Having trouble viewing this email? Click here to view in browser.
June 2019
With the help of the common fruit fly, which ages quickly because it only lives about 60 days, Florida Atlantic University at Jupiter neuroscientists provide insights into healthy aging by investigating the effects of a foraging gene on age and stress tolerance. “By understanding functional decline, we will be able to find biomarkers of aging and identify therapeutic interventions to counteract the deleterious effects of aging,” said Ken Dawson-Scully, Ph.D., associate professor of biological sciences of FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science and the FAU Brain Institute (I-BRAIN).
Florida Atlantic University at Jupiter hosted 48 incoming eighth-grade girls during the 2019 American Association of University Women's (AAUW) Tech Trek Camp. During the weeklong camp, the girls participated in hands-on activities and experiments with the faculty and staff in the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, Brain Institute and ASCEND program. Through a field trip to the brain exhibit at the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium, to courses and workshops, the girls explored various STEM fields from neuroscience to marine biology.
Nearly 100 people attended the Neuroscience Student Organization (NSO) annual retreat on Saturday, June 8, at Manatee Lagoon in West Palm Beach. The event sponsored by the Florida Atlantic University Brain Institute, featured poster presentations, networking amongst neuroscientists, and short talks. Keynote speaker, Michael Platt, Ph.D., a James S. Riepe University professor at the University of Pennsylvania, presented, “Building Better Business through Brain Science.”
The fourth annual Rooney’s Golf Foundation Spring Golf Tournament was held on Thursday, May 2 at the Abacoa Golf Club. The event raised $16,289.30 to benefit four local charities, including the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College. Next year’s tournament will take place on Wednesday, May 6, 2020 at Abacoa.
Student Spotlight
Christy LaFlamme, a Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College student just won the FAU Division of Research (DoR) " Big Idea Contest," which was designed to solicit ideas on how to communicate the importance of research to broad audiences. She will receive an I-Pad. LaFlamme says her idea to share research was inspired by the symposium's keynote speaker, David Sun Kong, Ph.D, director of MIT Media Lab's Community Biotechnology Initiative. LaFlamme recently attended the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for the National Symposium for Undergraduate Research ( NSUR.) She is working in Matt Disney's lab as part of the FAU Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship ( SURF), and the Scripps Biomedical Laboratory Experience for Undergraduates ( BLEU). She is also the president of the Council for Scholarship, Inquiry, Design, and Engagement ( C-SIDE) Jupiter.
In the Headlines
Paul DeJong, shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals major league baseball team, and scientist Dr. Lawrence Rocks, were on the MLB Network to talk about the Florida Atlantic Brain Institute and, "Journey Through the Human Brain," the interactive exhibit they are featured in at the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium that helps visitors understand the concept of reaction time and measure their own reaction time.
Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College alumna, Christine Sylvain, executive director and founder of Path to College Fellowship hopes to level the playing field for local high-achieving, low-income students. The Palm Beach Post recently featured the West Palm college prep educator in an article where she explained "low income students are just as qualified for those top-tier universities as high-income students.”  
Florida Atlantic University has named Gregg B. Fields, Ph.D., as executive director of FAU’s Institute for Human Health and Disease Intervention (I-HEALTH), one of the university’s four research pillars. Fields will lead efforts to develop interdisciplinary research by combining expertise across many FAU centers and colleges as well as forging strategic health care and research partnerships in the region. I-HEALTH’s service regions will include Broward, Palm Beach, and Martin counties.
Parents who find a sex-based text on their teenager's phone should be on the lookout for other problems in their child's life, a new evidence review suggests. Sameer Hinduja, Ph.D., co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center at Florida Atlantic University explained, "Many risky behaviors among youth tend to occur in a constellation. If a teen experiments with one risky behavior, that teen typically has experience with other risky behaviors." 
Your South Florida PBS featured Randy Blakely, Ph.D. to showcase a new exhibit now open at the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium in Palm Beach County. "Journey Through the Human Brain" is a collaboration with the FAU Brain Institute and features the latest research and innovations in neuroscience. This 25,000 square foot permanent exhibit will allow visitors to get hands on with state-of-the-art technology to get a better understanding of the brain.
Randy Blakely, Ph.D., executive director of the Florida Atlantic University Brain Institute was featured on "Legends Community Focus," a Legends Radio program that aired Sunday, June 9 on 100.3 in Palm Beach County. Host Mike McGann talked to Dr. Blakely about the research being done at the FAU Brain Institute, collaborations with Max Planck Florida Institute and Scripps Research and how these neuroscientists and educators are training the next generation of brain scientists.
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
2019 Osher LLI Fall Catalog
The 2019 FAU Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Fall Catalog will be available to view online on July 25. Registration for members will begin on August 1.
Upcoming Events
Friday, June 28 - Saturday, June 29
FAU Jupiter
Monday, July 1 and Monday, July 8
Monday, July 22 - Tuesday, July 23
FAU Jupiter, Auditorium
Saturday, September 7
6:00 p.m.
4801 Dreher Trail North, West Palm Beach
Florida Atlantic University serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s John D. MacArthur Campus , located in downtown Abacoa offers a variety of upper-division and graduate course. The campus houses the Academy for Community Inclusion , Center for Autism and Related Disabilities , College of Education , Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College , John D. MacArthur Campus Library and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute , the largest lifelong learning program in the nation. FAU Jupiter unites scientists and students in research and training programs and leverages FAU’s close affiliations with Scripps Florida and the Max Planck Florida Institute , also located on the campus. As part of this effort, the university-wide Brain Institute launched in 2016 and is a hub of cutting-edge, multidisciplinary neuroscience activity that builds on existing neuroscience centers and programs within the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine , Charles E. Schmidt College of Science and Center for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology offers research and training programs in molecular biology and biotechnology and serves as a link between FAU and other institutions and industries in this field.