Four weeks left until the opening of The Brain Forum
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
Press release - April 28, 2016
In exactly four weeks, leaders in brain science and finance will convene at the
third conference of The Brain Forum, on 26 and 27 May in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The Brain Forum is divided into two themed days with the first day dedicated to
Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and the second day focused on Science.
During the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Day, entrepreneurs and investors will
share their expertise in translating science from bench to business and discuss
their ideas for the future. During the Keynote lecture "Practical lessons in
machine learning", Greg Corrado, a Senior Research Scientist working at the
intersection of artificial intelligence, computational neuroscience, and
scalable machine learning at Google Research, will explore aspects of machine
learning, including deep learning and more classical algorithms. Much of
Google's work on language, speech, translation, visual processing, ranking and
prediction relies on machine intelligence, which is set to become commonplace in
our society.
The Brain Forum Innovation Award" will again offer opportunities for early-stage
start-ups to connect with investors interested in the solutions of the future.
More than 120 companies have already been pre-selected. The six start-ups making
the final round will have five minutes to pitch their projects to the audience
and a jury composed of thought leaders in innovation like Tej Tadi (MindMaze)
and Markus Goebel (Novartis Venture Fund). The industry exhibition, held
throughout the conference, will give established and start-up businesses the
opportunity to showcase their products to potential investors and consumers.
Innovative interdisciplinary projects like Sonic Womb and the NeuroOrrb will be
unveiled. The former seeks to re-create the experience of hearing in utero in
order to promote understanding of acoustic stress in premature infants. The
latter is developing the "gym for the brain" to optimise human brain performance
and tackle cognitive decline.
Dr. Jamil El-Imad, CEO of The Brain Forum, comments: "Technology moves quickly
and often at a pace where large matrix organisations can't keep up. Start-ups on
the other hand, are small and nimble enough to keep pace with the speed at which
technology moves. They often have some of the most innovative ideas and
solutions, but perhaps not the right resources to propel their ambitions. The
start-up competition aims to change that by providing a stage for these
companies to gain exposure and acts as a potential matchmaking opportunity for
start-ups to pair up with top scientists, clinicians and business people who can
take them to the next level."
The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Day will be closed by "Act like you mean
it": a reworking of Romeo and Juliet celebrating neuroscience in the 400(th)
year since Shakespeare's death. During this lecture-performance, the
authenticity of actor's emotions will be investigated from a theatrical and
neuroscientific perspective. Prof. Thomas Grunwald, Medical Director at the
Swiss Epilepsy Centre in Zurich and Prof. Anton Rey, dramaturge from the
Institute of Performing Arts and Film at Zurich University of the Arts, will
present their findings.
During the Science Day, The Brain Forum will welcome back the global brain
initiatives that joined the platform in 2015. The session "International Brain
Initiatives: Progress, challenges and opportunities" will give an overview of
the world's major brain projects, providing updates about their scope, aims and
progress. Among them: the European based project Blue Brain Project, which aims
to build biologically detailed digital reconstructions and simulations of the
rodent and ultimately the human brain. On the other hand, the Chinese brain
initiative China Brain is focused on developmental, psychiatric and
neurodegenerative disorders with the objective of finding treatments primarily
for Alzheimer's disease and autism.
"The brain and mental health - Increasing awareness and reducing stigma" will
contribute to tackling some of the biggest healthcare challenges of this
century. It is devoted to recent advances in the understanding of the brain
mechanisms underlying mental disorders, such as major depression, bipolar
disorder and schizophrenia with a particular emphasis on novel methods and
innovations aimed at improving mental health. Presented by Emily Holmes
(University of Cambridge), Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg (Central Institute of Mental
Health Mannheim) and Helen Mayberg (Emory University/USA), this session also
includes a panel discussion with the goal to raise awareness of mental health
stigma, which remains widespread, leading to discrimination and reduced quality
of life.
"High-level meetings such as The Brain Forum are crucial to the advancement of
research. They offer unique opportunities for scientists to meet, take the
temperature of ongoing research and be aware of the latest advances in the
field. Adding entrepreneurs to the audience of the event is also key to
developing new tools and techniques for better diagnostic and treatment of brain
diseases", says Prof. Patrick Aebischer, President of EPFL and member of The
Brain Forum's International Advisory Board. "In an aging society, neurological
diseases are an ever-growing source of cost for health systems, all over the
world. Understanding them will result in better, earlier diagnostics and more
efficient and cost-effective treatments".
For more information, please contact:
The Brain Forum:
Christophe Tournier, press office, +41 21 517 67 17, thebrainforum(at)farner.ch
About The Brain Forum - thebrainforum.org/
The Brain Forum, first launched in 2013, brings together novel thinkers and
pioneers in brain research, technology, healthcare and the economy. Researchers,
engineers, healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs, industrialists, investors,
funding agencies and policy makers will meet at The Brain Forum 2016, to advance
our understanding of how the brain works and to accelerate the application and
value of this knowledge in society and the economy.
About EPFL - www.epfl.ch/
Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, in Switzerland, is one of the most
international higher education institutions in Europe. It counts among its ranks
roughly 10,000 students and 5,000 employees representing more than 120
nationalities. Education and research are organized into five schools and two
colleges, with a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary work. In 2013, the
European Commission selected the Human Brain Project, an international effort at
understanding the human brain, led by EPFL, as a "FET Flagship initiative". The
EPFL is also home to the Brain Mind Institute, which aims to understand the
fundamental principles of brain function in health and disease, by using and
developing unique experimental, theoretical, technological and computational
approaches.
Speakers Biographies (PDF):
http://hugin.info/154740/R/2007771/742386.pdf
The Brain Forum - Session overviews (PDF):
http://hugin.info/154740/R/2007771/742393.pdf
The Brain Forum 2016 Programme (PDF):
http://hugin.info/154740/R/2007771/742389.pdf
Press release (PDF):
http://hugin.info/154740/R/2007771/742382.pdf
This announcement is distributed by GlobeNewswire on behalf of
GlobeNewswire clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that:
(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Farner via GlobeNewswire
[HUG#2007771]
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 28.04.2016 - 14:30 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 467263
Anzahl Zeichen: 8839
contact information:
Town:
Lausanne
Kategorie:
Business News
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"Four weeks left until the opening of The Brain Forum"
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