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TITLE: Uses and Abuses of the Visible Brain
SPEAKER: Judy Illes, Adina Roskies, Dan Schacter, Joy Hirsch, Stacey Tovino, Paul Root Wolpe, Mahlon DeLong, Robert Goodman, Dennis Spencer, William J. Heetderks , Mary Faith Marshall, Martha Farah
EVENT DATE: 05/10/2005
RUNNING TIME: 104 minutes
DESCRIPTION:
In May 2005, the Library of Congress, the Dana Foundation, Columbia University, and the National Institute of Mental Health gathered leaders in neuroscience and ethics to discuss the rights and wrongs of using or not using new therapies and enhancements. By defining the most advanced and promising research findings, the conference sought to dispel public confusion about what brain science today can and cannot do.
Speaker Biography: Judy Illes is a Senior Research Scholar and Director of the Program in Neuroethics at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, with a joint appointment between the Department of Medicine and the Department of Radiology. Dr. Illes received her bachelor's degree from Brandeis University in Massachusetts in Physiological Psychology (1979) and an master's in Physiological Psychology from McGill University (1983) in Montreal, Canada. In 1987, Dr. Illes received her doctorate in Hearing and Speech Sciences from Stanford University, with a specialization in Experimental Neuropsychology. Both during and following her Stanford training, Dr. Illes was a Scientist at EEG Systems Laboratory (EEGSL, a San Francisco based, independent research laboratory) and SAM Technology (EEGSL's for-profit counterpart) where she pursued her research interests in human neuroimaging, language and cognition. Dr. Illes returned to Stanford University in 1991 to help build the research enterprise in imaging sciences in the Department of Radiology. As Director of Strategic Research Development, she was instrumental in bringing the Department to a position of prominence in the international research community. She also led the effort to develop a faculty mentoring program in Radiology that now serves as a model for other similar programs nationally. Dr. Illes also co-founded the Stanford Brain Research Center (SBRC) and served as the SBRC's first Executive Director between 1998 and 2001. Today, Dr. Illes leads a strong research team devoted to issues at the intersection of medical imaging and biomedical ethics, with a particular focus on the new field of neuroethics (Neuroethics Imaging Group). These include ethical, social and legal challenges presented by advanced neurofunctional imaging capabilities, the emergence of cognitive enhancement neurotechnologies and pharmacology (New York Academy of Sciences), self-referral to health care and imaging services, incidental findings, and fetal MRI. A new initiative in molecular imaging is under development. Her work is supported by The Greenwall Foundation, The National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health (NINDS), the New York Academy of Sciences and The Children's Health Initiative. Dr. Illes is the author of a book on strategic research development in the brain and behavioral sciences, and an author on many peer-reviewed publications in the areas of neuroimaging, mentoring and strategic program development. She has provided grant review service for NIH and the Department of Veterans Affairs, peer reviews for several journals and is the Special Guest Editor of Topics of Magnetic Resonance Imaging , "Emerging Ethical Challenges in MR Imaging," Brain and Cognition and "Ethical Challenges in Advanced Neuroimaging." Her new book, "An Anthology in 21st Century Neuroethics," is forthcoming from Oxford University Press. Dr. Illes is also a member of the Internal Advisory Board for the Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and cochair of the new Committee on Women in Neuroscience for the Society for Neuroscience (SFN).
Speaker Biography: Adina Roskies is an asssistant professor in the Department of Philosophy at Dartmouth College, as well as Director of the MALS program in Mind and Brain Studies. She completed her master's in philosophy and a master's of science degree in Neuroscience at the University of California, San Deigo, where she also received a Ph.D. in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science in 1995. Her doctoral work was in neural development in Dr. Dennis O'Leary's laboratory at the Salk Institute, in particular on the molecular processes underlying the formation of visual topographic maps. During her time at the Salk, she also worked as a Research Fellow in the laboratories of both Charles Stevens and Terry Sejnowski. After receiving her degree, Adina went on to a two year Postdoctoral Fellowship in cognitive neuro-imaging at Washington University. Roskies was the Senior Editor of Neuron from 1997-1999.
Speaker Biography: Dan Schacter has written four books, edited six volumes and published over 200 scientific articles and chapters. His book, "Searching for Memory," won the New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the Year award in 1996 and the 1997 William James Book Award by the American Psychological Association. He has received numerous awards for his research, including the Arthur Benton Award from the International Neuropsychological Association (1989) and the Troland Research Award from the National Academy of Sciences (1991). Schacter received his Ph.D. in 1981 from the University of Toronto, where he studied the psychology of human memory. He became a Professor of Psychology at Harvard University in 1991 and has been Chair of the Department since 1995.
Speaker Biography: Joy Hirsch is a professor at Columbia University and Director of its Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research Center.
Speaker Biography: Stacey Tovino is research professor at the Health Law and Policy Institute. She received her bachelor's degree in economics from Tulane University and her JD from the University of Houston Law Center.
Speaker Biography: Paul Root Wolpe is a professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, where he also holds appointments in the department of medical ethics and the department of sociology. He is a Senior Fellow of Penn's Center for Bioethics, is the director of the program in psychiatry and ethics at the School of Medicine, and is a Senior Fellow of the Leonard Davis Institute for Health Economics. He is also a member of Penn's cer center and Center for AIDS Research. Wolpe also serves as the first chief of bioethics for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Wolpe did his undergraduate work in the sociology and psychology of religion at the University of Pennsylvania, and went on to receive his Ph.D. in medical sociology from Yale University under an NIMH grant in mental health services research and evaluation. After graduate school in 1986, Wolpe began teaching at Penn and has taught there in one capacity or another since then. From 1988-1992, his full-time position was as the coordinator of research on the faculty of the department of psychiatry at Jefferson Medical College. Wolpe is the author of numerous articles and book chapters in sociology, medicine and bioethics, and has contributed to a variety of encyclopedias on bioethical issues. His research examines the role of ideology and culture in medical thought, encompassing such diverse fields as genetics and reproduction; neuroethics and the integration of biotechnology into the human body; mental health and illness; human subjects research; religion and its role in bioethical debate, and death and dying. Wolpe is the author of the textbook "Sexuality and Gender in Society" and the end-of-life guide "In the Winter of Life." Dr. Wolpe sits on the national boards of organizations such as the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities, Planned Parenthood Federation of America's National Medical Committee, and the National Embryo Donation Advisory Board of RESOLVE, as well as others. He sits on a number of journal editorial boards, and is the Special Features Editor of the American Journal of Bioethics. He serves as a bioethics advisor to private industry, and to governmental agencies such as the Philadelphia Department of Human Services, Children and Youth Division. The winner of a number of teaching and writing awards, Dr. Wolpe has been chosen by The Teaching Company as a "Superstar Teacher of America" and his courses are nationally distributed on audio and videotape. Wolpe is a regular columnist on biotechnology for the Philadelphia Inquirer, and appears frequently in the broadcast media, including MSNBC, CBS and ABC Evening News, Dateline, and The Jim Lehrer Show, and has recently been cited in news sources such as The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, The Los Angeles Times, and U.S. News and World Report.
Speaker Biography: Mahlon DeLong is the William Timmie Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neurology at the Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. DeLong received a Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award from the NINDS for his research. In 1997, he received the Alfred E. Springer Award by the APDA and was elected to membership in the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars. He served on the Advisory Council of the NINDS from 1996 to 2000. Dr. DeLong is recognized by Health Americas as one of the Top Doctors in neurology for the treatment of movement disorders.
Speaker Biography: Dr. Robert Goodman is assistant professor of neurosurgery at Columbia University. He received his medical degree and Ph.D from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Speaker Biography: Dr. Dennis Spencer is the Harvey and Kate Cushing Professor of Neurosurgery and Chair of Neurosurgery at Yale. He is a graduate of Washington University School of Medicine and completed his neurosurgical residency at Yale in 1977. He joined the Yale neurosurgery faculty following his residency and became Chief of neurosurgery in 1987. He has an international reputation in the surgical treatment of neurological diseases causing epilepsy, and developed a widely used surgical approach for patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. He is also a pioneer in stereotaxic cellular replacement therapy for patients with Parkinson's disease. Dr. Spencer directs the surgical arm of the Yale Epilepsy program which is one of the most established centers in the world for the comprehensive treatment of patients with epilepsy. His research has brought together basic scientists and research clinicians around an NIH program project grant concerning the neurobiological study of human epileptogenic tissue. Dr. Spencer has also interacted with the cellular transplant program directing the human investigational arm of fetal tissue transplantation for Parkinson's disease.
Speaker Biography: Dr. William J. Heetderks is the Associate Director for Scientific Program at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. Dr. Heetderks had previously been at the NINDS since 1986 as the Program Director of the Repair and Plasticity Cluster. His research interests include neural repair, plasticity in neural systems, neural prostheses and motor systems. He was trained in electrical and bio-engineering and received the Ph.D. in 1975. Following a year of postdoctoral research, he joined the electrical engineering faculty at Cornell University. In 1981 he took a leave of absence to study medicine at the University of Miami. He received the MD degree in 1983 and resigned from Cornell to train in Internal Medicine. Since completing his residency he has been a supporter of interdisciplinary research.
Speaker Biography: Mary Faith Marshall is associate dean for social medicine and medical humanities and professor of family medicine and community health at the University of Minnesota Medical School. She is a professor in the center for bioethics and cochairman of the University of Minnesota Medical Center Ethics Committee. Marshall is a past president of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities and the American Association for Bioethics. She is an elected fellow of the American College of Critical Care Medicine and a former fellow of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics. She received the Trailblazer Award from the NAACP (Charleston Chapter) in 1999 for her work in perinatal substance abuse and has testified on this subject before Congress and in US District Court. At the National Institutes of Health, Marshall served on the first special research ethics review panel advisory to the director and sits on the intramural Cardiology and Hematology Data Safety and Monitoring Boards of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and on the International DSMB of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. She sits on the Council of Academic Societies of the Association of American Medical Colleges. At the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, she served as chair of the National Human Research Protections Advisory Committee and continues to serve as a special expert consultant to the Secretary on research involving children and prisoners. At the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science, Marshall served as an expert advisor to the committee, "Assessing the System for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research" and helped create its reports, "Preserving the Public Trust: Accreditation and Human Research Participant Programs" and "Responsible Research: A Systems Approach to Protecting Research Participants." She is a member of on-site evaluation teams for the Office for Human Research Protections. She is chairman of the advisory board of Partners for Human Research Protections, a joint accreditation program of the National Committee for Quality Assurance and the Joint Commission for Accreditation of Health Care Organizations. Marshall is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Marrow Donor Program. Marshall received her undergraduate education and a Ph.D. in religious studies (applied ethics) from the University of Virginia where she was the Paddock Graduate Fellow in Biomedical Ethics. Marshall served on the faculty of the Center for Biomedical Ethics at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center where she was director of advanced studies in clinical ethics and director of the Health Sciences Center's Ethics Consultation Service. At the Medical University of South Carolina, she was director of the program in bioethics. At Kansas University Medical Center, she was director of the Institute for Bioethics, Law and Policy. Marshall is a co-author of the first and second editions of the text "Introduction to Clinical Ethics." She has published numerous reports, book chapters and articles in the fields of clinical, research and neuro-ethics, and has written extensively on ethical issues inherent in perinatal substance abuse.
Speaker Biography: Martha Farah is Director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. She obtained undergraduate degrees in Metallurgy and Philosophy from MIT and a doctorate in Psychology from Harvard University. She has also taught at Carnegie Mellon University. Her work spans many topics within cognitive neuroscience, including visual recognition, attention, mental imagery, semantic memory, reading, prefrontal function and more recently, ethical issues emerging from advances in the neuroscience of cognition and emotion. She is the author of "Visual Agnosia" (MIT Press, 1990) and "The Cognitive Neuroscience of Vision" (Blackwells, 2000), and editor of a number of books including "Patient-based Approaches to Cognitive Neuroscience" (MIT Press, 2000). Her awards include the APA Early Career Contribution Award, the Troland Award of the National Academy of Sciences and a Guggenheim Fellowship.