Category: Research
National Academy elects neuroscientist Turrigiano April 30, 2013Gina Turrigiano, a professor of biology whose pioneering research studies how neurons and circuits change during learning and development, was elected Tuesday to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the nation’s most prestigious scientific society.
Birren, Marder comment on neuroplasticity discoveryApril 25, 2013In the current issue of the journal, Science, Susan J. Birren, Professor of Biology and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Eve Marder, Victor and Gwendolyn Beinfield Professor of Neuroscience and head of the Division of Sciences, co-author an invited commentary on a discovery suggesting that changes in the mixture of neurotransmitters released by neurons (nerve cells) can induce changes in behaviors.
- Dead Sea Scrolls come alive at Brandeis April 23April 18, 2013
Students and other members of the Brandeis community are invited to sample food from the era and learn about the scrolls, their political and social context and the science of artifacts from the ancient world. 5 p.m. Tuesday in Rapaporte Treasure Hall.
Gabbay Award goes to optogenetics researchersApril 18, 2013Three scientists will be honored for their contributions to the discovery and applications of optogenetics, a technology that allows scientists to control the brain’s activity by genetically engineering neurons to fire in response to light.
Paul Anastas, father of green chemistry, says world on an unsustainable courseApril 10, 2013
Marder '69 joins Obama neuroscience 'brain trust'April 5, 2013When President Obama unveiled his $100 million brain research initiative April 2, Brandeis neuroscientist Eve Marder was in the East Room audience as one of 14 all-star scientists charged with defining the project and its goals.
- Rohleder receives early career award from American Psychosomatic SocietyApril 5, 2013
Back to the future for a distinguished scientistMarch 29, 2013An emeritus professor of biology, David DeRosier has been working as a postdoctoral fellow in neuroscientist Gina Turrigiano’s lab. This job bookends DeRosier’s first postdoc in the famous Cambridge, England, lab where many fundamental biological discoveries were made.
- Christine Thomas to receive Strage AwardMarch 28, 2013
The award lecture and ceremony will take place at 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 3, in Gerstenzang 123 on the Brandeis campus. Thomas’ lecture is entitled '21st Century Alchemy: Design of bimetallic systems to access novel synthetic transformations.'
Sara Shostak explores human, environmental health issuesMarch 28, 2013As the public struggles to make sense of how chemicals in the environment affect our health, major changes are underway in environmental health science and regulation. Sara Shostak explores decades of environmental science research and policy-making in her new book.
UCLA’s Gordon Fain wins Pepose Award from BrandeisMarch 11, 2013
Museum of Science staff to outline scrolls openingsMarch 4, 2013Opportunities for students to work on the upcoming 'Dead Sea Scrolls: Life in Ancient Times' exhibition at the Museum of Science in Boston will be outlined in an information session with representatives of the museum on Wednesday, March 6.
Heller study finds public policy widens wealth gapFeb. 27, 2013New research by the Institute on Assets and Social Policy unearths the dramatic gap in household wealth existing along racial lines in the United States. Researchers say the gap cannot be attributed to personal ambition and behavioral choices, but rather reflects policies and institutional practices that create different opportunities for whites and African-Americans.
Brandeis scientists support new peer-edited journalFeb. 20, 2013Getting published in research journals can be a long, arduous process, one for which scientists have felt that they had no alternative — until now. eLife, which recently launched online, is a joint initiative of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Max Planck Society and the Welcome Trust. It is the first 'open access' journal that engages editors who are working scientists with the research scientists throughout the entire editorial process.
- 'Lincoln's Tragic Pragmatism' looks at the president's moral evolutionFeb. 16, 2013
Burt draws accolades for ‘Lincoln’s Tragic Pragmatism’Feb. 14, 2013Burt spent over two decades working on his book, which has also been the basis of his coursework: Examining 19th-century political oratory and asking how a political culture founded on deal-making and compromise comes to terms with conflicts over moral issues where deal-making and compromise may be scorned, as in the final debates over slavery preceding the Civil War
Undergrad’s research image makes cover of journal Feb. 7, 2013Valerie Marchenko ’13 is pretty happy to have the image she created of quasar 3C345 chosen for the cover of this month’s Astronomical Journal. Her proficiency in Astronomical Image Processing System software enables her to take data from 27 antennas in New Mexico, which are separated over a 25-mile diameter, to work like one single 25-mile diameter telescope.
Rosbash, Hall and Young receive Wiley PrizeJan. 31, 2013Discovery of the molecular mechanisms governing circadian rhythms have landed Michael Rosbash, Jeffrey Hall and Michael Young this year's Wiley Prize. Their research could lead to the development of drugs to treat sleep disorders, physical and mental illness, and even jet lag.
- Women's Studies Research Center celebrates women making musicJan. 28, 2013
The Women and Music Mix, a group of musician-scholars within the Women’s Studies Research Center, in collaboration with numerous dignitaries of the Boston music scene, will celebrate the 25th anniversary of Judith Tick’s groundbreaking anthology, 'Women Making Music: The Western Art Tradition 1150-1950' with a concert and talk on Sunday Feb. 3.
MS program helps people understand genetic factsJan. 27, 2013Who is at risk of developing life-altering diseases, and how can they process the results if the future looks threatening? Genetic counselors analyze inheritance patterns and risk for recurrence, discuss options, and provide counseling to families.
- Associate Professor Tun on cognitive deficits, hearing lossJan. 23, 2013
- Professor Art Wingfield on hearing loss and dementiaJan. 21, 2013
Brandeis University Press authors win book awardsJan. 15, 2013The Jewish Book Council has announced the 2012 National Jewish Book Award winners, two of whom are Brandeis University Press authors. This is the longest-running North American awards program in the field of Jewish literature, which recognizes outstanding books of Jewish interest.
- Student in Sustainable International Development Program works in BoliviaJan. 15, 2013
Schuster, PBS, WGBH reporting on slaveryJan. 14, 2013Joint effort involves public radio series on present-day slavery and leading abolitionists, as well as investigations and essays by affiliates of Brandeis' Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism, collected under the theme “Investigating Slavery Now and Then.”
The pilot and autopilot within our mind-brain connectionJan. 10, 2013Have you ever driven to work so deep in thought that you arrive safely yet can’t recall the drive itself, but can recall planning your day? Professor John Lisman explores conscious and unconscious systems, habit and non-habit systems in the mind-brain connection, which allow us the ability to multitask. This research, Lisman says, will lead to a better understanding of what we are as human beings.
X-ray-emitting jet is discovered in distant quasarJan. 2, 2013The discovery of a new X-ray-emitting jet is the result of a collaboration that includes Teddy Cheung Ph.D. ’04, Professor of Astrophysics John Wardle, Doug Gobeille Ph.D. ’10 and four other scientists. The jet is produced by a supermassive black hole at the center of a quasar known as GB 1428+4217, located 12.4 billion light years from Earth.
Lansing receives modern language awardDec. 19, 2012Richard Lansing, professor of Italian studies and comparative literature, received the Modern Language Association’s Scaglione Publication Award for the manuscript entitled, 'Dante’s Lyrics: Poems of Youth and the Vita Nuova.' Lansing is the editor of 'The Dante Encyclopedia,' among other publications.
American jihadis: Where are they coming from, where are they going?Dec. 17, 2012Jytte Klausen, the Lawrence A. Wien Professor of International Cooperation, has received a $459,969 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to research the role of social networks in the evolution of Al Qaeda-inspired violence in the United States.
- Impact of caring for adult child with disability studiedDec. 14, 2012
Caring for an adult child with developmental disabilities or mental illness increased the chances that an aging parent would develop disabilities of their own, according to findings of a new study led by Dr. Subharati Ghosh, a post-doctoral research fellow at the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy in the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. Her study was recently published in the journal Psychiatric Services.
Susan Lovett explores wreckage, repair of cellsDec. 5, 2012Can DNA cells which have mutated be repaired? Susan T. Lovett has successfully investigated mechanisms by which changes come about and how cells have mechanisms to prevent them. For her contributions to understanding mechanisms of DNA repair, Lovett was recently elected to the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
- New programs available for Justice Brandeis SemesterDec. 4, 2012
- Marusic awarded Marie Curie Fellowship for philosophy researchDec. 4, 2012
- Eight members of Mathematics department honoredNov. 26, 2012
Nemzoff offers families tips on holiday challengesNov. 20, 2012It’s the time of year when a single table in one home may very well be shared by turkey lovers and vegans, war protesters and NRA cardholders, the amicable and the austere. Ruth Nemzoff, a resident scholar at the Women's Studies Research Center shares ways to foster family relationships with tips from her new book.
- Marusic awarded Humboldt research fellowship Nov. 20, 2012
Why America's working moms love MondaysNov. 8, 2012The conventional wisdom is that Monday morning is a downer after the freedom and fun of the weekend, but that's not what mothers of young children told Hadassah-Brandeis Institute's Michelle Cove during her year of research for her new book, 'I Love Mondays.'
- Tim Sanchez Ph.D. '12 receives honors for thesis workNov. 6, 2012
Class investigated funding of controversial state labNov. 5, 2012Students from last spring’s 'Advocacy for Policy Change' class were taken aback recently when the state lab for which they were lobbying was thrust into a maelstrom of controversy after an employee allegedly falsified criminal drug tests. Was the testing disaster that affected 1,140 prison inmates a result of insufficient funding, which they had been working to change, or the responsibility of a rogue technician?
Brandeis scientists feted at Gairdner ceremoniesOct. 26, 2012Professor of Neuroscience Michael Rosbash and Professor Emeritus of Biology Jeffrey C. Hall were honored last night at a festive awards ceremony in Toronto celebrating their receipt of the prestigious Canada Gairdner Award, that nation’s foremost international scientific honor.
Epstein named state academy of sciences fellow Oct. 17, 2012Each year the Massachusetts Academy of Science honors distinguished individuals through its Fellowship and Honorary Life Member awards. Recipients are recognized for extraordinary scientific accomplishments and service to the science community and the public.
Stephen J. Elledge wins 42nd Rosenstiel AwardOct. 17, 2012The 42nd Rosenstiel Award For Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Science has been awarded to Steven J. Elledge of Harvard Medical School and Howard Hughes Medical Institute. His research has identified key DNA damage response genes both in yeast and mammalian cells and made key contributions to defining key events that control DNA repair.
Larson investigates military substance abuse Oct. 12, 2012US military have experienced significant drug and alcohol abuse problems historically and in the recent Iraqi and Afghani wars. To better understand the problem, and what can be done to curb it, the Department of Defense asked the Institute of Medicine to analyze current policies and programs.
Justice Brandeis Semester intense and rewardingOct. 3, 2012Through the Justice Brandeis Semester, students explore a thematic topic through a combination of classroom and hands-on work. Students not only learn by doing, they also make lasting connections in their chosen field. Three years out, the program is flourishing, and new offerings are expected for the spring and summer of 2013.
Rosbash receives new Gruber neuroscience chairSept. 28, 2012Faculty, staff, students and friends gathered to celebrate Brandeis Professor Michael Rosbash becoming the inaugural Peter Gruber Endowed Chair in Neuroscience. Patricia Gruber spoke of the Foundation's hope to reward and encourage individuals in fields that hold great promise.
From Mars to Gothic novels, Sherman's podcasts deliverSept. 28, 2012David Sherman says literary studies brings up fundamental questions and exciting problems that make the pleasure we take in reading a novel or a poem much richer. His passion inspired him to create a series of interviews with literary critics and scholars that can now be downloaded on itunes.
Neurobiologist Rodal wins New Innovator awardSept. 13, 2012For people suffering with debilitating diseases such ALS or Alzheimer’s, simple tasks can be a struggle. Avital Rodal, assistant professor of biology, hopes to help with a grant that has just been funded by the National Institutes of Health. Rodal studies how neuronal firing affects transport of materials within neurons.
Researcher of contentious politics wins Gittler PrizeSept. 11, 2012Stanford sociologist and urban studies director Doug McAdam has studied civil-rights volunteers, Teach for America 'graduates' and the relationship between religious and civic activity in Chicago neighborhoods -- often with unexpected results.
Special exhibit examines campus' previous occupantSept. 10, 2012For nearly two decades, 415 South Street was home to Middlesex University, a medical and veterinary school. That school's battle for accreditation ended in defeat, but its legacy continues. Alumni of Middlesex and their families will attend an exhibit Wednesday to pay homage.
- Mathematics Department awarded GAANN grantSept. 7, 2012
- Hunt for the Higgs BosonSept. 7, 2012
Alternatives to Medicare’s fee for service examined
Sept. 5, 2012For years policymakers have attempted to replace Medicare’s fee-for-service payment system with approaches that pay one price for an aggregation of services. Stuart Altman and Robert Mechanic will discuss the challenges behind this program at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Friday.
- Rejected drug may help treat Alzheimer's, Parkinson's diseasesAug. 22, 2012
Rosbash awarded Massry for circadian rhythms work Aug. 14, 2012This is the fourth major award for the neuroscientist and his collaborators stemming from their groundbreaking research into circadian rhythms using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.
App creators focus on cycling, gaming, serviceAug. 13, 2012Now in its third year, the 10-week Justice Brandeis Semester (JBS) Web Applications and Social Networks program delves into the technical aspects of how to create a mobile phone app and a database-backed website ready to handle hundreds of millions of records.
- New Crown Center paper looks at Palestinians who favored partitionAug. 9, 2012
- Business school's Brad Morrison honored for work in system dynamicsAug. 8, 2012
A summer exploring genes, sugar addiction and moreAug. 7, 2012Exploring topics such as how gene regulation works and whether sucrose can be as addictive as cocaine, 55 students chose to spend their summer with test tubes and microscopes, with research funding secured from a wide variety of sources.
Wendy Cadge on spirituality, religion and medicineJuly 27, 2012Sociologist Wendy Cadge does not count rosary beads, daven or meditate, though she has gone to great lengths to research them all, including living in Sri Lanka where she immersed herself in Buddhism. Her new book, “Paging God: Religion in the Halls of Medicine,” explores how today’s doctors and hospitals address prayer, religion and spirituality.
Students present air quality findings at conferenceJuly 26, 2012Students who discovered hazards to employees of nail salons were invited to present their research to the Academy of Sciences International Conference on Environmental Science in Houston last month. Meda Kisivuli '12, Liza Ansher '13 and Vivian Zeng '14 say the experience helped confirm their career choices.
Six recent alumni receive Fulbright grantsJuly 24, 2012Six recent alumni – Jesse Appel '12, Daniel Servando Chavez '10, Skye Fishbein '12, Olivia Edelman '12, Rachel Klein '12 and Kelsey Grab '12 – will all pursue their passions abroad with Fulbright grants for the 2012 to 2013 academic year.
- Saxe to be honored for studies of American Jewry July 19, 2012
Study examines autism law, financial burdensJuly 16, 2012Families who have children with autism spectrum disorders often struggle with expensive health care needs. But these costs can be markedly different if they live in Massachusetts or Maine. A new study looks at the effectiveness of these so-called parity laws in reducing families’ financial burdens.
- Bensinger on Brandeis and the Higgs bosonJuly 6, 2012
With news about a possible discovery of the Higgs boson, BrandeisNOW sat down with James Bensinger, a member of the Brandeis High Energy Physics Group to learn more. He has been commuting to the CERN research center in Switzerland for the last 18 years.
Tumen exhibition expresses passion for Jewish narrativeJune 28, 2012Zachary Albert, who received a master's degree in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies this spring, became involved with Holocaust survivors and museum narratives of their stories as the result of a sixth-grade field trip.
Senior faculty leaves focus on technology, societiesJune 26, 2012Four members of the Brandeis faculty have been granted leaves for the spring semester to work on their individual scholarship. Projects range from research on Church and society in imperial Russia to Roman thinking about technology, engineering and art.
Student's diversion leads to high-profile writing gigJune 18, 2012Doctoral candidate Yoni Appelbaum took an unusual path from blog commenter to correspondent at The Atlantic. In this Q&A, Appelbaum, the historian who on the blog went by the pseudonym 'Cynic,' explains how he came to write for the venerable publication.
David Fischer reflects on roots, history, BrandeisJune 10, 2012The Pulitzer Prize-winning University Professor grew up in a large, diverse family at a crossroads of American culture. Curiosity about how his uncles came to be the way they were played a very big role in his development as a historian.
- Brandeis wins grant to study if incentives boost routine mammography ratesMay 31, 2012
Neurobiologist becomes advisor to Hillary ClintonMay 8, 2012Frances Colón ’04, who studied developmental neurobiology in the Birren Lab, was recently named deputy science and technology advisor to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Her primary role is promotion of science, technology and innovation dialogues.
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