The Conte Center at Harvard University, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and housed in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard, is dedicated to basic neuroscience research that probes the developmental origins of mental illness.
The Brain – Gut connection is consistently being researched, and with the focus from Doctors Katz, Tomczak, and Hensch, we now have a connection in children; Probing the microbiome in OCD and tic disorders – Boston Children’s Answers (childrenshospital.org)
Music & Brain: from Health to Healing was a tremendous success! You can see all the talks and special piano performance on the Conte Center at Harvard YouTube Channel
Researchers from the Hensch Lab—led by MCB faculty Takao Hensch, Curriculum and Pedagogy Manager Kathleen Quast (Ph.D. ‘13), and then graduate student Rebecca Reh (Ph.D. ‘15)—have identified biomarkers that herald neuronal plasticity in the cerebral cortex. Their results appeared in a recent issue of the journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences).”
Jocelyn LeBlanc, PhD, former grad student of the Fagiolini Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital, discusses the work of Association of Medical Research Charities and the direct impact it has made on her life working with Rett Sydrome children and families. Listen to her podcase on ReverseRett.
Conte faculty member Jeff Lichtman shares his electron microscopy image and cutting edge insight on understanding brain mapping in his interview with Nautilus emagazine. Read all about it and see the image here.
The Annual Conte Retreat was held at the Student Organization Center at Hilles in Cambridge on Sept., 11, 2019. Dr. Gord Fishell, Professor of Neurobiology HMS and the Stanley Center at the Broad Institute was the Key Note Speaker presenting, “How gene expression, activity and alternative splicing contribute to the specification of the cortical interneurons”. For pictures and the agenda click here.
Congratulations to the 2019 Neuroscience and Mental Health Undergraduate Research Poster Session winner Mark Czeisler. Please view all the submissions and pictures. The poster session was followed by guest speaker, Feng Zhang, PhD, James and Patricia Poitras Professor of Neuroscience at MIT, “Exploration of Microbial Diversity for Genome Editing and Beyond”.
The Boston Children’s Hospital’s science and clinical innovation blog Vector (February 2019 by Nancy Fliesler), features the new paper titled “NMDA 2A receptors in parvalbumin cells mediate sex-specific rapid ketamine response on cortical activity”.
Read the Vector blog entitled “How the antidepressant ketamine rapidly awakens the brain and why its effects vary more in women”
Wintersession 2019 officially opened for registration the first week of December, for the Harvard College Undergraduates for our program Prospectives in Mental Health. We had an amazing program this year so please check out the program and pictures here.
We are honored to have the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) host their 3rd Japan-US Science Forum at Harvard University. “The Science of Sleep” on Saturday Nov. 10, 2018. Please click here for more details and registration.
The Conte Center at Harvard is excited to join MIT on Girls Day, Nov. 3, 12:00 - 4:00! Every November and March, the MIT Museum celebrates women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. Visitors can expect to explore, create, and investigate with scientists from many local universities. Join us for hands-on activities, informal talks, and demonstrations included with admission. MIT Girls Day for more information. We had an amazing day! Click here for pictures and info and see our write up on the MCB newsletter here.
Congratulations to the 2018 Neuroscience and Mental Health Undergraduate Research Poster Session winners; Shreya Mather and Waverley He. To view all the submissions and pictures of the event click here.
Takao K. Hensch who spoke at the AAAS in Austin, Texas meeting, lends critical research thinking to The Guardian article, "Scientists seek drug to 'rewire' adult brain after stroke" (Nicola Davis, Feb. 2018).