Lake County Gazette

Brain Awareness Week will take place at Lake Forest College from October 27 to 31, continuing a tradition of exploring topics related to the mind and neuroscience. The program is organized through collaboration between several academic departments and student organizations, including Synapse and Nu Rho Psi.

This year’s theme focuses on the neuroscience of happiness, aging, and the intersection of educational policy and ethics with neuropolitics—a field combining neuroscience and political science. The National Council of Nu Rho Psi selected this theme for the 2025–2026 academic year.

Keynote lectures are scheduled throughout the week. Melina Uncapher, PhD, founder and CEO of Scientific and Engineering Technical Assistance for Education R&D (SETA-ED), will deliver the opening keynote titled “Science and Education for Good—How Neuroscience can create a more informed and equitable world (particularly in this geopolitical moment)” on Monday, October 27. Dr. Emily Rogalski from the University of Chicago will present “Pathways to Maximizing Healthspan: Lessons in Resistance and Resilience in Brain Aging” on Tuesday, October 28. On Wednesday, October 29, Dr. Rajagopal Raghunathan from the University of Texas at Austin will give a virtual lecture titled “The Great Happiness Self-Sabotage: How Brains & Big Bucks Can Undermine Happiness.”

Nu Rho Psi students are collaborating with Associate Professor David Sanchez-Burr’s art class to create an installation reflecting this year’s neuropolitics theme. The work will be unveiled at the Glassman Symposium.

Aaron Oster ’26, who is researching strategies against Alzheimer’s disease as part of his senior thesis, said: “The opportunity to learn from and connect with keynote speakers from various sub-disciplines of the field strengthens our professional networks and broadens our understanding of neuroscience, as well as potential career pathways. The Glassman Symposium embodies this same interdisciplinary spirit through collaboration with the art department in creating a sculpture for the event, as well as through students and alums presenting their research across various scientific fields, providing invaluable preparation for graduate school and future careers.”

The Robert B. Glassman Memorial Brain, Mind, and Behavior Symposium begins Thursday evening with faculty and alumni talks covering topics such as infant eye movements, synapses in metastatic tumor cells, music's effects on the brain, stress links to colorectal cancer, and yeast models for brain diseases caused by toxic proteins. Friday features a research poster session showcasing over 50 presentations by students and alumni.

Shubhik DebBurman, Disque D. and Carol Gram Deane Professor of Biological Sciences and Chair of Neuroscience at Lake Forest College said: “This is such a critical moment in time for the public to truly understand the critical role science plays in our rapidly changing technology-driven world and how to ethically navigate our future as well-informed citizens.”

Student groups also organize activities such as “Brain Bites,” which promotes foods beneficial for mental health in partnership with campus dining staff. Gizem Ozturk ’26 said: “Through our annual collaborations with the Gus and Margie Hart Dining Hall staff, we set up a series called ‘Brain Bites,’ which is a weeklong incentive of sharing and serving foods that are good for the mind and body. With the Donnelley and Lee Library, we display books that discuss the Mind Body Problem, specifically focused on our BAW themes, this year it being Neuropolitics. These small collaborations expose majority of our student population to BAW.”

All events during Brain Awareness Week are free and open to the public.

Lake Forest College offers an undergraduate neuroscience program designed to provide interdisciplinary training across biology, psychology, chemistry, philosophy/ethics/policy analysis areas (https://www.lakeforest.edu/academics/programs/neuroscience).

More information about Brain Awareness Week can be found on its dedicated page (https://www.lakeforest.edu/news/brain-awareness-week) or through details about the Robert B. Glassman Memorial Brain, Mind & Behavior Symposium.