MSM to Hold Drs. Peter and Marlene MacLeish Endowed Lecture
Endowed lectureship honors MSM faculty members and institution's commitment to supporting neuroscience.
ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 3, 2024 – Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) will hold the third annual Drs. Peter and Marlene MacLeish Lecture on Thursday, September 5. The event will take place at the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center at 900 West End Avenue SW, Atlanta, GA 30310. Lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m. and the lecture will begin at 12:30 p.m. Participants can register in advance by clicking here.
The Drs. Peter and Marlene MacLeish Endowed Lectureship was established in 2018 to recognize and celebrate the contribution of basic science – particularly neuroscience – to MSM, invigorate and inspire students and junior faculty, and inform the general public about advances in biomedical science and their impact on health.
Cornelia (Cori) Bargmann, PhD, will deliver a lecture entitled "One Brain, Many Behaviors: Organizing Behaviors Across Timescales." The complex human brain allows us to generate an infinite variety of behaviors, each appropriate to incoming information, context, and an individual's experience. Remarkably, the brains of much simpler animals also generate a rich variety of flexible behaviors. This lecture will describe one mechanism for creating behavioral variety: emotional and motivational states use signaling molecules called neuropeptides to reroute information flow through the brain.
"This year’s culmination of the third lectureship by Dr. Cornelia Bargmann is the latest in a series celebrating the many impressive contributions by Drs. Peter and Marlene MacLeish to Morehouse School of Medicine through their accomplishments in neuroscience and education," said Walter Royal, III, MD, Director of the MSM Neuroscience Institute and Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurobiology. "Dr. Bargmann’s research provides elegant illustrations of fundamental brain processes that form the basis of understandings critical for developing approaches and technologies for treating and ultimately curing disease of the nervous system. We are privileged to have her share her exciting work with our community here in Atlanta and beyond."
Dr. Bargmann, a world-renowned neurobiologist and geneticist, is a distinguished fellow and Head of Science Emerita at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Dr. Bargmann is also the Torsten N. Wiesel Professor and head of the Lulu and Anthony Wang Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior at Rockefeller University. Her research on the relationships among genes, motivational states, and behavior has been recognized by membership in the National Academy of Sciences and with the Kavli Prize and the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, among other honors. Prior to joining CZI, Dr. Bargmann served as co-chair of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) working group that planned the Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative and was an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Dr. Peter MacLeish, a member of the National Academy of Medicine, founded the Neuroscience Institute at MSM, the first of its kind at a Historically Black College or University (HBCU). The Institute supports investigators who are nationally and internationally recognized for their research and trains students at the PhD and Master of Science levels. He is a Harvard-trained neurobiologist who performed pioneering experiments on synapse formation and on the electrophysiological properties of mature retinal cells. He served on the Advisory Committee to the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), on the Board of Scientific Counselors at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), on committees at the National Academy of Medicine, and as a member of the NIH BRAIN Initiative Working Group.
Dr. Marlene MacLeish, an internationally known spokeswoman for education and health disparities research, is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics, France. She was Executive Producer of a six-part radio series, “Biomedical Science for Space Travelers,” and a documentary film, “Exploring Two Frontiers: The Brain in Space,” which aired on PBS. Dr. MacLeish served on the Board of Trustees of the International Academy of Aeronautics; the National Science, Engineering, Mathematics and Aerospace Academy Advisory Board; and the Fernbank Science Center Space Station Advisory Committee.
For more information about Morehouse School of Medicine, please visit MSM.edu.
About Morehouse School of Medicine
Founded in 1975, Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) is among the nation's leading educators of primary care physicians, biomedical scientists, and public health professionals. An independent and private historically-Black medical school, MSM was recognized by the Annals of Internal Medicine as the nation's number one medical school in fulfilling a social mission — the creation and advancement of health equity. MSM faculty and alumni are noted for excellence in teaching, research, and public policy, as well as exceptional patient care. MSM is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award doctoral and master's degrees. To learn more about programs and donate today, please visit MSM.edu or call 404-752-1500.
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