There’s a wonderful parable that compares lunch in heaven and in hell. Both places have the same set-up; large dining tables filled with delicious food. However, the forks are too long and it is impossible for the diners to eat with them. Those who dwell in hell live in eternal frustration and hunger at not being able to eat the food.  Those who dwell in heaven, however, simply smile and use the long forks to feed each other.

Melina Uncapher is a research associate in the Stanford Memory Laboratory, who is intrigued by what it takes to create that "heaven" -- a world where people care for each other.  And she's looking to translate scientific research for practical applications.

As a researcher, she conducts functional MRI research investigating how individuals learn and remember, with a focus on the role on attention and awareness. Her work has been published numerous times, including papers in field-leading journals (Neuron, Journal of Neuroscience), generating feature articles in major media outlets such as the New York Times and Scientific American Frontiers with Alan Alda. She received her PhD from the University of California, Irvine in 2007.

Uncapher founded and facilitates an ongoing lecture series at Stanford that promotes multi-disciplinary collaboration between leading scientists investigating how the brain learns and makes decisions. She has received a number of awards, including the Memory Disorders Research Society Postdoctoral award, pre- and post-doctoral National Research Service Awards from NIMH, and the Harwick Advanced Graduate Student award.

Please join us on Saturday the 8th of Feb to hear more about Melina's journey...