I met with Prof. Chandan Vaidya (CV), the chair of the upcoming symposia “'From Neurons to Neighborhood': Twenty-Five Years Later” in the upcoming Flux meeting, for a short interview to share some insights about their session.
THK: What is your symposium about?
CV: The symposium shines a light on strides made since the publication of the influential report "From Neurons to Neighborhood" by the National Academies Press, which summarized the findings of a two year effort by the National Research Council (US) and Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Integrating the Science of Early Childhood Development, which reviewed how brain development is shaped by a child's familial, social, and economic environment.
THK: Who are the speakers? What diverse viewpoints do they bring?
CV: The speakers are Nathan Fox, Arianna Gard, Autumn Ivy, and Heather Volk, all local investigators whose work is at the cutting edge in addressing a variety of aspects of environmental influences on risk and resilience for outcomes in early development either with human or animal models.
THK: How did this symposium come about?
CV: The Local Organizing Committee (LOC) thought that it would be important to highlight the theme of contextual drivers of brain development championed by the National Academies, an influential policy advisory organization to the President, at this Flux conference, given its location in the greater Capital region, Baltimore, and at an opportune time, the eve of the report's 25th anniversary.
THK: What was your goal in organizing this symposium?
The LOC's goal was to make young investigators and trainees aware of this important milestone (publication of Neurons to Neighborhoods) in the history of developmental cognitive neuroscience by showcasing innovative research which exemplifies the integrative research agenda fostered by its publication.
THK: What else are you looking forward to at Flux, and/or around Baltimore?
CV: I am looking forward to soaking in some great science and connecting with old friends and former trainees, as well as meeting new ones!
Join us to this exciting session in the upcoming Flux meeting, and learn more about the speakers and the interaction between nature, nurture and child development!
Article Written By:
Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus
Chair of the Communications Committee
Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education in Science and Technology and the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, heading the Educational Neuroimaging Group (ENIG). She is also an Associate Professor (PAR) at Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Between the years 2013-2021, Dr. Horowitz-Kraus was appointed an Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the College of Medicine, at the University of Cincinnati and the Scientific Director of the Reading and Literacy Discovery Center in the Department of General and Community Pediatrics at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. In her research, Dr. Horowitz-Kraus focuses on the involvement of executive functions during word reading and fluency as part of the Simple View of Reading model in typically and atypically developing children with reading difficulties. As reading difficulties may stem from environmental and genetic factors, Dr. Horowitz-Kraus's approach examines the involvement of executive functions in reading acquisition and remediation using a nature-nurture perspective using a variety of neuroimaging techniques tools. Dr. Horowitz-Kraus joined the Flux Board in 2021.