Public lecture: Stan Skafidas

Brain in a dish: advancing our understanding of neurological disorders

Presented by Professor Stan Skafidas Centre for Neural Engineering, University of Melbourne

Refreshments: 5.30–6.00pm
Lecture: 6.00–7.00pm

The Lecture

Neural engineering is a new transdisciplinary research area bringing together neuroscience, neurology, psychiatry, physics, computer science and engineering, with the aim of better understanding complex neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders such as epilepsy, autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia. In this lecture, Professor Stan Skafidas, Director of the Centre for Neural Engineering at the University of Melbourne will discuss the recent advances in brain in a dish technology and intracellular sensors. He will highlight how neuropathology, stem cells, genetics, pharmacology and engineering are working together to build new sensors and disease models that will provide greater insights into the underlying causes of these complex disorders, and enable new platforms for drug discovery and treatments.

The Speaker

Professor Stan Skafidas is the inaugural Clifford Chair of Neural Engineering and Director of the Centre for Neural Engineering (CfNE) at the University of Melbourne. The CfNE brings together researchers from the faculties of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences; Science; and the Melbourne School of Engineering to undertake interdisciplinary neuroscience research aimed at furthering our understanding of brain related diseases and neuronal and brain functioning. Professor Skafidas’ current research is focused on brain in a dish systems, and new ways to interface, interrogate and understand complex neuronal systems from molecule to complex brain structures.