The most recent BrainMind Summit hosted with MIT convened in Cambridge on May 4-5, 2019.
HOSTS
HIGHLIGHTS
BrainMind Summit at MIT - Katharina Sophia Volz pioneered Stanford University's first Ph.D. in Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine in 2015, earning her degree in just 2.5 years. She was listed on Forbes 30u30 (Science) and has been immersed in the field of biomedical sciences for the past 12 years, starting with her attendance at Germany's Biotechnology High school.
SPEAKERS
Speakers at the BrainMind Summit are chosen for their uniquely disruptive contributions to their respective fields. All speakers are available to engage with Summit participants. Speakers delivering mainstage talks will also be hosting intimate roundtable discussions over lunch and during the afternoon program.
Presenters included:
ENTREPRENEUR SPOTLIGHT
Featured entrepreneurs will present groundbreaking ideas and pose impact-related questions to participants. Spotlight entrepreneurs will also host breakout discussion tables.
MULTISENSORY MUSICAL EXPERIENCES
Photo by Jesse Costa/WBUR
Key performances on Saturday and Sunday will be introduced by our Musical Curator, composer Tod Machover. Tod is the Muriel R. Cooper Professor of Music and Media at the MIT Media Lab. He and his team are devoted to exploring musical, multisensory experiences for curing disease and promoting wellbeing, including Gamma-embedded instruments and compositions that promote mind-brain health. BrainMind Summit participants will experience an audio-visual selection from Machover’s Brain Opera entitled: Minsky Melodies. Read more about Tod and the other performers here.
Psyche Loui tackles in the MIND (Music, Imaging, and Neural Dynamics) Lab, which studies the neuroscience of music perception and cognition. At BrainMind, she performed on violin and spoke to some of these insights on stage.
Alexandra Rieger, a doctoral researcher in Tod Machover’s Opera of The Future Lab, performed on the GAMMA MOON, a new instrument specially designed to combine 40-hertz audio, light and vibration to encourage immersive entrainment.
Jamie Pabst showcased the physiological power of music to support emotional health. Spiritune is harnessing the neurological underpinnings of music that targets our deeper human needs, such as emotional regulation, stress reduction, performance and overall happiness.
On Saturday Night, pop artist Kiesza kicked off the evening reception with a special live performance.
EXPERIENTIAL NEUROLAB
The BrainMind Summit includes a hands-on Experiential NeuroLab with exciting inventions, technology demonstrations, and artistic exhibits. Experiences include mind-controlled visual media, AR and VR-based technologies, real human brains and 10-100x expanded brains, neuroscience-driven perceptual illusions, immersive education experiences, and more. The NeuroLab will also include immersive art exhibitions exploring the theme of “digital consciousness.” Content in the lab will be hosted by the MIT Media Lab, the McGovern Institute, and the Picower Institute.
Expansion Microscopy Image Credit: Gao et al./ Science 2019
BREAKOUT DISCUSSION MODULES
Special breakout discussions allow attendees to go deeper on specific topics. Roundtables with 8-12 participants convene around preselected BrainMind topics with subject matter experts, including topics like Sleep, Longevity, Resilience, Flow, Attachment, Brain-Computer Interfaces, and Deep Brain Stimulation. The breakouts are designed to encourage conversation and collaboration with speakers and other great minds.
ART EXHIBITIONS
BrainMind is featuring brilliant artists exhibiting artworks exploring the theme of digital consciousness. Artists are offering up their interpretations of how we manifest perception, awareness, visualization, and imagination in the digital age. These tech-forward exhibits utilize technology such as augmented reality, electron microscopy, electroencephalography, and data visualization.
Ginny Ruffner will be previewing Reforestation of the Imagination, next at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Grace Ng’s Mind Paint Interactive Installation will be featured in the Experiential NeuroLab.
Andrew Paul Leonard will be exhibiting a selection of his microscopic photography of neurons and glial cells.
David Bolinsky’s animations of molecular machinery in neurons and somatic cells will be featured in video format as well as in print.
BRAIN-HEALTHY CUISINE
New research indicates that diet plays a significant role in brain function, impacting everything from memory to risk for brain diseases. We put these exciting findings into practice at our Summits. You won’t find junky conference fare at our event. Meals and snacks served at the Summit feature foods and ingredients with published findings for brain health benefit. Learn more about our approach here.
Supporters of BrainMind at MIT
We would like to honor and thank Reid Hoffman, David Sze, Bo Shao, and the following supporters of the BrainMind Summit at MIT:
