Exploration of the ultimate frontier: the brain

Published on: June 07, 2019 By: James Beltran

UT Southwestern scientists have discovered a molecular origin of Alzheimer’s disease, led national efforts to improve depression treatment, and now are developing gene therapies for children with the rarest of deadly neurological diseases. These are a few of the distinguishing achievements of faculty associated with the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, which is seeking to position UT Southwestern as a national leader in brain research and care.

UT Southwestern President Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky discussed the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute’s progress and goals at the Carolyn P. Horchow Women’s Health Symposium.

This year’s Women’s Health Symposium focused on the brain.

Speakers at this year’s Symposium included (from left) Drs. Marc Diamond, Elizabeth Maher, Andrew Czysz, Mary “Molly” Camp, Brendan Kelley, and Benjamin Greenberg.

A table at the Symposium featured copies of journalist Susannah Cahalan’s memoir, Brain on Fire.

Attendee Shelly Heins asks a question at the Symposium.

UT Southwestern’s commitment has evolved into a billion-dollar initiative that is putting scientists closer to solving some of mankind’s most perplexing and devastating conditions. President Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky discussed the O’Donnell Brain Institute’s progress and goals at the Carolyn P. Horchow Women’s Health Symposium on March 21, an annual campus event that this year focused on talks from O’Donnell Brain Institute scientists on topics ranging from solving the mysteries behind everything from Alzheimer’s disease and memory to depression, brain cancer, and autoimmune disease. Dr. Podolsky provided a retrospective on why the O’Donnell Brain Institute was created in 2015, noting that new technologies had emerged that could lead to improved treatment of brain disorders – which the World Health Organization has estimated affect up to 1 billion people.

Of course, important contributions to understanding and treating the brain will be made at many of our peer institutions around the world in the coming years, Dr. Podolsky told guests in opening the event. But UT Southwestern is committed to being in the vanguard. The Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute is driving an ambitious vision and top priority at UT Southwestern. And we’re making the investments to deliver on that vision.

Marc Diamond, M.D.
Presentation: Old Foes in a New Light: Inquiries Into Alzheimer’s Disease

Mary “Molly” Camp, M.D. and
Andrew Czysz, M.D., Ph.D.
Presentation: Pathfinders: Illuminating the Landscape of Mental Health

Benjamin Greenberg, M.D., M.H.S.
Presentation: Immunology and the Brain: “Et Tu, Brute?”

Brendan Kelley, M.D., M.S.
Presentation: Memory Loss: When to Worry and When to Forget About It

Elizabeth Maher, M.D., Ph.D.
Presentation: Brain Tumors: Today’s Research, Tomorrow’s Hope