CAN Lab

Dr. Morrison attended the American Federation for Aging Research's (AFAR) annual conference in Santa Barbara, CA for the second time.  Individuals invited to attend the meeting have been selected by the Gilbert, Glazer, Ellison and Glenn private foundations for their innovative approaches to questions involving human aging as well as age-related diseases such as Alzheimer's.  Presentations at the three day meeting are a tour de force of neuroscience demonstrating cutting edge approaches from cell and molecular biology to neuropathology to behavioral and cognitive neuroscience and even public health and epidemiology. Many investigators use multiple approaches in their laboratories. For instance one researcher from Israel is using optigenetics to specifically activate diseased neural circuits in Alzheimer's mice while their brain activity is measured using high magnetic field fMRI. Dr. Morrison presented work from the CAN lab's aging research group using neuroimaging to understand variability in memory and executive function in older adults exhibiting age typical as well as exceptional and pathologic aging.

The CAN lab was out in force at the 2013 LUROP Research symposium. Callie Short gave a talk followed by Poster presentations by Ryan Brisson, Will Beishel, Laura Endris, Elise Gagnon, Matt Kmeiick, Nirav Patel, Izabelle Rymut, and Beccy Shukhman.  The lab also celebrated with Matt Kmeicik as he received the 2013 University Libraries Undergraduate Research Paper Award at the LUROP award ceremony.

The day before the Sujack Award ceremony, Matt, Ryan, Krishna, Natalie and Beccy and I sat at a dark table in San Francisco illuminated by the bright smile of the Vietnamese woman cooking us lunch. A cockroach had been spotted but the food was savory and the coffee strong and sweet. Accomplishment was fresh as we celebrated new friends, future possibilities in graduate and medical school, and successful presentations at the Cognitive Neuroscience Society annual meeting.

Later in the day back at the Chinatown loft we were sharing, we met with a colleague from another university who was trying to find her career path. I reflected on my own improbable path: molecular biology; polymers and sculpture; a string of generous people willing to chance on a long shot; starting an education nonprofit; a post-doctoral fellowship at the last possible moment, followed by a tenure track job the year of the stock market crash; a bright young colleague willing to experiment with co-mentoring a research lab; and brilliant, motivated, students showing up on my door step. This was a winding path populated by so many blessings and occasionally by courage.

I looked at our divining colleague and my students ready to jump towards exciting futures.

Do what you love...the rest, will follow.

I know why I am here.

Thanks to the Sujack family, Anne Figert and the rest of the Sujack Awards committee, my supportive family, friends, mentors and colleagues. 

But most of all, thanks to my student collaborators in learning. Awards are great, but the true reward is being able to do what I love with all of you!

Bob

Thanks to the generosity of LUROP, the Mulcahy's Scholars Program, and the Loyola Department of Psychology, Krishna Bharani, Ryan Brisson, Natalie Mandel, Bob Morrison, and Beccy Shukhman attended the 20th Annual Cognitive Neuroscience Society Conference in San Francisco to present some of our recent work on analogy, SuperAging, and memory monitoring.  As usual the poster sessions was rocking.  This year's conference featured many great presentations including ones from developmental cognitive neuroscientist Pat Kuhl and neurologist Bob Knight.  Our digs in a Chinatown loft were sweet...and savory with all of the good food in the neighborhood...can anyone say YUMMY...they miss us!