Victorian members page

Please contact the Victorian ANS representative, Dr. Joanne Britto for information on local neuroscience activities.

MEETING ANNOUNCEMENTS

3^rd Enteric Nervous System Workshop; Monday 31st October 2011; University of Melbourne

On behalf of ANS Victoria and the Neurosciences and Behavioural Sciences Research Domain of the University of Melbourne, we are pleased to announce that the 3^rd Enteric Nervous System Workshop will take place at the University of Melbourne on Monday 31st October 2011.  The aim of the workshop is to provide a forum where enteric neuroscientists can present their latest findings to their peers, with a major emphasis on scientific discussion.  If you are interested in attending the workshop, please RSVP to Richard Anderson (rba@unimelb.edu.au) by the 14th October. Registration is free and lunch will be provided.

Ne(w)roscience in Victoria, Friday 4th November 2011, 10:00am to 5:00pm Bldg 25/Theatre S1, Monash University Clayton Campus. Organisers: Julian Heng, James Bourne

Networking Theme: To bring together new researchers in Neuroscience within the state of Victoria.

Research Focus:

• Basic developmental mechanisms that underlie neurodevelopment and brain function, and their impact on human health and disease

• New research techniques, experimental models and approaches

Vision: This symposium offers a forum through which to foster communication between newindependent researchers (within 1-8yrs of establishing their own research team), as well as provide an opportunity for them to present their research. It is anticipated that this event will become an annual networking opportunity for young independent researchers, and a platform for highlighting new and exciting neuroscience research in the state of Victoria. Program and further details available here.

Please email Julian Heng (julian.heng@monash.edu) to register your attendance to the meeting before the 28th of October.

Students of Brain Research (SOBR)

Graduate research students from across Melbourne are invited to join a new network that aims to bring together medical research students that have an interest in neuroscience and brain research.

The Students of Brain Research (SOBR) network is an inclusive social and academic network for all graduate medical research students in Melbourne with an emphasis on neuroscience and brain research. SOBR hopes to bring students together, facilitating new friendships, knowledge transfer, and collaborative opportunities while also strengthening Melbourne’s claim as one of the world’s leading medical research centres.

If you are interested in joining the SOBR network please “like” Sobr- students of brain research page on facebook. Or, for further information, please email sobrnetwork@gmail.com

Proudly supported by: Florey Neuroscience Institutes, Mental Health research Institute, University of Melbourne Graduate Student Association.

PUBLIC LECTURE

Professor Jack Pettigrew, Fellow of the Royal Society presents the H Barry Collin Research Medal Lecture at SRC

We are delighted that Professor Jack Pettigrew willpresent the H Barry Collin Public Research Medal lectureat SRC. The lecture, ‘Exploring the Visual Systems ofMonks and Extinct Bradshaw Rock Artists’, promises tobe a highlight of the program.Professor Pettigrew’s interests and publications rangewide. He recently made headlines when he and his teammade the remarkable discovery that famous Indigenousrock paintings in the Kimberley, dating back 40,000years, have retained their colour as a result of beingcolonised by colourful fungi and bacteria which effectively function as livingpigments. ‘Eclectic’ does not seem to effectively describe Professor Pettigrew’s,who has published on topics from the cat striate cortex to algorithms forstereopsis; the evolution of echolocation in bats; and sleep in the platypus.The lecture is open free of charge to the public — a great opportunity to showyour friends and family that vision science is not just the dry stuff of physicsand optics, but a vibrant fi eld of life science, from which we can learn muchabout the natural world, and about our own nature too.

The H Barry Collin Lecture will be held on Monday May 16, 3.00 - 4.00pm in the main Plenary Hall of the Melbourne Convention Centre. Register now at: www.surveymonkey.com/s/HBarryCollinResearchMedalLecture

For further information contact:Terri Smith, CEO Optometrists Association Victoriam: 0401 314 009

Brain Awareness Week 2011

A number of events have been organised for neuroscientists, students and members of the public.

 

ANS Victoria Committee members

We have established a state committee to encourage more member activity within the Society. Feel free to contact your local or state representative if there are any matters relating to neuroscience research that ANS can assist in.

• Joanne Britto (ANS Victorian State Representative, Howard Florey Institute)
• Richard Anderson  (University of Melbourne)
• Nicole Bye (Monash University)
• James Duce (Mental Health Research Institute)
• Lisa Hutton (Monash University)
• Heath Pardoe (Brain Research Institute)
• Juliet Taylor (Murdoch Childrens Research Institute)
• Michael Williams (University of Melbourne)

Some of the Vic Committee L-R: Lisa Hutton, Richard Anderson, Heath Pardoe, Nicole Bye, Joanne Britto, Michael Williams

Brain Awareness Week 2010

 

Radio RRR Broadcast- Einstein a go go Sunday 14th March

 

Brain Awareness Week 2009

Brain Awareness Week was on the 16th – 22nd March, 2009. ANS and the Brain Foundation organized a number of events during the week to promote interactions between researchers and highlight to the public the benefits of undertaking brain research. This included visiting schools and a radio broadcast on the Einstein a go go science show on RRR.

Radio RRR Broadcast- Einstein a go go

Joanne Britto, Stephen Robinson and Michael Williams were interviewed about their lives in science on March 15th 2009. To download the 15th March podcast, go to http://rrrfm.libsyn.com/index.php?post_category=Einstein%20A%20Go%20Go

The Einstein a go go broadcast: L-R back: Dr Shane, Michael Williams, Joanne Britto, Stephen Robinson; front: Jerm, Dr Andi and Danger Mouse.

Victorian Neuroscience Network

An informal gathering of over 100 neuroscience researchers from around Victoria was held on Friday 20th March, 4-6pm, in the Executive Lounge, 1st Floor Alan Gilbert Building, The University of Melbourne.

This opportunity was used to catch up with friends, discover the wide range of research undertaken in our state and create new collaborative opportunities. Posters were presented and created a lot of general interest..

Public Seminars

"Tips to a Healthier Brain"

Stephen Robinson is Chairman of Brain Foundation Victoria, and an Associate Professor in the School of Psychology, Psychiatry & Psychological Medicine at Monash University. For almost thirty years he has investigated the ways in which brain cells interact with each other and how these interactions change in dementia, stroke and other diseases. He has published widely in acclaimed scientific journals, and has acquired an international reputation in his field of research.

Monash University

University of Melbourne

Both of these seminars had excellent attendance, with a combined total of over 200 people in the audience.

Australian Brain Bee Challenge (www.abbc.edu.au)

Online quiz open to Victorian Year 10 and 11 high school students from around Australia and New Zealand. Research scientists will visit schools involved with the Brain Bee during Brain Awareness Week.

 

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