2023 Event

Riveting Memories: How They Are Made and Lost

Featuring Robert B. Darnell, M.D., Ph.D.
 

Robert B. Darnell, M.D., Ph.D.

Robert and Harriet Heilbrunn Professor and Head
Laboratory of Molecular Neuro-oncology
Senior Attending Physician
The Rockefeller University
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Dr. Robert B. Darnell is a world expert in translational science, developing pioneering work in immunology and oncology through studies of the paraneoplastic neurologic disorders (PNDs). PNDs are associated with cancer, tumor immunity, and autoimmune brain disease. This work led to the discovery of neuron-specific systems that regulate RNA in the brain, which in turn led him to develop new methods (termed crosslinking immunoprecipitation, or CLIP) to understand the role these systems play in neurons and other cell types.

In 2012, Dr. Darnell became the Founding Director and CEO of the New York Genome Center (NYGC), a not-for-profit multi-institutional academic collaborative focused on harnessing big data and molecular genetics to improve clinical care. In 2016, he led the NYGC to be one of four genomic centers in the United States to be awarded a large grant from the National Institutes of Health to use genomic sequencing to study common diseases.

Dr. Darnell holds bachelor’s degrees in biology and chemistry from Columbia University, as well as an M.D. and Ph.D. from Washington University School of Medicine. He was trained in internal medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and neurology at Weill Cornell Medical Center. Dr. Darnell is recognized for his role as a scientific mentor; he has trained over 60 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in a scientific environment that fosters inclusivity, creativity, and scientific rigor. He is a recipient of the National Institutes of Health’s Outstanding Investigator Award, the NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award, and has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and is a Fellow of the American Association of the Advancement of Science.

Riveting Memories: How They Are Made and Lost

How the mind works is an enduring mystery. Why can we instantly remember an event from years ago, but forget what happened yesterday? What occurs inside neurons when we memorize a fact or learn the cello? Physician-scientist Robert Darnell will highlight how cutting-edge molecular biology and genetics are revealing fundamental mechanisms that underlie learning and memory. He will also discuss how these processes go awry in diseases such as fragile X syndrome, autism, and Alzheimer’s disease, and how this knowledge can be used to create better therapies and diagnostics.

Moderator

Jeanne Garbarino, Ph.D.

Executive Director
RockEDU Science Outreach
The Rockefeller University