October 03, 2025
Linda Blaser
Glassman Symposium to showcase faculty, alumni, student research
The 2025 Robert B. Glassman Memorial Brain, Mind, and Behavior Symposium will take place Thursday, October 30, and Friday, October 31, featuring an engaging lineup of academic presentations and research.
A signature event of the College’s award-winning Brain Awareness Week for the past thirteen years—running Monday, October 27 through Friday, October 31—the symposium honors the legacy of the late Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience Robert Glassman, whose vision helped shape Lake Forest’s popular neuroscience major.
This year’s program features three Lake Forest College faculty and two distinguished young alumni talks on October 30 and a poster session on October 31, showcasing original research by Lake Forest students and several additional alumni.
On Thursday, October 30, five short talks will be presented in the Tarble Room of Brown Hall on Middle Campus from 7 to 9 p.m., preceded by a public reception at 6:30 p.m.
- “Self-Organization: Lessons From Infant Eye Movements”—Naomi Wentworth, Associate Professor and Chair of Psychology, Lake Forest College
- “Unlocking Silent Synapses on Metastatic Tumor Cells”—Aiden Houcek ’20, PhD candidate, Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University
- “Music As Magic”—Donald Meyer, Professor of Music, Lake Forest College
- “Stress and Colorectal Cancer: Implications for Patient Outcomes and Health Equity”—Zoe Walts ’21, PhD candidate, Department of Population Health Science, University of Wisconsin–Madison
- “Powerful Yeasts Model Deadly Brain Diseases Caused by Toxic Protein Shapes”—Shubhik DebBurman, Disque D. & Carol Gram Deane Professor of Biological Sciences, Lake Forest College
On Friday, October 31, the symposium’s research poster session will be held from 4 to 6:30 p.m. in Calvin Durand Hall, followed by a closing ceremony led by Lake Forest College President Michael Sosulski and recognition of all student and alumni scholars. Art and science will also come together at the symposium in another enduring tradition. Students from the College’s undergraduate neuroscience society, Nu Rho Psi, are once again collaborating with students of Associate Professor of Art and Chair of Art and Art History David Sanchez-Burr’s Art Installation course depicting the 2025 national education and outreach theme, “Neuropolitics.”
The symposium will feature fifty research posters of original student and alumni research conducted at Lake Forest, Rosalind Franklin University, and at major universities including Princeton University and the University of Minnesota, and international research institutions in Brazil and Tokyo. Most of the students that present at Glassman each year eventually head for graduate studies.
Undergraduate research is a cornerstone experience at the College for our science students to best prepare for STEM careers.
“For many students, Glassman is their first major scientific meeting and professional communication experience beyond the classroom. It helps them to prepare to present at larger external venues, including national and even international meetings, and helps build their edge,” notes Disque D. and Carol Gram Deane Professor of Life Sciences and co-Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) Shubhik DebBurman.
“The collaborative research at the symposium truly showcases the close mentoring relationship between our faculty and students that shape skillsets and mindsets of our science students for their future success,” he added.
Holly Kiernan ’26, a neuroscience and BMB double major applying for PhD programs in neuroscience this fall and three-time presenter at the Glassman, shares: “I first presented my research at the Glassman Symposium my sophomore year; that experience truly helped me to prepare for presenting at a national meeting later that year. The opportunity to engage with professors and other students is incredible as well. It really made me feel a part of the Lake Forest science community and cemented my desire to continue research and aim for a PhD."
Ash Peacock. ’28, a neuroscience and BMB double major also planning for a research career in their future and presenting at the Glassman for the first time, notes: “I am looking forward to presenting the research done at Rosalind Franklin University to the community of Lake Forest College. Working in the lab didn’t just teach me hard skills like immunostaining and animal handling, but also how to ask innovative questions and collaborate with peers. Presenting our research to the community offers an incredible opportunity to connect professionally with others and share exciting new information!”
The Glassman Symposium and all Brain Awareness Week events are free and open to the public.
