WESTFIELD – Dr. Saul Villeda will visit Westfield State University’s Scanlon Banquet Hall on Monday, March 16 at 6 p.m. as part of the university’s Guest Lecture Series.
Villeda will speak about his current research, an initiative to make old brains young again, through the study of young and old blood in his talk titled “Vampire Therapy: Young Blood for Old Brains.”
Villeda is a faculty fellow in the department of anatomy at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research at the University of California, San Francisco. With his team of students, Villeda is trying to better understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms that promote brain rejuvenation. He and his students are focused on two main points of research: how changes in ‘old’ blood contribute to impaired cognitive function and exploring how exposure to ‘young’ blood rejuvenates cognitive function in the aging brain.
He earned his Ph.D. in neuroscience from Stanford University where he first trained as a neural stem cell biologist and later began his investigation into how systematic changes in aging blood contribute to age-related impairments in neural stem cell function and cognitive process.
Villeda’s guest lecture was organized by Robin White, an assistant professor of biology at the university. White believes that attendees of the event will be inspired by Dr. Villeda’s research and is eager to hear first-hand from an acclaimed and cutting-edge scientist.
“His work identifying factors in the blood that can improve dementia is incredibly promising, and I think many people will be excited to learn more about it,” White said.
According to White, in addition to the lecture, Villeda will give students a chance to start real conversation.
“He will get to talk with and interact with several of our students throughout the day by attending labs and having lunch with students,” she said.
White is hopeful that Villeda’s visit will spark an interest in students to pursue graduate school and scientific research in their post-baccalaureate careers. She is confident that students will leave the lecture with a deeper sense of how important research is in scientific fields.
“I hope that students will not only understand the findings of his research, but gain an appreciation for the research process and how neuroscience studies are completed,” she said.
The Guest Lecture Series is supported by funding from the Academic Affairs budget to enhance student learning and service to the larger community. An advisory committee with representation by the faculty and librarians, staff, and students review proposals and recommend selection of proposals for the year. For more information on upcoming speakers in the Guest Lecture Series, please visit http://www.westfield.ma.edu/speakerseries.
