The Feindel Virtual Brain and Mind (VBM) Seminar Series will advance the vision of Dr. William Feindel (1918–2014), Former Director of the Neuro (1972–1984), to constantly bridge the clinical and research realms. The talks will highlight the latest advances and discoveries in neuropsychology, cognitive neuroscience, and neuroimaging.

Speakers will include scientists from across The Neuro, as well as colleagues and collaborators locally and from around the world. The series is intended to provide a virtual forum for scientists and trainees to continue to foster interdisciplinary exchanges on the mechanisms, diagnosis and treatment of brain and cognitive disorders.

Speaker: Dr. Damien Fair, Ph.D.

Co-Director of the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain (MiDB) and Professor in the School of Medicine at the University of Minnesota.

Bio: Dr. Damien Fair is originally from Winona, Minnesota. He obtained his B.A. degree in 1998 from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and his Master of Medical Science degree in 2001 from the Physician Assistant program at the Yale University School of Medicine. From 2001-2003, Dr. Fair practiced as a Physician Assistant in the neurology department at Yale-New Haven Hospital under the direction of Lawrence Brass, M.D. This led him to pursue further education in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis under the primary guidance of Bradley Schlaggar, M.D., Ph.D. and Steven Petersen, Ph.D. Dr. Fair completed postdoctoral training at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) with Joel Nigg Ph.D., and Bonnie Nagel, Ph.D. where he spent 10 years as the principal investigator of the Developmental Cognition and Neuroimaging Labs and a champion for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Dr. Fair is currently a founding Co-Director of the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain (MiDB) and Professor in the School of Medicine at the University of Minnesota.

Abstract: The field of Cognitive Neuroscience and, in particular, Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience continues to evolve. New concepts and new technologies, but also new challenges and new pitfalls have emerged in the field. On one hand, these growing pains have highlighted the promise of the work for understanding complex human brain function and its translational potential; but, on the other hand, it has led to frustratingly slow progress. Current modern-day approaches toward characterizing correspondence of complex behavioral phenotypes to networks and systems in the brain requires new sample collection strategies, new study designs, and new analytic strategies – a reality the field has been slow to realize. In the current talk I will highlight some of the pitfalls of the field, as well as, feature new directions that will put the field on more solid footing moving forward.

How to participate via Zoom:

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