Welcome to the 2013 Neurodevelopment/Simpson-Ramsey Symposium!

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Key Dates

General Information and Registration

The Neurodevelopment Symposium and Simpson-Ramsey Lectureship will be held in the Margaret Cameron Spain auditorium (615 18th Street South), in conjunction with the Glenwood Lectureship. The entrance to the Margaret Cameron Spain Auditorium is located on the corner of 19th Street South and 7th Avenue South on the campus of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The symposium will feature seminars from local and invited speakers and a poster session for anyone involved in basic or clinical research related to normal or disordered brain development or child health. The goal of this symposium is to bring together researchers throughout Central Alabama to discuss recent progress in the field of brain development and neurodevelopmental disorders and to provide a forum for anyone involved in research related to child mental and neurological development to interact with other researchers. 

Parking

For those of you coming from off-campus, please indicate on the registration form whether you will require a parking spot. Parking spots will be reserved for you, ONLY IF YOU HAVE INDICATED SO ON THE REGISTRATION FORM. We will be updating parking information closer to the time of the symposium.

Directions

The Margaret Cameron Spain Auditorium is located at 615 18th Street South; however, the entrance to the building is on the corner of 7th Avenue and 19th Street South.

Invited Speakers

We are privileged to be hosting five outstanding speakers at the symposium this year (three external and two internal).

Dr. Ricardo Dolmetsch, Associate Professor, Dept. Neurobiology, Stanford Medical School

Dr. Linda Wadiche, Associate Professor, Dept. Neurobiology, UAB

Dr. Kevin Pelphrey, Harris Professor, Child Study Center, Dept. Psychology, Yale Univ.

Dr. Sarah O'Kelley, Director, Autism Spectrum Disorders Clinic, Civitan-Sparks Clinics, UAB

Dr. Edwin Cook, Director, Center for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Professor of Psychiatry, Univ. Illinois College of Medicine

Agenda

Lunch

Boxed lunches will be free for the first 200 registrants. You will be notified by email before the symposium if you do not make the "cutoff;" if you do not receive an email, there will be a lunch reserved for you. Please indicate on your registration form if you would like a vegetarian lunch and/or have any food allergies. If you register after the deadline, you will not be guaranteed a lunch, but can sign up on a waiting list when you sign in at the symposium.

Abstract and Poster Submission Information

Two abstracts are required for this symposium – a scientific abstract and a lay abstract (to orient the non-scientific audience to your research). The abstracts should be less than 250 words in length. Submission of the abstracts is required using the online registration form BY FRIDAY APRIL 12th. They will be printed in an abstract book for distribution to all participants.

Poster - Maximum size of 4’ x 6’

Poster topics can include, but are not limited to 

• basic brain development
• studies of neurodevelopmental disorders (basic or clinical)
• child health
• education
• issues of special needs children
• clinical psychology
• clinical trials
• or any other discipline that relates to child mental and neurological health

Poster Awards

Three poster awards will be granted this year, with an award amount of $200 per person. Awards will be granted in three different areas: basic research, clinical research, and translational research.

Posters will be judged based on: 

• Rationale/purpose of the study (20 pts)
• Use of scientific method (35 pts)
• Clarity of presentation (35 pts)
• Originality and creativity (10 pts)

Here are examples of awards in the different categories (these were granted at the 2010 Symposium).

 Basic research            

•  “Histone methylation is dynamically regulated in the entorhinal cortex during consolidation of long-term memories.”

Basic research – translational       

•  “Developing mouse models of autism.”

Clinical/applied research - translational        

• "Influence of parental distracted driving on teens with and without ADHD."

Clinical/applied research        

•  “Developing More Ways for Children to Share Their Perceptions of Parenting Behaviors.”

CME Credit

If you would like to receive CME credit for this event, please indicate this on the registration form.

The University of Alabama School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The University of Alabama School of Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 3.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Sponsors

 We would like to enthusiastically thank the following departments and centers which made this event possible.

• Simpson-Ramsey Lectureship Fund
• Office of the Vice President of Research 
• Civitan International Research Center 
• Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center 
• Comprehensive Neuroscience Center  
• Department of Pediatrics Program in Translational Research in Normal and Disordered Development 
• Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neurobiology   
• UAB Sparks Clinics
• Department of Human Genetics   
• Department of Cell, Developmental & Integrative Biology  
• Department of Neurobiology 
• Department of Pathology 
• Department of Psychology
• Center of Clinical and Translational Science

• University of Alabama School of Medicine Division of CME

Contact Information

For questions about your registration, please contact Robin Burkett, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . If you have any questions specifically about the symposium, abstracts, or poster competition, please contact Rita Cowell, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . For any problems with the website, please contact Jamie White, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   

History of the Simpson-Ramsey Lectureship

The Simpson-Ramsey Lectureship was established to honor the contributions of two men who devoted much of their lives to individuals and families with developmental disabilities.  Dr. John Simpson and Dr. Joseph Ramsey helped the Sparks Center make great strides in training professionals to care for individuals with developmental disabilities.

Dr. John Simpson dedicated his medical career to improving the quality of life for people with developmental disabilities.  He served as a staff physician at the Sparks Center from 1967 until his death in 1973.  While at the Center, he was known as a “people person” who never tired of serving children and families with disabilities.  An associate professor of pediatrics at UAB for 28 years, he was a member of the Jefferson County Medical Society and the Alabama State Medical Association.  Dr. Simpson was co-founder of the Charlanne School in Homewood, a residential school for children with cerebral palsy.

After being in private practice for 23 years, Dr. Joseph Ramsey joined the UAB Sparks Center in 1971 for a one-year-post-doctoral fellowship in developmental pediatrics.  After completing the fellowship, he was appointed Director of the Division of Medicine.  Increasing other pediatricians’ awareness of developmental disabilities was only one of his many contributions.  Dr. Ramsey was a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatrics, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Jefferson County Medical Association, and President of the Jefferson County Pediatric Society.  He was also an associate professor of pediatrics in the UAB School of Medicine. 

Previous Distinguished Simpson-Ramsey Lecturers

History of the Neurodevelopment Symposium

In 2010, Fred Biasini (Associate Professor, Department of Psychology) and Rita Cowell Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neurobiology) decided to combine efforts and expand upon the Simpson-Ramsey Lectures to include lectures by scientists researching the neurobiology of neurodevelopment disorders. The initial symposium occurred on April 22^nd, 2010, and featured lectures by external and internal speakers. The symposium attracted over 200 people from 22 different departments and has continued to be successful in subsequent years.

Previous Distinguished Simpson-Ramsey/Neurodevelopment Symposium Lecturers

2010    Alcino Silva, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology and Neurobiology, University of California at Los Angeles

           Peter Mundy, Ph.D., Professor of Education and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of California-Davis

2011    John Rubenstein, M.D. Ph.D, Nina Ireland Distinguished Professor in Child Psychiatry,
           University of California at San Francisco

            Eric Klann, Ph.D., Professor of Neural Science, New York University

            Eric Courchesne, Ph.D., Professor of Neuroscience, University of California San Diego

2012    Takao Hensch, Ph.D., Professor of Neurology, Harvard

           Pat Levitt, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Dept. Cell and Neurobiology, University of Southern California

           Jack Katz, Ph.D., Speech Pathologist, Auditory Processing Service