Neuroscience is a research strength and priority at Western, and NRD is a trainee-organized conference that aims to bring the Western’s neuroscience community together to share resources and skills, and seed new collaborations. It also features world-renowned keynote speakers and interactive panel discussions and workshops.
QUICK LINKS:
NRD Schedule
FAQ
COGNITIVE CAREGIVING:
Empowering Dementia Caregivers and At-Risk Individuals through Neuroscience
Thursday February 20th, 5:00PM - 7:30PM @ Museum London
Science and Community Booths: Share your research, recruit participants, or provide resources for community members, particularly those impacted by Alzheimer’s or dementia. We look forward to seeing you there and welcome anyone to register for an information/science booth with resources, participant recruitment, cognitive testing, or anything related to Alzheimer’s, aging, and dementia.
Brain Art Exhibit: Neuroscience-inspired artwork will be displayed and attendees will have the opportunity to chat with the artists abut their work. A $200 cash prize will be awarded for the best art piece!
Poster Session: Graduate and undergraduate students studying aging, dementia, memory, Alzheimer’s, or related topics can present their research and practice engaging with a lay audience. A $200 prize will be awarded for the best poster.
NRD ACADEMIC DAY
Friday February 21st, 8:30AM - 5:00PM @ Thames Hall Atrium
WIN Research Spotlight
Dr. Angela Roberts
Professor Angela Roberts holds a joint appointment in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders and Department of Computer Science. She is also a speech-language pathologist. She is a founding Co-Director of Western’s Collaborative Specialization in Machine Learning in Health and Biomedical Sciences and is a Research Associate with the Canadian Centre of Activity and Aging.
Her impactful research program improves cognitive aging outcomes through rigorously validating connected speech signatures that detect and monitor cognitive decline, building phenotypes and predictive models of cognitive aging trajectories (dementia to extraordinary cognitive aging), and developing dyadic interventions that address communication challenges experienced by persons with dementia and their families. Her clinical research program uses robust randomized control trial designs and telehealth service delivery systems that have a global reach. Her influence extends to health charity organizations as a research board member for Parkinson Canada and an author of internationally distributed patient and family education materials.
Dr. Caroline Nettekoven
Caroline Nettekoven is postdoctoral research fellow studying how the human cerebellum contributes to complex behaviours. She use neuroimaging, brain stimulation and computer models to understand the cerebellum.
During her postdoc at Western University, she developed a functional atlas of the cerebellum that can be personalized using a Bayesian Hierarchical model. And during her PhD at the University of Oxford, she applied a new spectroscopy technique to the cerebellum to show a link between neurochemical changes and cerebellar-dependent movement behaviour. Caroline also wrote a language algorithm that captures schizophrenic language while at the University of Cambridge.
Her research is funded by a BrainsCAN computational postdoctoral fellowship and a CIHR project grant.
The Great Debate
Does AI enhance or hinder creativity and innovation in scientific research?
Funding/Grant Writing Workshop
How to make your grants and funding applications open, accessible, and equitable
Keynote Lecture
Dr. Matthew Hill
Dr. Matthew Hill’s career has largely focused on the intersection between cannabinoids and the stress response. His lab has 3 primary research streams, all of which are independently funded, which focus on 1) stress and endocannabinoids; 2) cannabinoid regulation of feeding and metabolism; 3) the neurodevelopmental and behavioural impacts of cannabis exposure.