Neurobiologist to give keynote talk at Neuroscience Day at Wright State

The Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine will host Neuroscience Day 2014 on Friday, May 16, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., in the Student Union Apollo Room.

The event is organized by the Ohio Miami Valley Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience, which promotes neuroscience research and education in Southwest Ohio. Sponsoring institutions include Wright State, the University of Cincinnati and Miami University.

Harald W. Sontheimer, Ph.D., will give the keynote address at 10:30 a.m. Sontheimer is a professor in the Department of Neurobiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Medicine and the director of the Center for Glial Biology in Medicine, the Civitan International Research Center and the Cellular and Molecular Biology Graduate Program at UAB.

Sontheimer has been recognized for his work in glial biology as it relates to brain development and diseases associated with glial cells. Unlike neurons, glial cells can migrate and divide in the adult brain. They control the environment around neurons and may allow repair of the brain after injury and disease. Uncontrolled proliferation of glial cells occurs in gliomas, the most deadly form of brain cancer. His research explores how glial cells contribute to neuronal function in the healthy and diseased brain.

Sontheimer earned his doctorate in cell biology and biophysics from the University of Heidelberg in 1988. He received postdoctoral training at Yale University School of Medicine, where he was assistant professor of neurology and neurobiology from 1991 to 1994.

Neuroscience Day will include professional development sessions for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. The event also will include a symposium with speakers from each member university at 1:30 p.m. and posters presented by graduate and undergraduate students, post-doctoral fellows, staff and faculty.

Participants can register for Neuroscience Day online. There is no fee for registration.

For more information, contact James Olson, Ph.D., president of the Ohio Miami Valley Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience, at james.olson@wright.edu or (937) 395-8839.