One Day University

In the last few years, scientists have been making incredible breakthroughs in understanding how this seemingly inscrutable mass of cells called the brain actually works. Through the use of electricity and chemicals, the brain controls an amazing range of functions from how we communicate to how we store the mass of information that bombards us on a daily basis. Using a real human brain, projected onto a video screen, Professor Stein will walk students through the current understanding of the anatomy of the brain and then examine what the latest science has uncovered about the brain’s principal role in learning and memory. Indeed, learning and memory are at the root of many other issues, including addiction (related to maladaptive learning), Alzheimer’s (related to deficits in memory), and the critical role of sleep in memory formation.

John J. Stein is a professor of biology at Brown University and a member of the brain science faculty. He teaches courses in biology, neuroscience, physiology and experimental neurobiology and mentors students in science writing and science education. In both 2004 and 2006, Professor Stein received the Barrett Hazeltine Teaching Citation for Outstanding Teaching — awards honoring faculty who “epitomize excellence in Brown teaching, emphasize learning for its own sake, display outstanding ability to communicate with students, and possess a passion and depth of knowledge of their field and the ability to impart those to students.” In 2003 and 2005, Stein also received the Undergraduate Council of Students Excellence in Teaching Award and recently obtained a Science Education Partnership Award from the National Institutes of Health for Project ARISE: Advancing Rhode Island Science Education. Professor Stein received a Ph.D. in Physiology (Neuroscience) from Brown in 1995.