This year’s GREAT Day, April 25 — Geneseo Recognizing Excellence, Achievement & Talent — features a lecture by an expert on how the brain controls complex behaviors, including vocal language and learning.
The Jack ’76 and Carol ’76 Kramer Endowed Lectureship will be presented by Erich Jarvis, an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a professor and head of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics of Languages at The Rockefeller University.
He will speak about “Dissecting the molecular mechanisms of vocal learning and language: A personal journey,” at 1 p.m., in Wadsworth Auditorium. It is free and open to the public.
Jarvis uses behavioral, anatomical and molecular biological techniques to study the molecular pathways involved in perception and production of learned vocalizations. He hopes to advance understanding of neural mechanisms for vocal learnings and basic brain function.
Jarvis has a diverse background, choosing to pursue a career in science over dance, when he realized that the discipline and creativity he needed to excel in dance were applicable to scientific study. He earned degrees in biology and mathematics from Hunter College and pursued doctoral and post-doctoral work in molecular neurobiology and animal behavior at The Rockefeller University. He was an associate professor at Duke University before going to teach at Rockefeller. He has provided laboratory research experience to inner-city students of under-represented backgrounds through the Science Outreach Program of New York, serves on several national professional committees and has received several accolades for his work and leadership.
GREAT Day helps foster academic excellence, encourages professional development and builds connections within the community. The full day of activities, presentations and performances can be viewed online.