New Horizons in Science 2008 Speakers
Stanford University, Palo Alto, California Oct 25–28, 2008
David Atkinson, Ph.D.
senior research scientist, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Wash.
Briefing(s): New technology for detecting explosives
Mahzarin Banaji, Ph.D.
professor of psychology/neuroscience, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Briefing(s): Revealing unconscious prejudice
Lisa Bero, Ph.D.
professor of clinical pharmacy and health policy studies, University of California, San Francisco, CA
Briefing(s): Faulty clinical trials and financial conflicts of interest
Robert J. Bloomfield, Ph.D.
professor of management, Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Briefing(s): Research and journalism in virtual worlds
Thomas Brocher, Ph.D.
seismologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA
Briefing(s): An earthquake clock is ticking
Karl Deisseroth, Ph.D.
assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral science and bioengineering, Stanford University, CA
Briefing(s): Speaking the language of the brain
Joseph L. DeRisi, Ph.D.
professor of biochemistry, University of California, San Francisco Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Briefing(s): Fighting deadly infections with genomics
Robert B. Dunbar, Ph.D.
professor of earth sciences, Stanford University, CA
Briefing(s): Mining the oceans for historical temperature records: what corals can tell us
Kent Kiehl, Ph.D.
director of mobile imaging care and clinical cognitive neuroscience; The Mind Research Network associate professor of psychology and neuroscience, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
Briefing(s): Scanning psychopaths: Who will kill again?
David Kingsley, Ph.D.
professor of developmental biology, Stanford University, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Briefing(s): Sticklebacks are in our bones
Sean Mackey, Ph.D.
associate professor and chief, Division of Pain Management, Stanford University School of Medicine
Briefing(s): Pain is an illness, love is a cure
Clifford Nass, Ph.D.
professor of communication and computer science, Stanford University, CA
Briefing(s): How talking machines can manipulate our brains for good or ill
Robert Sapolsky, Ph.D.
professor of biology and neurology and neurological science, Stanford University, CA
Robert Sapolsky is the John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Professor at Stanford University, holding joint appointments in several departments, including Biological Sciences, Neurology & Neurological Sciences, and Neurosurgery. A neuroendocrinologist, he has focused his research on issues of stress and neuronal degeneration, as well as on the possibilities of gene therapy strategies for protecting susceptible neurons from disease. Currently, he is working on gene transfer techniques to strengthen neurons against the disabling effects of glucocorticoids. Sapolsky also spends time annually in Kenya studying a population of wild baboons in order to identify the sources of stress in their environment, and the relationship between personality and patterns of stress-related disease in these animals. More specifically, Sapolsky studies the cortisol levels between the Alpha male and female and the subordinates to determine stress level. He is the author of Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers: An Updated Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases and Coping (1994), which explores the effects of prolonged stress and its contribution to damaging physical and mental afflictions. His other books include The Trouble with Testosterone and Other Essays on the Biology of the Human Predicament (1997), Junk Food Monkeys (1997), A Primate’s Memoir (2002) and Monkeyluv and Other Essays on Our Lives as Animals (2005).
Briefing(s): Stress, parasites, and human behavior
Lawrence M. Wein, Ph.D.
professor of management science, Stanford University, CA
Briefing(s): Making decisions amid uncertainty