab1636 has committed to a first project out of the laboratory of David Ginty, PhD, the Edward R. and Anne G. Lefler Professor of Neurobiology in the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.

Launched in March 2019, Lab1636 is a major strategic R&D alliance between Harvard and the healthcare investment firm Deerfield to speed the development and translation of biomedical and life-science innovations into transformative treatments to improve life, health, and medical care. Lab1636 was established with a funding commitment of up to $100 million from Deerfield.

Through this first project, Lab1636 will dedicate focused resources to advancing innovations with great therapeutic potential for patients. Recognized for his labs elucidation of the peripheral nervous system, Ginty seeks to answer fundamental questions in neuroscience relating to how we perceive and respond to our environment. Over the past few years, in particular, significant strides in understanding tactile hypersensitivity have been led by a postdoctoral researcher in his lab, Lauren Orefice, PhD, who is now Assistant Professor of Genetics at HMS and Massachusetts General Hospital. Together, they identified certain compounds that may point the way to a treatment for the touch hypersensitivity experienced by people with autism spectrum disorders.

Its exciting to see discoveries made in my lab being propelled into therapeutic development, where they can benefit from the medicinal chemistry expertise and clinical expertise of other groups, said Ginty. The resources at Harvard to support translational biomedical innovation were really instrumental in helping us advance this work to a jumping-off point, and Im hopeful that further development and clinical testing of the results could make a significant and lasting difference in the lives of patients.

The Ginty Labs research in this area has previously received funding from the federal government and the Simons Foundation, as well as translational research funding from Harvards Blavatnik Biomedical Accelerator and Q-FASTR at HMS. Lab1636 is now poised to validate and expand upon the labs findings, advancing them through late-stage preclinical development.

Were thrilled by the momentum of the Lab1636 alliance so far, said Vivian Berlin, Managing Director of Strategic Partnerships in Harvards Office of Technology Development, which spearheaded the creation of Lab1636 with Deerfield. The collaboration holds great promise to drive rapid innovation across many fields of biomedical science and translate valuable insights into real-world impact.

This is an important milestone for Lab1636 and potentially for people suffering from tactile hypersensitivity, said James E. Flynn, Managing Partner at Deerfield. We look forward to continued progress in Professor Gintys novel work and other exciting developments on the horizon at Harvard.

A private company wholly owned by affiliates of Deerfield, Lab1636 supports Harvard R&D projects through various stages of drug discovery and development, for example enabling studies to explicate the biology of disease, validate therapeutic targets, or achieve a proof-of-concept necessary for filing an Investigational New Drug (IND) application. Harvards R&D projects funded by Lab1636 are initiated by principal investigators from labs across the University and selected by a joint advisory committee.

See also: Harvard professors David Ginty and Lauren Orefice discuss their translational research in a Q&A published today.

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R&D alliance between Harvard and Deerfield announces first project agreement - Harvard Office of Technology Development

Neuroscience

Richest Set of Results to Date Pinpoint Six Genes That Are Linked to Anxiety Disorders – Technology Networks

A new collaborative research study of over 200,000 military veterans has discovered six genetic variants that are linked to anxiety.According to statistics from the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illnesses in the U.S., affecting a staggering 18.1% of the population each year.

Suffering from an anxiety disorder can have major adverse effects on an individual's quality of life; it may prevent them from being able to socialize, to work, or to engage in relationships, for example. Individuals with an anxiety disorder are three to five times more likely to go to the doctor, and six times more likely to be hospitalized when compared to those who do not suffer from an anxiety disorder.

Anxiety disorders like all psychiatric conditions are complex in their pathophysiology. We don't know exactly what causes them, and therefore, our knowledge on how to treat them is somewhat incomplete. A variety of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment options are available; however, they are often limited in success and may only benefit certain individuals.

An increasing amount of research is focusing on the contribution of genetics to the development of mental health conditions. Murray Stein, San Diego VA staff psychiatrist and Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and of family medicine and public health at UCSD points out "While there have been many studies on the genetic basis of depression, far fewer have looked for variants linked to anxiety, disorders of which afflict as many as one in ten Americans."

Stein is the senior author of a new study, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, that explores the contribution of certain genetic variants to the development of anxiety disorders.

The research, a genome wide association study (GWAS), analyzed the genomes of approximately 200,000 military veterans from the Million Veteran Program (MVP). From the data, they discovered six genetic variants linked to anxiety. Five were identified in European Americans and one was identified in African Americans.

A selection of these variants has also been previously linked to other conditions such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and posttraumatic stress disorder.

"This is the richest set of results for the genetic basis of anxiety to date," said co-lead author Joel Gelernter, the Foundations Fund Professor of Psychiatry, professor of genetics and of neuroscience at Yale. "There has been no explanation for the comorbidity of anxiety and depression and other mental health disorders, but here we have found specific, shared genetic risks."

The MVP offers the opportunity to study a large data set that would otherwise be difficult to gather and collate. Thus far, several studies have utilized the MVP data to make interesting discoveries relating to genetics and psychiatric disorders. Gelernter says, "This is a rich vein we have just begun to tap."

Also of note is the fact that some of the genetic variants identified were linked to genes that regulate hormonal activity, specifically in relation to the sex hormone estrogen. As more females are affected by an anxiety disorder than males, this is an intriguing finding. However, the scientists emphasize that the research sample from the MVP largely consists of men, which could be considered a study limitation.

Nonetheless, the research serves as a contributor to the pool of research expanding our knowledge of the molecular underpinnings of psychiatric disorders.

"One of the goals of this research is to find important risk genes that are associated with risk for many psychiatric and behavioral traits for which we don't have a good explanation," Yale's Daniel Levey, a postdoctoral associate and co-lead author of the study, concludes.

Reference: Leveyet al. (2020). Reproducible Genetic Risk Loci for Anxiety: Results from ~200,000 Million Veteran Program Participants. The American Journal of Psychiatry. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1101/540245.

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Richest Set of Results to Date Pinpoint Six Genes That Are Linked to Anxiety Disorders - Technology Networks

Neuroscience

Supporting diversity, inclusion in neuroscience: A conversation about the BRAINS Program with UW psychology professor Sheri Mizumori – UW News

Education | For UW employees | Learning | Social science | UW and the community | UW Notebook

January 6, 2020

The 2019 cohort for the BRAINS program, or Broadening the Representations of Academic Investigators in NeuroScience. Program evaluator Cara Margherio is in the back row, two people to the left of the post. Co-director Claire Horner-Devine is at the far right. Laura Ciotto , program operations, is at the far left. Co-director Joyce Yen is at the far left, middle row. Director Sheri Mizumori is fifth from the right in the front row.

A University of Washington-based program to support underrepresented scholars in neuroscience got its start when three faculty members responded to a call for proposals by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, or NINDS.

The resulting program is called Broadening the Representations of Academic Investigators in NeuroScience but has a striking acronym: BRAINS. The program, designed to accelerate career advancement for postdoctoral researchers and assistant professors, offers professional development, mentoring and networking for participating scholars from underrepresented populations.

UW Notebook talked with Sheri Mizumori, UW professor of psychology and principal investigator of the BRAINS Program, which is now seeking its third five-year grant of $250,000 annually from the NINDS.

BRAINS news release:National program positively impacts over 150 neuroscientists from underrepresented groups

Retention of highly-skilled scientists from diverse and underrepresented groups is critical for increased innovation in neuroscience. Unfortunately, individuals from underrepresented groups often have higher turnover rates, especially early in their career, due to a greater sense of isolation and inequitable access to networks, mentors, and key resources that affect career success.

Since 2011, Broadening the Representation of Academic Investigators in NeuroScience (BRAINS) has connected over 150 accomplished early-career neuroscientists from underrepresented groups to skill development opportunities and a dynamic network of professionals in the biomedical workforce

Read more.

What need does the BRAINS program seek to address?

Retaining a diverse faculty and building diverse leadership are critical aims of BRAINS, Mizumori said.

When you look across the country, there has been significant effort to increase diversity in science, and in particular neuroscience. But we are concerned because statistics show that the needle just hasnt moved very much over time.

Its kind of surprising. When you look to see at what career stage we are losing people, it ends up that theres a huge drop-off between the postdoctoral years and the early faculty years disproportionately so for underrepresented minorities. And so we homed in on that particular career stage, thinking that thats a career stage where the country needs focused intervention.

She said it can be difficult being the only the only person of color, of a cultural background, or with a particular ability status: One of reasons it is difficult is that the spotlight is put more directly on you, so anything you do is amplified, with everybody watching. Ive experienced this as well.

Also, when you are one of maybe the only one, or one of very few from underrepresented minorities then you tend to be asked more often to be on a committee because they want some particular type of person. This is true for women as well; if (the committee) is all men, they need a woman. And if you are junior faculty its really hard to say no. After a while, many junior scientists just dont want to deal with the constant extra pressure and scrutiny anymore and so they leave science.

How did the program come about at the UW?

Mizumori said that her interest in working to increase diversity in neuroscience grew with meeting Joyce Yen, director of UW ADVANCE Center for Institutional Change and was further piqued when the NINDS put out a call for proposals aimed at the same goal.

She said Yen and colleague Claire Horner-Devine previously ran a professional development program for women in biology that was quite successful.

We all wondered if the biology model could work also for neuroscientists. We researched the request for proposals, talked to the program officers and submitted our first grant application. And it was funded!

What is the process like for applicants?

A requirement for BRAINS, Mizumori said, is that each participant must already be successful in research as demonstrated by having a postdoctoral or early career position in the neurosciences. Those interested fill out a set of questions and write an essay on why the program would be helpful to them, she said.

With guidance from the BRAINS program evaluator, Cara Margherio, we have a way of assessing the applicants responses. Based on this assessment, we prioritize high-potential individuals for whom the program could have the largest impact. The program chooses about 30 participants who attend a four-day symposium held every other year on Bainbridge Island.

Crucially, the grant covers their transportation and housing costs, making it possible for them to attend. Additional applicants participate in a web-based BRAINS program so that the program can be available to as many people as possible. Alternate years bring what they call a cross-cohort meeting where BRAINS alumni gather to enhance networking and to build on prior career advancement training in BRAINS.

BRAINS by the numbers(from a paper by Joyce Yen, Cara Margherio and Sheri Mizumori):

The percentage of neuroscience graduate students from racially and ethnically underrepresented minorities is low (12%). According to the NSFs Survey of Earned Doctorates (2001 through 2013), of 10,000 neuroscience PhDs earned by U.S. citizens and permanent residents, only about 8.5% were awarded to persons from underrepresented groups

While there are no definitive data on the number of neuroscientists with disabilities and their career paths, of the 96,345 PhDs awarded from 2003 to 2012 in the biological sciences or psychology (common fields for neuroscientists), only 2% (2,102 degrees) were awarded to persons with disabilities.

What does the symposium involve?

The sessions, she said, include training in leadership, teamwork, time management, saying no diplomatically, dealing with harassment and thriving as an only, among other topics.

Its really about building a sense of community that most of our participants have never experienced before, she said. There is a lot of cross-fertilization that happens. Past participants tells us that they leave the symposium empowered and ready to take charge of their careers.

Symposium sessions, she said, are led not only by the BRAINS co-directors but also by senior neuroscience leaders from around the country. These sessions marked the first time that several of the early and advanced career neuroscientists, including Mizumori, had ever openly discussed their experiences.

In the past, there was no way to talk about issues unique to being of underrepresented status because people think you are weak, or complaining, she said.

What has been the effect?

Id say one of the most common phrases that we hear because we are continually doing surveys to collect data for our evaluation and research, is Transformative. And life changing.

Now, all of a sudden, our participants have people who believe in them, who give them tips about how to deal with particular situations that might arise uniquely for underrepresented scientists.

Since we now have about 150 BRAINS alumni, they can network among themselves and we teach them how to do this. So now they have lots of mentors that look like them, that are at their current and next career stage, and they have a nationwide community that they can talk to.

The work is being noticed, Mizumori said, with the UW now being recognized in the national neuroscience community as an institution that is working hard to increase the diversity and inclusion of neuroscience faculty.

How do you know its working?

We continue to collect longitudinal evaluation data. BRAINS participants have reported statistically significant improvements in mentoring relationships, networking activities, their sense of belonging in neuroscience, and their satisfaction with their career progression. The influence of the BRAINS program extends beyond these direct positive impacts, as participants also report improvements in their ability to mentor other neuroscientists.

How is the BRAINS Program involved at the UW?

Mizumori said a number of UW faculty and postdocs have participated in and benefited directly from the BRAINS program. Program members also are working with the Neuroscience Program Seminar Committee to bring BRAINS alumni to the university to give research talks. Mizumori advises the Neuroscience Program Diversity Committee as well, bringing the BRAINS philosophy to discussions of faculty recruitment and retention.

What is follow-up like for participants?

BRAINS is the only professional development program for early career neuroscientists that offers career-long advice and community, she said.

We follow our participants long after the initial symposium to make sure that they understand how to implement our tips and tools. The long-term follow-up is a feature that is really different about BRAINS. Also our ability to continually grow their community over time is different.

In our program there are structures that help participants to continue to communicate, and to take control over that communication so we dont always have to be the mediators. And that carries on, then, independently.

Other ongoing help, Mizumori said, is provided online and through video calls, and the program helps participants attend the annual meeting for the Society for Neuroscience. For those who cant afford to go, part of our grant is to help them get there.

We have a saying: Once in BRAINS, always in BRAINS.

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Supporting diversity, inclusion in neuroscience: A conversation about the BRAINS Program with UW psychology professor Sheri Mizumori - UW News

Neuroscience

Knowledge retention: the link between sleep and EMS training – EMS1.com

Do you remember learning how to drive? Who taught you how to use the brakes, accelerator, clutch (remember those?), steering wheel and turn signals?For those of you from California, turn signals are something that many people find useful to communicate their driving action before they take it.But I digress.For me, it was thelady across the streetwhotaught me to drive,because my parents were too nervous to do it themselves.

She would take me to a big parking lot on Sundays when the store was closed and there was nothingin the lot forme to run into. Her green mustang had a stick shift. It didnt take long for me to even out the lurching to a smooth start and stop.

Soon,we were driving around the neighborhood. When I think back on that experience,and when you think back on yours,its something that we know we experienced; ithappened in the past. Neuroscientists call that explicit memory. It lives primarily in the hippocampus part ofthebrain.

On the other hand,I drove to the airport this morningto catchmy flight to New York. Its memory that allowed me to start and drive my Prius, properly using the turn signals from my home to the Santa Barbara airport.Its memory that allows you to drive your car too, but I suspect that you dont think of it as remembering how much pressure on the accelerator it takes to make your cargo.

You just know how todo it;you just drive. This type of memory is called implicit memory. It probably lives somewhere in the frontal lobes of your neo-cortex.

When it comes to building a new skill,like driving a car, playing the guitar, assessing a patient or negotiating a contract,there are some other aspects of neuroscience that are interesting.Here are some of theneuroscience principles that help learning:

Youll remember things better when youre well rested.Yes, that meansthatholdingoverexhausted crews to attendthemandatory CE session is unlikely to result in any actual learning.

Good quality sleep enhances the integration of what youve learned into your memory.This is the sleep that happens after learning. A gooddeep and restful 7-9 hours of sleepwithin 30 hours of learning something helps integrate it into long-term memory.

Youll learn more if you put the informationinto practice soon after or while youre learning.Our 8-year-old son remembers math better after hes used it to calculate how many more weeks ofallowancehe will need to buy his next dream Lego set.

That old saying, To teach is to learn twice is true. If you teach someone what youve learned,youll remember it much better.When Im reading something particularly exciting or listening to a great presentation, Ill open a new slide deck andtake noteson what Im going to share in my next class, presentation or article. It helps me pay attention at a much deeper level,knowing that Im going to teach what Im learning.

Your retention increases dramatically when you are re-exposed to what youre learning five or six times with a bit ofspaceinbetweeneachexposure.This is known as the spacing effect and its the anecdote to forgetting. In the late 19thCentury,German psychologistHermann Ebbinghauscreated whats commonly known as the Forgetting Curve. Heperformeda series of memory experiments, first on himself and then with others. He found then when youre exposed to new information once, youll forget 80% of it within a few days. If you revisit it the next day, youll only forget 60%. And if you actively revisit it five times over a couple of weeks,you can retain over 90%.

If you look at this list and compare it to the primary andcontinuing educationwe provide folks in our profession,weve really missed the boatin EMS.When it comes toteachingimportant leadership and clinical competencies like relationship building, trust building, empathy, compassion,self-defense,differential diagnosis of abdominal pain or reading a12-lead EKG,wetend to put tired people in a room for a two- or three-day workshop. Then we lecture at them for hours on end,often withslides designed to tranquilize a rhinoceros. Andthenwe wonder why people are still having problems with conflict even after the conflict management workshop.

Its time for us to apply the principles of neuroscience, memory and optimal learning tothe waywe teach our teammates and how we learn ourselves.It would be great to have learning systems that build implicit knowledge for the things thatreally make a difference for whatour teams do every day.

[Rom Duckworth sharedhis top tips, ideas and resources for improving initial and ongoing EMS educationat EMS World Expo. Read:Dozens of tips for EMS educators and training officers]

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Knowledge retention: the link between sleep and EMS training - EMS1.com

Neuroscience

Neuroscience, Barbecue, And A Vibrant Indian Diaspora: My Time In Kansas City – Youth Ki Awaaz

Veer Ojas is a 16-year-old who is deeply concerned about climate action and shares a deep emotional connect with Indian forests, having an ecologically inclined family and surrounding. In February 2019, he became aware of the threat to Aravalis, and subsequently attended a series of protests against the PLPA Amendment, including a long human chain along the Sunset Boulevard in Gurgaon. Shortly after, with Manya Anandi, he was a part of a team of children and adults who organised the first Fridays For Future Protest in India on 26th March. However, they felt that this needs to be a children led movement, and formed Climate Action Gurgaon in May. Since then, they have organised the largest children-led protests in India.He feels that it is important to sensitise ourselves to what we are fighting for, so CAG organised walks through the Aravalli Biodiversity Park, and shortly after organised a 400 children protest to protect the Aravallis.

Sadhviji is a renowned female spiritual leader in India. She is Secretary-General of Global Interfaith WASH Alliance, launched by UNICEF, the worlds first alliance of religious leaders for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, President of Divine Shakti Foundation, a charitable organization bringing education and empowerment to women and children, and Director of the world-famous International Yoga Festival. She also serves as Vice-Chair of the United Nations Advisory Council on Religion, and on the Steering Committee of the Partnership for Religion and Sustainable Development. Sadhviji has received numerous awards and recognition for her leadership in India, including from the Cabinet Minister of Water Resources as well as from the Ambassador of the United States to India.

Dia Mirza is an actor, producer, UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador & United Nations Advocate for Sustainable Development Goals. As a champion of nature, Dia Mirza dons many a hat with lan and ease.

Today, Dia has become the voice of environmental and wildlife conservation in the country and a torchbearer for causes related to nature. She was appointed as the United Nations Environment Goodwill Ambassador for India at the UNEA assembly held in Nairobi. She championed the campaign #BeatPlasticPollution along with the UN leading to World Environment Day in 2018 when India was host nation leading to the historic declaration by PM Modi to make India Single Use Plastics Free by 2022. Her exhaustive list of titles include Founder member of Wildlife Trust of Indias Club Nature, Ambassador Wildlife Trust Of India, Ambassador for the Swachh Bharat Missions Swachh Saathi program, Ambassador for Sanctuary Asias Tiger Conservation Kids For Tigers program, Member of the Governing Board of the Sanctuary Nature Foundation, and the first Indian Ambassador for Save the Children. She believes that the creative arts, cinema, documentaries and photography are powerful tools for social change and conservation.

As the forerunner in reigniting and strengthening the relation between man and nature, Dia is a champion of nature in its truest sense.

Suman Devathiya is a senior Dalit leader from Rajasthan and has been working with the community for more than 15 years. Hailing from the community, she brings with her vast knowledge of human rights law and access to justice for most marginalized communities.

Currently, she associated with All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch in Rajasthan, raising the issues of Dalit women, She is working to protect their rights. Suman brings with her great courage, passion, commitment and energy for the movement. She has independently led Dalit Woman Self Respect March across more than 20 districts of Rajasthan.Earlier this year, she was nominated by Rafto Foundation to attend the four days training on Women, Business and Rights held in Delhi. She has brought in the critical perspective of Dalit women in this discourse.

After 10 years of being a prime time radio show host and content producer with Indias leading radio broadcast networks, Sucharita Tyagi now works with media brands, publications, and partnerships across the Times Bridge network. Shes also one of the most popular, and more fun film critics on the circuit, her YouTube show Not A Movie Review has garnered a sizeable following over the last few years. Sucharita writes for TV shows, is a live events emcee, does not shy away from schooling trolls in the YouTube comment section, and is overall a super neat person.

A classical dancer and a political activist, Sharmistha Mukherjee is a woman with many interests. A highly accomplished Kathak dancer and choreographer, Sharmistha has performed extensively in India and over forty countries abroad. A regular speaker in seminars, Sharmistha has been vocal about women empowerment; sharing her concerns about gender disparity, safety and security of women in India. An active member of Indian National Congress, she is the President of Delhi Pradesh Mahila Congress and a national spokesperson of Indian National Congress. She is a regular columnist on politics.

Meera Devi is the Bureau Chief at Khabar Lahariya, focussing on training and special investigations. She has worked as a reporter in Bundelkhand for over 12 years.

Charu is the first female head of National Legal Cell of the Bhartiya Janta Partys youth wing. A law graduate from Government Law College, University of Mumbai in 2006, she runs free legal aid centres for women across India and has helped build a network of lawyers who provide free legal assistance to disadvantaged women. Charu also organises training workshops for Legal Cell members across India to help empower the youth on civic and legal issues.She is a Fellow of the Konrad Adenauer School for Young Politicians and founding member of the India-Israel Young Leaders Forum.

Grace Banu is a Dalit and transgender rights activist. A computer engineer, she is the first transgender person to be admitted to an engineering college in the state of Tamil Nadu. She is the founder of the Trans Rights Now Collective a Dalit Bahujan Adivasi centred collective of Trans people who are working across India to build trans leaders, support Trans education, and build trans job opportunity.

Abhay Xaxa is the National Convenor at National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights. He is an Adivasi Rights Activist, Senior Campaign Coordinator, Higher Education Campaigner and Social Anthropologist by training and has worked with grassroots organisations, campaigns, NGOs, media, research institutions in different capacities on the issue of Dalit Adivasi budget rights, bonded labour, migration, local self-governance and development induced displacement in central India.

Jothimani is a politician, writer, and social worker. A member of theIndian National Congress, she was elected to theLok SabhafromKarur,Tamil Naduin 2019. Before that, she was elected as the Union Councilor of Gudalur West Panchayat, Tamil Nadu at the age of 22. She has been instrumental in developing the villages under her Panchayat and ensured drinking water, electricity, roads, schools, PDS shops, libraries and rain water harvesting. Having joined politics at a young age, Jothimani served separate terms as the General Secretary and Vice President ofIndian Youth Congressand Tamil Nadu Youth Congress respectively.

Manuraj Shunmugasundaram is the National Media Spokesperson for the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party. He is the Chair of the Steering Committee for Australia India Youth Dialogue. He is also a lawyer and practices at the Madras High Court. He is also a part of the Steering Committee for the School of Policy and Governance.

In the past, he has also served as a Policy Advisor to Members of Parliament. In November of 2010, Mr. Shunmugasundaram was selected as a Fellow of the Legislative Fellows Program, organized by the U.S. State Department, in 2010. He also participated in the European Union Visitor Program in 2013 as well as the Australia-India Youth Dialogue in 2014. He was a part of Project Interchange Indian delegation to visit Israel & Palestine in 2017.

Mr. Shunmugasundaram works to advance the cause of responsible politics, participatory governance, and evidence-based public policy. He is a regular contributor to The Hindu, Times of India, Indian Express, Huffington Post and The Print.

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Vasundhra is a fifth-year student at National Law University, Delhi. She is a core member of the research being conducted by Project 39A on issues of mental health of death row prisoners. As part of this, she has travelled across the country to meet and interview death row prisoners as well as their families.

She is also part of the core team at Parichay, which is a collaborative legal aid clinic spread across law schools in the country. It aims to assist those excluded from the NRC list in filing appeals. She has also founded a queer straight alliance on campus, which facilitates important conversations surrounding gender and sexuality. Part of being a law student, she believes, is a duty to use the law as an agent for progressive change in society, focusing especially on groups on the margins of society.

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Shikha Mandi is a 26-year-old belonging to the Santhal tribe the third largest tribe in India. She is Indias first RJ who hosts an entire programme in Santhali. Her two-hour radio show Johar Jhargram on Radio Milan has become widely popular in the past year. It covers a wide range of local issues, including Adivasi culture, festivals, and the challenges faced by tribals.

Supriya Paul is the co-founder of Josh Talks, an impact media platform headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana. Using the power of storytelling, Josh Talks is on a mission to create an ecosystem to help the youth go from where they are to where they want to be.

Josh Talks is proactively doing so by providing exposure to the youth by giving them access to role models and equipping them with skill sets so they can be empowered to take control of their lives. On 25th January 2019, Josh Talks was awarded the National Media Award by Honourable President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind and was named in a list of Top 50 Startups of India for 2017 by Economic Times.

Supriya is listed in the Forbes magazine Asia 30 Under 30 list for 2018 and received the SheThePeople Digital Women Award17 for Best Content Creation.

Dr Aditi Kaul is the Head of the Arts-Based Therapy Program with Fortis Healthcare under the National Mental Health Program. She is a grade 5 UNESCO and CID certified arts-based therapist who has run the programme pan Fortis for the last 7 years which includes working with persons diagnosed with Trauma, anxiety, depressive disorders, disorders of childhood, adolescents as well as stressors of day to day life using psychotherapeutic techniques including visual art, movement, writing and storytelling.

She has done over 500 preventive mental health workshops with schools colleges and NGOs across the city and has been teaching an Expressive Arts in clinical practice course for the last 6 years in collaboration with UNESCO and the Council of International Dance, amongst other short term courses.

Saurabh Dwivedi is a senior journalist with over 10 years of experience. Currently the Editor of The Lallantop, he has previously worked with Star News, Live India,Navbharat Times, Dainik Bhaskarand Aaj Tak.

The Lallantop is Indias leading digital first Hindi news media platform, with over 10 million subscribers on YouTube.

Mohammad Shams Aalam Shaikhis an international Para Swimmer. He won Bronze at the 2016 Can-Am Para Swimming Championships held in Gatineau, Quebec in the mens 100m Breaststroke SB4 category and also represented India at the2018 Asian Para Gamesin Jakarta, Indonesia. Shams currently holds the world record for longest open sea swimming by a paraplegic. He has received several accolades, including the Bihar Khel Ratna Award in 2018 and Jewel of Nation Award 2017

Shubham Gupta is an award-winning Mobile Journalist. He is the Head of Storytelling at People Like Us Create. Shubham has produced more than 2000 stories and his stories have also been shared by publications like Hindustan Times and Al Jazeera.

Tamseel Hussain is the Founder of People Like Us Create. He is a mobile storyteller & social media expert. With over a decade of experience, he has previously worked with organisations like Change.org, Oxfam, Greenpeace, civil society groups, media houses, tech-startups, and politicians. Tamseel helps build award-winning platforms, citizen-led campaigns, youth-focused public engagement, placemaking to building an ecosystem for community first storytelling in India, the middle east and Southeast Asian countries.

He also co-founded letmebreathe.in Indias largest pollution storytelling platform, it now has more than 300 storytellers from 11 Indian cities. They host 25 decision-makers via city-specific sessions and their partners include Twitter India and UN Environment amongst others.

Shubham Guptais an award-winning Mobile Journalist. He is the Head of Storytelling at People Like Us Create. Shubham has produced more than 2000 stories and his storieshave alsobeen shared by publications like Hindustan Times and Al Jazeera.

Mary Sebastian is a justice professional working for the elimination of violence against women and children with special focus on victims of sex trafficking in the State of Maharashtra. Mary briefly worked in the corporate law field before joining the development sector. She is currently working with a global anti-trafficking organization, International Justice Mission, where she assists law enforcement officials in the rescue of survivors of commercial sexual exploitation and provides legal representation through court proceedings. Mary supports systemic interventions and advocacy efforts on the survivor justice-related issues at the state government level and has organized a national level consultation on the arrest of demand for commercial sexual exploitation. She is currently undertaking a research study with the Maharashtra State Child Rights Protection Commission to analyse the functioning of childcare agencies under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2015 in six districts in Maharashtra. Mary also works towards generating awareness and sensitivity on the issue of trafficking perspectives through thought leadership initiatives.

Shantanu currently leads the Venture team at Ashoka Innovators for the Public, South Asia. Responsible for identifying and engaging the worlds largest and most powerful network of Social Entrepreneurs, Shantanu has worked with hundreds of innovators to enable powerful ideas to reach a systems-level change. Shantanu was previously an IDEX Global Social Enterprise Fellow, where he subsequently also a representative on their board of advisors. Prior to his time at Ashoka, Shantanu has worked extensively in the fields of youth mental health in Australia, youth civic participation and youth participation in diplomacy for national and international organisations, such as the Asia-Europe Foundation. Shantanu has a keen interest in reading, writing and the opportunity to engage with new groups of people.

Vishak G Iyer, a 2011-Batch IAS officer, is currently the Special Secretary to the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.Prior to this, he was the District Magistrate and Collector of Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh.

Hailing from Idukki, Kerala, Vishak has previously held the post of District Magistrate & Collector of Bhadohi, Hamirpur and Chief Development Officer of Meerut, and Varanasi.

An alumnus of MG University College of Engineering, Thodupuzha and a Chevening Fellow from Said Business School, University of Oxford, he has pursued B.Tech in Electronics & Communication Engineering and MA in Public Policy.

Vishak was instrumental in reviving the river Mandakini with community participation, during his stint as District Magistrate Chitrakoot. Chitrakoot district received National Water Awards-2019 under the category River rejuvenation for the effort.

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Samir Saran is the President of Observer Research Foundation (ORF), one of Asias most influential think tanks. Working with the Board, he provides strategic direction and leadership to ORFs multiple centres on fund raising, research projects, platform design and outreach initiatives including stakeholder engagement.

He curates the Raisina Dialogue, Indias annual flagship platform on geopolitics and geo-economics, and chairs CyFy, Indias annual conference on cyber security and internet governance.

Samir is also a Commissioner of The Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace, member of the South Asia advisory board of the World Economic Forum, and a part of its Global Future Council on Cybersecurity. Along with that, he is the Director of the Centre for Peace and Security at the Sardar Patel Police University, Jodhpur, India.

Samir writes frequently on issues of global governance, climate change, energy policy, global development architecture, artificial intelligence, cyber security, internet governance, and Indias foreign policy. He has authored four books, several academic papers, and is featured regularly in Indian and international print and broadcast media.

Virali Modi is a disability rights activist, motivational speaker, and model who has spearheaded a campaign around accessibility #MyTrainToo for accessible railways, which she started in 2017. Her petition on change.org has over 200k signatories.

She has been recognized by the BBC and was named as one of the most influential and inspirational women of 2017 by BBC 100 Women.

Virali was Miss Wheelchair India runner up 2014, has worked alongside Salman Khan for the Being Human Campaign, and has been the showstopper for Bombay Times Fashion Week, FBB, and Jewels Of India.

As a quintessential Bangalorean, the initial part of Vaidehis career involved paying her dues to the IT industry as a Software Engineer, both in India, and for a year, overseas. On returning from the United States, she waved farewell to her corporate job and took off to the mountains. She also volunteered as a teacher in an eco-school called SECMOL in Ladakh. Next stop, was Vietnam, where she volunteered yet again, as an English teacher in an NGO that rehabilitates tribals in the mountains of Sapa and also had a brief stint as a writer for Humans Of Bombay, and its sister page We The People. Wordplay has travelled with her throughout her journey, and she found that Twitter was a convenient medium to journal her thoughts and ideas. Vaidehi has over 5000 puns on her Twitter handle till date, and around 12.5K wordplay aficionados who follow her. It also landed her at her current job as the Social Media Content Lead at Dunzo a hyperlocal delivery app.

Ritu Jaiswal contested and won the election for the position of Mukhiya from Gram Panchayat Raj Singwahini in 2016 by a huge margin. Since then, she has completely transformed the village by establishing education centres, building toilets to tackle open defecation, installing solar lights and building water capacity and building roads. She continues to work with the residents and runs awareness campaigns around menstrual health, biogas management and vocational training. Ms Jaiswal was conferred with the Uchh Shikshit Adarsh Yuva Sarpanch (Mukhiya) Puraskaar 2016 at the 7th Bharatiya Chhatra Sansad by the Maharashtra Institute of Technology, and was among the 5 Mukhiyas selected to represent Bihar for the Capacity Building Program for Sarpanch & Panchayat Secretaries by The Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India.

In March 2017, Ridhima filed a petition against the Government of India in the National Green Tribunal (NGT), asserting that the Indian government has failed to fulfil its duties towards the Indian people in mitigating climate change. In September, she joined Greta Thunberg at the Global Climate Strike in New York and also the International conference organized by Notre Affaire a Tous in Paris.

Along with fifteen teenagers from across the world, Ridhima has filed a complaint against five countries (Argentina, Turkey, Germany, France and Brazil) in the UN for not doing enough to address climate change.

Presently, she is spreading awareness in different cities of India to inspire others to protect the environment.

Aman is a class 11 student at Modern School, Vasant Vihar, N- Delhi. Inspired by his love for nature & the environment, 16-year-old Aman Sharma launched a petition on Change.org in May 2019 asking the government to declare a National climate emergency, which has reached 330,000 signatures now. It urges India to reach net zero-carbon emissions by 2030, stop all fossil-fuel expansion by 2020, stop deforestation for needless urban projects and provide its citizens the right to clean air and water.

Aman represented India at the first-ever youth and climate summit at Oslo Pax, Norway by the Nobel Peace Prize Center in September 2019 and his petition was later presented at the UN youth and climate summit in New York as a part of All in for Climate Action campaign which has 1.6 million signatures and 90 countries as part of it. He is a part of and striker with Fridays for Future India and avid birdwatcher, conservationist and wildlife photographer.

Ashok Malik is the former Press Secretary for the President of India. He began his career in the Telegraph newspaper in Kolkata in 1991 and subsequently worked for many leading publications, including The Times of India, India Today and Indian Express. In 2006, he embarked on a career as a self-employed columnist, serving at different points as a consulting editor to the Pioneer and Tehelka. In 2015 he joined the Observer Research Foundation. He has been appointed to the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, a think-tank focused on corporate social responsibility. He is a Member of the Rajghat Memorial Committee, which oversees the Memorial dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi. In 2016, he was awarded the Padma Shri, Indias fourth-highest civilian honour.

Karnika Kohli is the audience editor at Scroll.in. She was previously with TheWire.in, where she led the social media desk, worked on campaigns to raise funding and was part of the team that organised events. Her main focus is on amplifying the reach of Scroll.ins work and building an engaged audience by bringing data, insights and strategies to the newsroom. She has also worked with the Times of India and NewsX.

Neha Arora is the founder of Planet Abled, which provides accessible travel solutions and leisure excursions for people with various disabilities and the elderly. Planet Abled was awarded as one of the best innovative practices by Zero Project Conference at United Nations Vienna. Planet Abled has also been the recipient of India Responsible Tourism Award by Outlook Traveler and World Travel Market, London Best Innovation in Travel & Overall Winner and NCPEDP Mphasis Universal Design Award. This year, Planet Abled was also the recipient of the National Award for the most unique and innovative tourism product by the Ministry of Tourism Government of India.

Planet Abled has also represented India as a major accessible travel destination on global platform like ITB Berlin, Global Sustainable Tourism Council Conference in Thailand and International Congress on Tourism and Technology in Diversity in Malaga, Spain.

Neha is a Global Good Fund Fellow and India Inclusion fellow and a graduate of Nasdaq Entrepreneurial centre MMI program, for her work at Planet Abled. Neha also conducts sessions and workshops in corporates, universities, incubators and various forums for amalgamation of people with disabilities in mainstream via the medium of travel.

Mir is an officer of the 2011 batch of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), serving in the state of Kerala.

He was posted as District Collector of Kannur in August 2016. As District Collector, he was the prime mover behind the transformation of Kannur into Indias first plastic/disposable-free district.

His most recent initiative is a timely project titled Satyameva Jayate (Truth Alone Triumphs) that trains teachers and students to identify, vet and respond to misinformation and fake news online. The programme was implemented in over 200 schools in Kannur, covering over 80,000 children making it the first of its kind in the country. His work was widely covered by the national media in India and international networks in Britain, China & Japan.

Under his leadership, Kannur received five Kerala e-Governance Awards, including best e-Governed district from the Chief Minister of Kerala in January 2019.

He has led large projects that have singularly focused on creating value and convenience for citizens. The core driving force of his work has been efficiently bringing together stakeholders from the government, private sector and members of society, in the interest of achieving important social goals.

After a successful three year stint as Kannur Collector, he recently took charge as Director, Kerala State Suchitwa Mission that oversees the implementation of waste management schemes across the state

Malini has 15 years of experience across3 industries IT, media and travel. She is a voice-over artist and the Founder/CEO of F5 Escapes, an experiential travel company, with a vision to redefine the way women travel India. She is not only passionate about working towards and promoting India as a safe destination for women but also a firm believer in sustainable living and travel. She believes in the power of peer learning and hence loves motivating women returning to the workplace and early-stage entrepreneurs.

Gulesh studied till ninth grade and was married off at 17. She was content being a homemaker until one day when in 2003 her husband was killed in an accident and it became absolutely necessary for her to become financially independent. She started with doing a few odd jobs like cooking at peoples houses, selling vegetables, frying pakoras at a roadside stall, etc., but it wasnt sustainable. About 3-4 years ago, she started her journey as an Uber driver. Today, she is financially independent and supporting her sons education.

Abhinav Agrawal, 27, an ethnomusicologist, musician and social entrepreneur is also the Founder Director of the Non-Profit Organisation, Anahad Foundation. Abhinav is working towards creating and reviving the diminishing folk music industry in India by creating self-reliant models that generate livelihoods, pride and dignity for stakeholders connected to this art form.

He is generating demand and value for cultural folk music through building respect, recognition, identity and self-confidence of folk musicians, and in parallel creating a self-sustainable economic environment where an artist can distribute their productions directly to the public without an intermediary. In doing so, Abhinav is helping create a Folk Music industry that is a sustainable art form and an industry that is musician-led.

Abhinav is also an Ashoka Fellow, and has been featured under Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list. He has also been awarded with the Karamveer Award.

Anshul is a social entrepreneur and a young media influencer, who founded Youth Ki Awaaz (YKA), Indiaslargest social justice media platform for young people to address and engage on critical issues, at the age of17.

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Neuroscience, Barbecue, And A Vibrant Indian Diaspora: My Time In Kansas City - Youth Ki Awaaz

Neuroscience

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics to Present at the 2020 Biotech Showcase and 3rd Annual Neuroscience Innovation Forum at JPM Week – GlobeNewswire

NEW YORK, Jan. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: BCLI), a leading developer of adult stem cell therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases, announced today that Chaim Lebovits, President and Chief Executive Officer, will provide a corporate overview at the 2020 Biotech Showcase, being held on January 13-15, 2020 at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square in San Francisco, California.

Mr. Lebovits will also present at the 3rd Annual Neuroscience Innovation Forum, taking place on January 12, 2020, at the Marines Memorial Club in San Francisco. Additionally, Ralph Kern M.D., MHSc, BrainStorms Chief Operating Officer and Chief Medical Officer, will participate on aRare & Orphan Diseases Panel.

Meetings

BrainStorms senior management will also be hosting institutional investor and partnering meetings at the 2020 Biotech Showcase conference (https://goo.gl/SGFm62). Please use the Investor contact information provided below to schedule a meeting.

About NurOwn

NurOwn (autologous MSC-NTF cells) represent a promising investigational approach to targeting disease pathways important in neurodegenerative disorders. MSC-NTF cells are produced from autologous, bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that have been expanded and differentiated ex vivo. MSCs are converted into MSC-NTF cells by growing them under patented conditions that induce the cells to secrete high levels of neurotrophic factors. Autologous MSC-NTF cells can effectively deliver multiple NTFs and immunomodulatory cytokines directly to the site of damage to elicit a desired biological effect and ultimately slow or stabilize disease progression. NurOwn is currently being evaluated in a Phase 3 ALS randomized placebo-controlled trial and in a Phase 2 open-label multicenter trial in Progressive MS.

About BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. is a leading developer of innovative autologous adult stem cell therapeutics for debilitating neurodegenerative diseases. The Company holds the rights to clinical development and commercialization of the NurOwn technology platform used to produce autologous MSC-NTF cells through an exclusive, worldwide licensing agreement. Autologous MSC-NTF cells have received Orphan Drug status designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in ALS. BrainStorm has fully enrolled a Phase 3 pivotal trial in ALS (NCT03280056), investigating repeat-administration of autologous MSC-NTF cells at six sites in the U.S., supported by a grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM CLIN2-0989). The pivotal study is intended to support a filing for U.S. FDA approval of autologous MSC-NTF cells in ALS. For more information, visit BrainStorm's website at http://www.brainstorm-cell.com.

Safe-Harbor Statement

Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information, including statements regarding future clinical trial enrollment and data, constitute "forward-looking statements" and involve risks and uncertainties that could causeBrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.'sactual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. Terms and phrases such as "may", "should", "would", "could", "will", "expect", "likely", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "predict", "potential", and similar terms and phrases are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, BrainStorms need to raise additional capital, BrainStorms ability to continue as a going concern, regulatory approval of BrainStorms NurOwn treatment candidate, the success of BrainStorms product development programs and research, regulatory and personnel issues, development of a global market for our services, the ability to secure and maintain research institutions to conduct our clinical trials, the ability to generate significant revenue, the ability of BrainStorms NurOwn treatment candidate to achieve broad acceptance as a treatment option for ALS or other neurodegenerative diseases, BrainStorms ability to manufacture and commercialize the NurOwn treatment candidate, obtaining patents that provide meaningful protection, competition and market developments, BrainStorms ability to protect our intellectual property from infringement by third parties, heath reform legislation, demand for our services, currency exchange rates and product liability claims and litigation,; and other factors detailed in BrainStorm's annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q available athttp://www.sec.gov. These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on BrainStorm's forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on the beliefs, expectations and opinions of management as of the date of this press release. We do not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results or assumptions if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions should change, unless otherwise required by law. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.

CONTACTS

Corporate:Uri YablonkaChief Business OfficerBrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.Phone: 646-666-3188uri@brainstorm-cell.com

Media:Sean LeousWestwicke/ICR PRPhone: +1.646.677.1839sean.leous@icrinc.com

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BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics to Present at the 2020 Biotech Showcase and 3rd Annual Neuroscience Innovation Forum at JPM Week - GlobeNewswire

Neuroscience

New test for Alzheimers to begin trial – SouthCoastToday.com

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, RHODE ISLAND A comparatively simple eye exam that could detect Alzheimers disease many years before severe clinical symptoms appear is about to undergo a clinical trial sponsored by University of Rhode Island, Butler Hospital in Providence and BayCare Health System, a system of 15 hospitals and other centers in central Florida.

The so-called retinal screening tests someday could be administered by optometrists and ophthalmologists at considerably less cost than todays PET scans, which can detect the buildup of amyloid plaque in the brain, associated with Alzheimers, before symptoms appear. Such scans cost thousands of dollars and are not typically covered by most insurance plans.

When our study is completed, we want to make the technology available so that optometrists and ophthalmologists could screen for the retinal biomarkers we believe are associated with Alzheimers disease and watch them over time, said Peter Snyder, URIs vice president for research and economic development and professor of biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences, and a principal investigator in the $5-million study.

If clinicians see changes, they could refer their patients to specialists early on, Snyder said. We believe this could significantly lower the cost of testing. We may then identify more people in the very earliest stage of the disease, and our drug therapies are likely to be more effective at that point and before decades of slow disease progression.

Dr. Stephen P. Salloway, director of Butlers Memory and Aging Program, affiliated with Brown University, said the study closely aligns with the mission of Butler Hospital and Brown University to develop new approaches to detect Alzheimers risk early and keep the brain healthy so memory loss never occurs. Also key to the research in Rhode Island will be Jessica Alber, Ryan Research Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at URIs Ryan Institute for Neuroscience, who will lead the Butler team.

According to Mondays announcement of the study, researchers are seeking to enroll 330 people between the ages of 55 and 80 ranging from very healthy and low-risk adults, to persons with concerns about their memory, as well as patients with mild Alzheimers disease.

Participants will be examined at four different times over three years, according to the announcement, and each study visit includes an eye exam, a medical history discussion, some tests of how people think and how well they remember new information, the retinal imaging that is very much like the kind done at the eye doctors office, and measures of mood, walking and balancing, sleep habits and other types of medical information.

Eligible individuals in the Rhode Island area interested in participating in the study should contact Butlers Alzheimers Prevention Registry, butler.org/alzregistry, or call 401-455-6402. Those living near Tampa, St. Petersburg or Clearwater, Florida, should call Catrina Montgomery at (727) 298-6077. Dr. Stuart Sinoff, medical director of Neurosciences for BayCare Health Systems West Region in Pinellas County, is the studys principal investigator in Florida.

The retinal-screening study is the latest indication that Rhode Island has emerged as a leader in Alzheimers research, with numerous studies at centers including URI, Rhode Island Hospital, Butler Hospital and Brown University, home to the Carney Institute for Brain Science. Sciences may not always be collaborative, but ongoing cooperation in the Ocean State is providing promise in the invariably fatal disease.

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New test for Alzheimers to begin trial - SouthCoastToday.com

Neuroscience

Monmouth President appointed to Illinois Board of Higher Ed – WGIL Radio News

Monmouth College President Clarence Wyatt is getting a new title, member of the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Wyatts appointment on Friday to the panel that oversees institutions of higher education in Illinois.

The Governor has the authority to appoint 10 of the boards 16 members.

Wyatt has been Monmouths president since 2014.

The Pritzker administration writes about Wyatt that under his leadership Monmouth has attracted a more geographically diverse and academically gifted student body. Pritzker also says that under his leadership Monmouth has risen in national rankings, attracted a more academically gifted student body and new STEM majors like data science, neuroscience, and engineering.

They also credit him for his leadership in developing new academic programs, including majors in data science, engineering, and neuroscience.

He holds a Bachelors degree in English and History, as well as a Masters degree and Ph.D. in American History.

Wyatts more than 40-year career in higher education began at Centre, where he played a key role in helping that college rise to a prominent place among national liberal arts colleges.

He is also a founding member of Presidents United to Solve Hunger or PUSH, a coalition of more than 60 colleges and universities worldwide working to fight hunger and malnutrition.

Wyatts appointment is technically pending until hes confirmed by the State Senate.

Originally posted here:
Monmouth President appointed to Illinois Board of Higher Ed - WGIL Radio News

Neuroscience

Stress-recovery wearable helps the body bounce back with Covestro polycarbonate blend – Yahoo Finance

What's next in wearables

PITTSBURGH, Jan. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Wearables are seemingly everywhere, monitoring our sleep, tracking our heart rate variability (HRV)a key metric of health and recoveryand more. But what if they could do more? Imagine a device that empowers you to get better sleep, feel more relaxed and have more energy by actively enhancing the body's resilience to stress. Sound impossible? Meet Apollo!

Makroblend M525 PC+polyester blend from Covestro lends toughness and chemical resistance to the Apollo wearable. (Photo: Apollo Neuroscience)

Click to Tweet: At #CES2020, see how @apollohrv helps the body bounce back from stress with @CovestroUS polycarbonate blend: http://bit.ly/2Fmslfb

According to Kathryn Fantauzzi, CEO and co-founder of Apollo Neuroscience, Inc., Apollo is the first wearable that helps the body beat stress by rapidly restoring its natural equilibrium for better sleep, energy and more. She explains that, unlike other wearables, Apollo doesn't just track your bodyit uses vibration to improve your recovery from stress. Originally developed by physicians and neuroscientists at the University of Pittsburgh, Apollo's gentle vibration waves signal safety to the body and improve HRVall through the sense of touch.

Since Apollo is worn on the wrist or ankle, the wearable required a material that withstands everyday productssuch as lotions, perfumes and detergentsas well as drops and daily wear and tear. Makroblend M525 PC+polyester blend from Covestro delivers the toughness and chemical resistance needed to create this durable yet lightweight device.

"Wearables have a long checklist of needs to meet, and it all starts with the right materials," said Doug Hamilton, global healthcare marketing leader, Covestro LLC.

Zachary Williams, market development, Healthcare Polycarbonates, Covestro LLC, added, "Makroblend M525 PC+polyester blend meets two important requirementstoughness and chemical resistanceto help Apollo users find balance with a strong and lightweight device that remains unchanged when exposed to a variety of personal care products."

"Apollo is about empowering people to take control of their healththat's why we chose Covestro as a partner," said John Maholtz, chief operating officer at Apollo Neuroscience. "Covestro's premier materials ensure that Apollo users experience a clean, comfortable and long-lasting product that is just as resilient as they are."

The device works in tandem with an intuitive app which, according to Apollo, features a variety of programs that help users:

Attendees at the following shows will be able to experience first-hand how the Apollo device helps their body adapt to stress:

Learn about what else Covestro has in store for CES: http://www.solutions.covestro.com/en/highlights/campaigns/ces-2020.

About Covestro LLC:Covestro LLC is one of the leading producers of high-performance polymers in North America and is part of the global Covestro business, which is among the world's largest polymer companies with 2018 sales of EUR 14.6 billion. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, construction, wood processing and furniture, electrical and electronics, and healthcare industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics and the chemical industry itself. Covestro has 30 production sites worldwide and employed approximately 16,800 people at the end of 2018.

Story continues

About Apollo Neuroscience:Apollo is the first wearable that actively helps your body adapt to stress, for better sleep, focus, energy, and more. While other wearables track your body, Apollo empowers you to change it, harnessing the power of neuroscience to deliver gentle waves of vibration shown to rapidly restore your body's natural equilibrium. Apollo works by signaling safety to the body and has been scientifically-validated to improve heart rate variability (HRV), a key metric of health and recovery. Apollo has been evaluated in university-led trials and has been tested by over 2,000 users. For more information, visit http://www.apolloneuro.com.

Find more information at http://www.covestro.usorwww.solutions.covestro.com/en/materials/plastics.

Forward-Looking StatementsThis news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Covestro AG. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Covestro's public reports which are available at http://www.covestro.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

Makroblend is a registered trademark of the Covestro Group.

This press release is available for download from our website. Click here to view all our press releases.

Editor's Note: Follow news from Covestro on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CovestroUS

Contact John Skabardonis Telephone +1 412 413 5444 Email John.Skabardonis@covestro.com

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/stress-recovery-wearable-helps-the-body-bounce-back-with-covestro-polycarbonate-blend-300982115.html

SOURCE Covestro LLC

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Stress-recovery wearable helps the body bounce back with Covestro polycarbonate blend - Yahoo Finance

Neuroscience

Childhood Deprivation May Have Long-term Impact on Adult Brain Size – Technology Networks

Researchers from King's College London have shown that the brains of young adult Romanian adoptees who were institutionalised as children are around 8.6% smaller than the brains of English adoptees who have not suffered this form of deprivation.

According to the research, the longer the time the Romanian adoptees spent in the institutions, the smaller the total brain volume, with each additional month of deprivation associated with a 0.27% reduction in total brain volume. Deprivation related changes in brain volume were associated with lower IQ and more symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the study analysed the MRI brain scans of 67 young adults, aged 23-28 years, who were exposed to severely depriving conditions in Romanian institutions under the Communist regime and subsequently adopted into nurturing families in the UK. They were compared to the MRI brain scans of 21 English adoptees aged 23-26 years who had not suffered this institutional deprivation.

MRI scans were conducted at the Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences at King's College London, as part of the Medical Research Council (MRC) funded English and Romanian Adoptees Brain Imaging Study (ERABIS). This is part of the larger ERA project that has collected information from Romanian and English adoptees over time including measures of mental health and cognitive performance.

This is the first time research has examined the impacts of severe early childhood deprivation on the brain structure of young adults.

Statistical analysis showed that, in this group of young Romanian adults, those changes in brain volume that were related to deprivation were also associated with lower IQ and more ADHD symptoms. This implies that changes in brain structure could play a mediating role between the experience of deprivation and levels of cognitive performance and mental health.

The research investigated other possible factors that could have influenced the results but found the results were unaffected by level of nutrition, physical growth and genetic predisposition for smaller brains.

The principle investigator of the study, Professor Edmund Sonuga-Barke from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London said: 'The English and Romanian Adoptees (ERA) study addresses one of the most fundamental questions in developmental psychology and psychiatry - how does early experience shape individual development? It's essential to recognise that these young people have nearly always received great care in loving adoptive families since they left the institutions. However, despite a lot of positive experiences and achievements there remain some deep-seated effects of deprivation on these young adults.'

First author, Dr Nuria Mackes from the IoPPN said: 'Previous research on the English and Romanian Adoptees (ERA) study has suggested that the emergence and persistence of low IQ and a high level of ADHD symptoms involves structural changes in the brain but, until now, we have not been able to provide direct evidence of this. Showing these very profound effects of early deprivation on brain size and then showing that this difference is associated with low IQ and greater ADHD symptoms provides some of the most compelling evidence of the neuro-biological basis of these problems following deprivation.'

The study also investigated where these changes were occurring in the brain and what localised features contributed to the differences. In comparison to the UK adoptees, the young Romanian adults who had suffered deprivation as children had markedly smaller right inferior frontal regions of the brain both in terms of volume and surface area.

In contrast the right inferior temporal lobe was larger in volume and surface area and thickness for the Romanian young adults and this was associated with lower levels of ADHD symptoms. This implies that this increase in volume and surface area in this region may play a compensatory role in preventing development of ADHD symptoms. In the right medial prefrontal region, the longer the duration of deprivation, the larger the volume and surface area.

The neuroimaging lead for the study, Professor Mitul Mehta from the IoPPN said: 'We found structural differences between the two groups in three regions of the brain. These regions are linked to functions such as organisation, motivation, integration of information and memory. It's interesting to see the right inferior temporal lobe is in fact larger in the Romanian young adults and that this was related to fewer ADHD symptoms, suggesting that the brain can adapt to reduce the negative effects of deprivation. This may explain why some individuals appear less affected than others by deprivation. We believe this is the first time that research has shown such compelling evidence of compensatory effects around deprivation.'

The Romanian young adults in the study had entered into institutions in the first few weeks of life, where they were often malnourished with minimal social contact and little stimulation. The time spent in institutions before adoption into families in the UK varied between 3 and 41 months.

Reflecting on the implications of the study Professor Sonuga-Barke said: 'By investigating the long term impact of deprivation our research highlights the need for a life-span perspective on the provision of any help and support, especially during the transition to adulthood. More speculatively the evidence of neural compensation in the inferior temporal lobe provides encouragement to look for ways that might help the brain adjust to deprivation and to improve outcomes. For example, it would be interesting to see if targeting this area directly through cognitive training might reduce ADHD symptoms.'

Reference: Mackes, N. K., Golm, D., Sarkar, S., Kumsta, R., Rutter, M., Fairchild, G., Mehta, M. A., Sonuga-Barke, E. J. S., & Team, on behalf of the E. Y. A. F. (2020). Early childhood deprivation is associated with alterations in adult brain structure despite subsequent environmental enrichment. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1911264116

This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

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Childhood Deprivation May Have Long-term Impact on Adult Brain Size - Technology Networks