Mental Health Matters - Weizmann neuroscience at the forefront of discovery

On Tuesday 17 January 2023 we hosted our Mental Health Matters lecture with Weizmann Institute President, Prof. Alon Chen at the Wellcome Collection in London. The event was part of our From Research to Reality series of annual lectures that brings cutting edge research from the Weizmann Institute directly to our UK friends and supporters. It was our first in-person event since the pandemic began.
 

The evening was opened by Weizmann UK Chair, Dr. Arabella Duffield and we were joined by Prof. Miranda Wolpert MBE, Director of Mental Health at Wellcome who spoke about the key areas of research that the Wellcome is currently funding. 

Prof. Alon Chen gave the keynote speech. He first spoke in his capacity as President to give a flavour of just why the Weizmann Institute is such a special environment for the development of scientific knowledge, including an overview of its four flagship projects: Brain and Neuroscience, Frontiers of the Universe, Artificial Intelligence and Sustainability.

Speaking of the Institute's campus in Rehovot he said, "I hope you will all now feel the urgent need to come and visit." 

He then gave a fascinating presentation on his own area of neuroscience research looking at stress, anxiety and depression. He explained what happens to our brains when we perceive a stress-factor and how our individual abilities to regulate our stress-responses are linked both to genetic and environmental factors. 

We hope that you enjoyed the evening and very much look forward to seeing you at another Weizmann UK event soon.