Prof David Lyons inaugural lecture now online

Professor David Lyons (Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences) gave his inaugural lecture on Monday 2nd March in the Shirley Hall, Chancellors Building, entitled 'Brainworks: How are brains formed and how should we treat them.'

The human brain represents the most complex organisation of matter in our known universe. Therefore, understanding how it is formed, how it functions, and how we might treat it remain enormous challenges for the global research community.

Given the burden to our society of neurodevelopmental, neurodegenerative, neuropsychiatric and mental health disorders, these challenges need to be addressed.

In his inaugural lecture Professor David Lyons discussed how understanding the fundamental dynamic biological mechanisms and principles that underpin brain formation, function and adaptation provide insights that help us understand its malformation, dysfunction and disease.

Professor Lyons also  showed how it is now possible to directly observe the brain in both health and disease using simple laboratory models and also explained why his laboratory uses the small transparent zebrafish as a model, and how their work aims to help find treatments for conditions of the nervous system, including multiple sclerosis (MS).

Further information

Prof David Lyons lab profile

Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences website

Study Neuroscience at Edinburgh