2024 MARS Speakers

Mark Andermann
Professor of Medicine and Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School
Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine,
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
 
Mark Andermann grew up in Montreal, Canada. As a son of immigrant parents whose careers were dedicated to the practice of neurology, Mark spent a lot of time at the Montreal Neurological Institute, where a quote from Wilder Penfield challenged visitors: “The problem of neurology is to understand man himself.” Mark received undergraduate training in math and physics at McGill University, and Ph.D. training with Dr. Christopher Moore at MIT and Harvard. He completed postdoctoral training at the Helsinki University of Technology and with Dr. Clay Reid at Harvard Medical School. Mark started his lab in 2012 in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. His lab seeks to understand how the needs of the body bias learning, attention, and imagery towards need-relevant objects. To achieve these goals, the lab employs cellular and subcellular imaging of brain cells in retina, thalamus, cortex, amygdala, hypothalamus, brainstem and choroid plexus across weeks as mice seek food, water, mates, or safety.

Ciarán G. Forde
Chairholder: Sensory Science and Eating Behaviour Chair group., Division of Human Nutrition and Health, Wageningen University and Research, the Netherlands

Professor Ciarán Forde is the Chair in Sensory Science and Eating Behavior at the Division of Human Nutrition and Health, at Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands. He leads research on how the sensory properties of foods influence eating behaviors, energy intake and metabolism across the life-span. Prof. Forde has published >140 scientific articles and book chapters, and his research has been presented at >200 national and international meetings. Prof. Forde is Executive Editor for the journal Appetite, Section Editor for the European Journal of Nutrition, and an Editorial board member for Nutrition Bulletin, Journal of Future Food and Journal of Texture Studies. Before joining Wageningen University, Prof. Forde has spent the previous 20 years in academic, public and private sector research roles in the UK (GSK), Australia (CSIRO) and Switzerland (Nestlé Research) and Singapore (National University of Singapore/A*STAR). He received his BSc (Hons) in Food Chemistry and a PhD in Sensory Science from the Department of Nutrition in University College Cork in Ireland.

Barbara J. Rolls.
Pennsylvania State University

Barbara J. Rolls received her Ph.D. in Physiology from the University of Cambridge, England. After spending her early research career at the University of Oxford, Dr. Rolls became Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In 1992, she joined The Pennsylvania State University faculty, where she is Professor and Helen A. Guthrie Chair of Nutritional Sciences.

Her studies have examined thirst mechanisms and how characteristics of foods such as variety, energy density, and portion size can influence energy intake and weight management. She has authored seven books including three in the Volumetrics series.

Dr. Rolls has served as President of both the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior and The Obesity Society, and has served on the Advisory Council of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Her awards and honors include American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow, American Society for Nutrition (ASN) Fellow, ASN Award in Human Nutrition, The Atwater Lecturer, ASN David Kritchevsky Career Achievement Award, the ASN Foundation Mentorship Award, The Obesity Society’s Bray Founders Award and the Presidential Medal of Distinction, and the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior Hoebel Award for Creativity.

Catharine Winstanley
University of British Columbia.

Dr. Catharine Winstanley is a behavioural neuroscientist at the University of British Columbia. She is a Professor in the Department of Psychology, and an Associate Member of the Division of Neurology. Her research is focused on understanding the neurobiological regulation of cognitive traits such as impulsivity and decision making, with the goal of using this knowledge to improve treatments for psychiatric disorders such as problem gambling and drug addiction.