Bristol Neuroscience’s Brain Research day

27 January 2021

The University’s Bristol Neuroscience Research Network (BN) hosted its 2nd Bristol Brain Research day on 14 January 2021, discussing research across the spectrum of neuroscience, including memory, mental health, movement , neural computation and sleep.

Getting heads together virtually

Due to the pandemic, this year the event was held online, with over 210 people registering to attend the event. Participants heard from 18 speakers talking on five themes reflecting the Network’s Research Hubs. Each session was chaired by the Hub lead:

Memory (lead: Jack Mellor)
Mental Health (UoB’s Mental Health Research Strategy group lead: Claire Haworth)
Movement (lead: Jeremy F. Burn, note from February 2021 this will be Paul Chadderton)
Neural Computation (lead: Conor Houghton)
Sleep (lead: Matt Jones)

The event was opened by BN’s Director Professor Matt Jones and introduced by the University’s Pro-Vice Chancellor (Health and Life Sciences) Professor John Iredale. View the full programme.

Each session was chaired by the hub lead. The event showcased the diverse and interdisciplinary nature of neuroscience research at the University of Bristol across three faculties, six schools, and two NHS Trusts (Bath and Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership). The day was complemented by keynote presentations by Professor Sir Michael Owen (Cardiff) and Professor Eve Marder (Brandeis).

Staying connected

When the first lockdown was announced in March 2020, BN realised the importance of keeping the wider community engaged and informed and started hosting a series of webinars which introduced the many facets of neuroscience research both at Bristol and beyond.

The first, on mindfulness and wellbeing, was presented by Fabienne Vailes from the Department of French on 28 April 2020. Other topics include domestic violence, robotics in health and disease, AI in neural discovery, the virtual audience, presynaptic plasticity, neurological consequences of COVID-19, the impact of COVID-19 on anxiety and cognitive function in older adolescents, and decision-making as an indicator of animal emotion and welfare.

If you missed any of the webinars you can follow the links on the BN homepage to watch the recordings.

Bristol Brain Research day was an extension of the webinars in that it provided a snapshot of the incredible amount of neuroscience work being undertaken by staff and students. The Networks event programme adapted and evolved due to the pandemic ensuring that it delivered an accessible and informative series of talks that would attract a wide audience.

Watch again:

Morning session – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLEnyyBJ3EA

Afternoon session – https://youtu.be/eNTfoZFViuY

Timings of each speaker are listed in the video description box on YouTube (links above).

Further information

Bristol Neuroscience Grey Walter Prize for best journal publication by a PhD student winner goes to Dr Sandra Neumann, Clinical Trial Manager for the Cholinesterase Inhibitors to Prevent Falls in Parkinson’s Disease (CHIEF-PD) research project. Dr Neumann presented a paper at Bristol Brain Research Day 2021.

Contact Catherine Brown with any enquiries regarding the event or the Bristol Neuroscience Network.