The Institute for Integrative & Innovative Research at the U of A announced its 2024 Spring Speaker Series roster featuring a diverse group of distinguished thought leaders and researchers from across the country.

"Our mission is to pioneer solutions to 'wicked' problems," said Ranu Jung, associate vice chancellor and I³R founding executive director. "Through our speaker series, we're presenting various perspectives of those 'wicked' problems and bringing to campus researchers who are forging innovations that change the world."

The Spring Speaker Series kicks off this morning at 9 a.m. with Josiah Leong, Ph.D., U of A assistant professor of psychology, sharing the novel research his team has done in mapping development of the brain's reward system in adolescents as well as their findings suggesting this can be used to predict future drug use.

Leong's research team was the first to characterize the structural connections between brain regions that predict approach or avoidance of rewards, and they are now mapping the connections in adolescents and linking them to functional brain activity during reward anticipation.

"Arkansas leads the nation specifically in methamphetamine use, and adolescents with a family history of substance use disorder have as high as an eight-fold greater risk to develop a substance use disorder themselves," Leong said. "This research has the potential to identify those who are most likely to seek drugs later in life and might offer clinicians and caretakers an earlier window to intervene and break the cycle."

Attend Leong's presentation in person at 481 S. Shiloh Dr., Fayetteville, or join virtually via Zoom. 

The institute is also planning a mini symposium Feb. 23 focused on innovations in the development of alternative proteins and cultured meat, an emerging field of work with significant implications for regional food systems as well as national security. David Kaplan, Ph.D., distinguished professor of engineering and biology at Tufts University; Sungil Ferreira, Ph.D. U of A assistant professor of food processing engineering; and Eric Schulze, Ph.D., CEO and founder of GoodHumans Strategy & Design Agency, are slated to speak on the issue.  

"As the world population surges past 8 billion people, demand for meat is expected to outpace supply," Jung said. "This is a serious concern that threatens human health as well as our economic and environmental well-being. That's why we've launched the Sustainable Consortium for Population and Planetary Health, which will leverage NWA's unique ecosystem to create a scalable model for accelerating advances in protein production - from cultivation to consumer."

I³R Spring Speaker Series events are open to all U of A faculty, students and staff as well as the public. Mark your calendar for upcoming speaker series dates and check the institute's website for event details and updates.

• Feb. 9 - John A. White, Ph.D. - chair, biomedical engineering; professor, biomedical engineering; pharmacology and experimental therapeutics; neuroscience, Boston University
   
• Feb. 23 - Sustainable Proteins Consortium Mini Symposium
  • David Kaplan, Ph.D. - Distinguished Professor, engineering and biology; Stern Family Professorship in Engineering, Tufts University 
  • Sungil Ferreira, Ph.D. - assistant professor, Department of Food Science, U of A
  • Eric Schulze, Ph.D. - founder and CEO, GoodHumans Strategy & Design Agency
     
• March 1 - Joshua Hutcheson, Ph.D. - associate professor, biomedical engineering; graduate program director, Florida International University 
   
• March 8 - International Women's Day
   
• April 5 - Kevin Otto, Ph.D. - senior associate chair and professor, biomedical engineering, University of Florida
   
• April 12 - Shahin Vassigh, Ph.D. - professor, architecture; director, Robotics and Digital Fabrication Lab, Florida International University
   
• April 19 - Debora F. Rodrigues, Ph.D. - Ezekiel Cullen Professor, environmental engineering, University of Houston
   
• April 26 - Billy Cohn, Ph.D., MD - executive director, Center for Device Innovation; professor, surgery-cardiothoracic transplantation and circulatory support, Texas Medical Center
   
• May 3 - Purnima Madhivanan, Ph.D. - associate professor, health promotion sciences; director, Public Health Research Institute of India; director, Global Health Equity Scholars Training Program, University of Arizona.