Volen National Center for Complex Systems

The M.R. Bauer Colloquium Seminar Series

As labs went dark in late March 2020, as research was forced to slow, scientific discoveries became even more important. Basic science, often misunderstood by the public as non-essential, was thrust into the limelight. Basic science was going to bring an understanding of a deadly virus so that treatments could be found. Basic science, in this arena, became essential.

What non-scientists may not understand is that all science is basic science. Questions of how we learn, how we move, how our hearts beat can only be answered through asking the small questions: how does this work? If a small change is made, will the outcome change? What does this mean in a larger context? If it works in a fruit fly, how does it work in a human? Science is a series of small steps dedicated to answering the big questions.

The speakers who took part in the 2019-2020 M.R. Bauer Colloquium Series are taking the steps to answer the big questions.

Whether the question is how we learn, or how we breathe, or why we crave, the eight distinguished researchers included this year are finding the answers to explain how the brain functions. Each speaker has presented a summary of their work, which is preceded by a brief introduction set in shading, explaining in a more general framework the focus of the speaker’s research. A video recording of each colloquium, when available, appears immediately after the title of the colloquium.

Morgan Barense, PhD 
Professor, Canada Research Chair
Department of Psychology

Adam Kepecs, PhD
Professor, Neuroscience Chair
Department of Neuroscience
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Stephen Liberles, PhD
Professor, HHMI Investigator
Department of Cell Biology
Harvard Medical School

Josh Huang, PhD
Charles Robertson Professor of Neuroscience
Department of Neuroscience
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Diomedes Logothetis, PhD
Professor
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Northeastern University