Stavros Niarchos Foundation Brain Insight Lectures

Richard Axel, MD, Nobel laureate and Zuckerman Institute codirector, presents his research at a recent Brain Insight Lecture (Credit: Barbara Alper/Columbia University)

Bringing brain science to the public

At the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Brain Insight Lectures, free and open to the public, eminent Columbia scholars examine how brain science intersects with everyday life. Speakers have included Olajide Williams, MD, who spoke about how to prevent stroke in communities of color; Frances Champagne, PhD, who discussed how our early experiences shape our behavior; and Richard Axel, MD, who shared his acclaimed research and insights into how the brain knows what the nose is smelling.

We invite you to view previous lectures below.

This program is made possible with generous support from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.

VIDEOS OF STAVROS NIARCHOS FOUNDATION BRAIN INSIGHT LECTURES

The Future of Learning and Education

Speakers Jacqueline Simmons, EdD, Senior Lecturer and Vice Chair, Department of Curriculum & Teaching at Teachers College, and Lila Davachi, PhD, Professor of Psychology at Columbia University serve as experts from Columbia University and discuss their work covering different aspects of learning and education

Making the Right Moves in a Pandemic

Speakers Dara Kass, MD, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Andrés Bendesky, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology at Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute discuss our response to the COVID-19 pandemic in very different ways.

Stress, Sleep and Resilience

Speakers Carmela Alcántara, PhD, Associate Professor of Social Work and Maura Boldrini, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry serve as two experts from Columbia University who study different aspects of stress, how they affect our lives and change our brains, and the potential mechanisms of recovery.

Singing in the Brain

The young brain learning to communicate with hearing and voice builds auditory and vocal motor circuits that are functionally coupled to perceive and produce particular sounds. Sarah Woolley has helped decode how the brain interprets vocalizations — and what happens during development when those sounds are disrupted. Her research could shed important light on developmental disorders associated with speech and communication. In this conversation, Dr. Woolley will discuss progress using songbirds to understand how early social experience tunes the auditory system for vocal communication.

What's a Brain For: A Moving Story

Neuroscientist Daniel Wolpert, PhD, is fascinated by how the brain controls our every movement. Join Dr. Wolpert as he discusses what makes control so hard, especially in the face of incomplete or rapidly changing information about the world.

Performing Our Best When the Pressure is On

Barnard President Sian Beilock, PhD, will discuss how current research in psychology and neuroscience can be used by parents, teachers and students themselves to enhance learning and performance in school — especially for students who are chronically anxious about taking tests.

Data for Good

Data Science at Columbia with Jeannette Wing, PhD

Finding the Bar Codes in our Brains

Using genetics to identify the brain’s 100 billion neurons with Tom Maniatis, PhD

How the Brain Thinks, Decides and Creates

In this lecture, Michael Shadlen, MD, PhD, discusses exciting new insights into how the brain makes decisions — from the simple to the complex — that lay the foundation for its most amazing abilities.

Understanding Alzheimer’s Disease Through Its Anatomical Vulnerability

Featuring Scott Small, MD

Getting a Head Start

The developing brain and the importance of early experiences with Nim Tottenham, PhD

Finding the Right Medicine One Patient at a Time

Columbia University’s David Goldstein, PhD, a pioneer in genetics and precision medicine, discussed developing targeted treatments that have fundamentally improved the lives of patients living with devastating brain diseases.