Stanford Report, February 4, 2009
Health research talks available on YouTube and iTunes
A series of seven brief talks about research into the frontiers of human health are now available on Stanford's YouTube channel and at Stanford on iTunes U.
This "mini-course," The Future of Human Health: Seven Very Short Talks That Will Blow Your Mind, was recorded during Stanford Reunion Homecoming last fall.
Borrowing from a format used by the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Conference, which brings together a collection of movers and shakers and challenges them to give the "talk of their lives" in 18 minutes, seven Stanford researchers deliver 10- to 20-minute talks about their research:
- Brain-Computer Interface: Krishna Shenoy, associate professor of electrical engineering, is creating "brain-computer interfaces" that will enable paralyzed patients to control prosthetic arms and computer cursors.
- Building a Circuit Diagram for the Brain: Jennifer Raymond, associate professor of neurobiology, is building a "wiring diagram" for the brain.
- Deafness: A Worldwide Pandemic: Emerging Strategies for a Cure: Stefan Heller, associate professor of otolaryngology, is trying to create inexpensive eardrops that can cure deafness.
- Engineering New Treatments for Psychiatric Diseases: Karl Deisseroth, associate professor of bioengineering and of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, is pioneering new treatments for depression and other psychiatric diseases.
- Giving Sight to the Blind: Brian Wandell, professor of psychology, tells the inspirational story of Michael May, the world-record holder for blind downhill skiing.
- Googling the Brain on a Chip: Kwabena Boahen, associate professor of bioengineering, is using the human brain as the blueprint for designing more powerful and energy-efficient computers.
- Visualizing Desire: Brian Knutson, associate professor of psychology, is unraveling the mysteries of human desire with state-of-the-art medical imaging.