From the Battlefield to Burning Man: Two Worlds Apart
In the span of two weeks, we attended three very diverse meetings with all, at least in part, having a neuro focus.
Military Health Sciences Research Symposium (MHSRS)
The most intense meeting was the Military Health Sciences Research Symposium (MHSRS) held in August each year to present research related to maintaining the health of soldiers. Unlike almost any other country, the U.S. Department of Defense funds a significant amount of medical research ($1.5 billion in 2024) across a wide range of topics, from traumatic brain injury to breast cancer. It is highly focused, fast-paced, and results driven. We presented our smartphone app for concussion assessment, and contacts from the meeting are already leading to new partnerships and projects.
International Neurotrauma Society (INTS) Meeting
Right after MHSRS was the International Neurotrauma Society (INTS) meeting in Cambridge, UK. The meeting was a mix of neuroscience, brilliant people, and Harry Potter. As a long time groupie of neurocritical care meetings, I am used to slow progress, understanding that the brain is too complex for our current methods to understand it. Progress is incremental and when taking baby steps it takes a long time to know if you are going in the right direction. And, Cambridge was a great setting to discuss neurotrauma patients where many times their recovery is magical.
Burning Man
The third meeting, overlapping with MHSRS, was Burning Man, which is difficult to label. Unlike MHSRS, there is little structure and discipline, but like both of the other meetings, there are a lot of smart people and an insane level of creativity. For the last few years I have joined a bunch of young neuroscientists at a camp called Campus Callosum. They let me run the Senior Living Center at the camp (where I am the only occupant). The camp gives one of the more popular lectures each year on the neuroscience of psychedelics. Last year, I organized a well-attended talk on Coma and Consciousness. For next year, we are building an EEG-controlled Brain Bar, which will dispense alcohol at an amount to match your level of consciousness… applied neuroscience.
In all, the two weeks were jammed with multiple neuro topics in a very wide range of settings (catch the pictures below). As an older adult, I’m just glad I remembered which meeting required clothing and in which meeting it was optional.
