Page 8 - Abacoa Community News - March '21

Page 8, Abacoa

FAU FeAtUres

FAU Brain Institute Announces ‘Brainy Days 2021’

Celebration Of Neuroscience About Florida Atlantic University (FAU) About Palm Health Foundation

Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially
Palm Health Foundation is Palm Beach County’s
Sponsored By Palm Health opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. community foundation for health. With the support of
Foundation Today, the university serves more than 30,000 undergraduate donors and a focus on results, the foundation builds
and graduate students across six campuses located along the strong community partnerships, respects diverse opinions,
Florida Atlantic University’s Brain Institute is proud to southeast Florida coast. In recent years, the university has advocates for its most vulnerable neighbors and inspires
announce “Brainy Days 2021,” a monthlong virtual celebration doubled its research expenditures and outpaced its peers in innovative solutions to lead change for better health now
of neuroscience to engage, empower and educate the public about student achievement rates. Through the coexistence of access and and for generations to come. The foundation supports
brain diseases and ultimately reduce the stigma associated with excellence, FAU embodies an innovative model where traditional health equity for Palm Beach County residents of all
brain disorders. achievement gaps vanish. FAU is designated a Hispanic-serving backgrounds, heritage, education, incomes and states of
This year’s virtual presentations cover a range of topics from institution, ranked as a top public university by U.S. News & well-being. Palm Health Foundation has invested more
understanding how dogs love us to insights into the treatments World Report and a high research activity institution by the than $85 million in Palm Beach County health since 2001.
for Alzheimer’s disease. The programs kick off on Friday, March Carnegie Foundation for the advancement of teaching. For more For more information about Palm Health Foundation, visit
2, at 4 p.m. and run through Saturday, March 23, virtually on information, visit www.fau.edu. palmhealthfoundation.org or call (561) 833-6333.
Zoom. For a full schedule of events, visit http://fau.edu/ibrain/
brainydays/.
“We are excited at the breadth of our program this year,
truly something for everybody,” said Randy D. Blakely, Ph.D.,
executive director of FAU’s Brain Institute and a professor of
biomedical science in FAU’s Schmidt College of Medicine.
“Attendees will see that brain science touches everyone, and
sometimes is out of this world!”
Brainy Days exemplifies FAU’s commitment to providing the
community with the knowledge needed to maintain brain health
and lower one’s risk for brain diseases. Scientists at FAU’s Brain
Institute are committed to conducting world-class research, the
development of cutting-edge technologies, and training the next
generation of neuroscientists.
“Since 2018, Palm Health Foundation and the FAU Brain
Institute have partnered to advance brain health and neuroscience
in Palm Beach County,” said Patrick McNamara, Palm Health
Foundation president and CEO. “We are pleased to sponsor
Brainy Days 2021, as we continue to deepen and apply
understanding of the brain for our community.”
Brainy Days, is sponsored by the Palm Health Foundation.
The Dana Foundation, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, and the
South Florida Science Center and Aquarium provided additional
support.
For more information on Brainy Days, contact Nicole
Baganz, Ph.D., director of community engagement and
programming of FAU’s Brain Institute, at BI-Outreach@fau.
edu or (561) 799-8100.
About The FAU Brain Institute
Inaugurated in 2016 on the John D. MacArthur Campus
in Jupiter, Fla., the FAU Brain Institute, supports research,
education and community outreach among more than 100
faculty level researchers at FAU and its affiliate research centers.
One of FAU’s four pillars that guide the University’s goals and
strategic actions, the institute seeks to unlock the secrets of brain
development, function and plasticity and how the mechanisms
uncovered can be compromised to drive devastating brain
disorders. From the study of neuronal development and signaling
to investigations of brain diseases including addiction, autism,
Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, researchers from FAU’s
Brain Institute seek to generate knowledge that benefits society.
For more information about the institute and its members, visit
http://fau.edu/ibrain/.
Neuroscience Research Center Rising

Big things are happening on the FAU Jupiter campus. Blakely said he is excited about what this new facility
Soon, it will house the new, state-of-the-art neuroscience means for FAU. He expects to have at least 20 principal
research building, providing teaching and laboratory investigators, a similar number of research faculty and
space to support enrollment growth in the areas of science, postdoctoral students, and approximately 100 high school,
technology, engineering and math (STEM). The $35 million undergraduate and graduate students per year, who will
building continues 20 years of progress dedicated to life engage in state-of-the-art and technologically advanced
science research on the Jupiter campus. research training. “We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
In the early to mid-2000s, the Florida governor and for a collaborative recruitment strategy,” he said.
legislature earmarked hundreds of millions of dollars to
establish a biomedical research park. The investment brought
the Scripps Research Institute and the Max Planck Florida
Institute for Neuroscience to Jupiter. It’s the only place in
the world where the two institutions sit side-by-side and
collaborate with university researchers and students. Despite
these additions, “we needed to grow more,” said Randy D.
Blakely, Ph.D., executive director of FAU’s Brain Institute
and professor in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine.
More specifically, the building will expand research and
collaborations among the three institutes in the concentrations
of neuroscience, biotechnology, bioengineering, data science,
and chemistry. “The building will go from molecules to
man,” Blakely said. The Center for Comparative Medicine
will model and study the mechanisms of brain disorders, such
as autism, Alzheimer’s and addiction, while the Center for
Cellular Neuroimaging will visualize brain cells by merging
computational and virtual reality resources. Additional labs
will provide space for supercomputing that examines large
data sets from molecules to neural activity.