Retreat Roundup 2018

The first CBHI Annual Retreat was held on August 30, 2018. More than 180 brain scientists, physicians, fellows, students and patient advocates from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), Cleveland Clinic, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center (VA), MetroHealth Medical Center, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center(UH), Kent State University and Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) gathered at the beautiful Cleveland Botanic Garden to presented their work on brain health, and consider the challenge of improving Lifespan Brain Health for the people of northeast Ohio and beyond.  

The meeting began with a welcome from CBHI director Lin Mei, M.D., Ph.D., Allen C. Holmes Professor and Chair of Neurosciences at CWRU School of Medicine, who outlined some of the Brain Health needs for our community in Cleveland. Anthony Furlan M.D., Professor and Gilbert W. Humphrey Chair of Neurology at UH followed with a brief history of the origins of CBHI, which began as the Case Brain Health Collaborative. Finally, Dean Pamela B. Davis M.D., Ph.D., outlined her roadmap for creating CBHI, and her hope that this new initiative will support greater collaborations among institutions on issues of brain health. 

Plenary sessions featured lectures by scientists from CWRU School of Medicine and its affiliate hospitals. Andrew Pieper M.D., Ph.D., of the VA and UH discussed the “Discovery of a neuroprotective drug.” Anthony Wynshaw-Boris M.D., Ph.D., from the School of Medicine discussed “Modelling human neurogenetic diseases using the mouse, and human induced pluripotent stem cells.” Martha Sajatovic M.D., of UH talked about “Optimizing brain health by targeting stigma and engaging our community.” James Leverenz M.D., of the Cleveland Clinic discussed “Patient-based research in neurodegeneration,” and Jayme Knutson Ph.D., of MetroHealth talked about “Electrical stimulation for functional restoration in CNS paralysis and pain modulation.”

A highlight of the meeting was the Poster Session that featured 24 abstracts and posters that were presented by meeting attendees. A panel of 12 judges evaluated the work presented, and five posters were recognized with prizes awarded. After lunch, retreat participants were grouped into one of six Study Groups (Behavior and Cognition, Cerebrovascular and Trauma, Neurodegeneration, Neurodevelopment, Therapeutic Interventions: Drug Discovery and Stem Cells, and Computational Neuroscience, Devices, and Imaging) in order to meet and discuss potential collaborations. Each session provided feedback on how CBHI can help to support Brain Health research across institutions. 

The keynote lecture featured a new lecture series, the Story Landis Lecture, named for the inaugural chair of the department of Neurosciences at CWRU School of Medicine, and former Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Story Landis PhD. This year the lecture was given by Landis herself, who explained that we are, “Better Together: Accelerating progress in brain sciences.” Landis described the process of bringing together neuroscientists across Institutes at NIH, and how this led to the creation of the John Edward Porter Neuroscience Research Center. She provided insight into ways that the unique collaborative endeavor that is CBHI can help to create better research.  

CBHI will host this meeting again next year and we look forward to continuing member and institutional support and participation. Connect with us.