Big Data and the Human Experience of the Developing Brain
Photo courtesy of Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain
Saonli Basu, Professor, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota
Mark Fiecas, Assistant Professor, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota
Experts in statistical and computational tools for analyzing big data, Professors Saonli Basu and Mark Fiecas speak about how they guide researchers studying the developing brain. While much of their work involves specialized skills and technical knowledge, Professors Basu and Fiecas will speak in layman’s terms about the role of big data in brain research and how it informs our understanding of the human experience, specifically about our perceptions around the changing cognitive and behavioral patterns we live through—and witness in others—as we age from childhood through adolescence to adulthood.
Panelists
Professor Saonli Basu develops statistical models for the genetic mapping of complex traits. A faculty member at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Prof. Basu is particularly interested in longitudinal studies of how genes and environment interact. She has developed and applied her methods to a variety of diseases, including type 2 diabetes, Alzheimers, kidney allograft rejection, substance abuse, venous thrombosis, and graft-versus-host disease post hematopoietic stem cell transplant.
Assistant Professor Mark Fiecas studies the structure and function of the human brain through imaging technology. A faculty member at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Prof. Fiecas is particularly interested in studying the functional connectivity of the human brain and the genetic underpinnings of brain phenotypes. Together with Prof. Basu, Prof. Fiecas co-leads the analytics core of the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain.
