CAN Lab

While comics are a relatively recent art form stretching back to the late 1900's they are part of a tradition of pictorial communication stretching back at least as far as the Egyptians. Over the last 40 years cartoon artists have reached beyond traditional publishing channels to an independent way of publishing that gives them the ability to write, draw, and even publish their own work.  This has opened up possibilities and creativity has been unleashed. Comic Book Independents interviews artists working in this tradition and cognitive psychologist Dr. James Kaufman who studies the psychology of creativity.  Dr. Morrison was a part of a panel discussion after the film screening.

Congratulations to CANlabbie Dane Wendell on the birth of his first daughter, Sophia Soroka Wendell! We're running our second annual lab sleep study, and so far it appears Dane's executive functioning is suffering. He wanders the apartment with diapers, nipple cream and two pints of icewater, and he can't stop humming invented songs that he made up at 4am trying to get baby to sleep. Hopefully he's passes the diaper stroop task!

Beach Boys fans are not the only ones thinking about aging in sunny California these days  Dr. Morrison recently attended the American Federation of Aging Research Grantee Conference in Santa Barbara, California.  The conference featured presentations from scientists who have recently received grants from AFAR (including Dr. Morrison) as well as  Jan van Deursen (Mayo Clinic) and Mark D'Esposito (Berkeley).  Representatives from the Ellison Medical Foundation, Glenn Foundation for Medical Research, The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, as well as the National Institute on Aging also offered presentations on the state of funding for aging research. Thanks to the generosity of the Gilbert Foundation, Dr. Morrison is able to attend this  conference annually at no cost to the lab!