Austin College will hosts its first “Lecture on Science and Leadership” Thursday, April 6, at 11 a.m. in IDEA Center, Room 127, with Dr. John Hart, professor of neurology and neurotherapeutics at University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and professor of behavioral and brain sciences at University of Texas at Dallas. Titled “Beyond the Test Tubes: Skill Sets for Scientific Success in Academia,” the lecture is hosted by the Austin College Posey Leadership Institute and STAR (STEM Teaching and Research) Leadership program.
After receiving his B.A. from Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Hart earned his medical degree at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He then completed his neurology residency at Johns Hopkins, where he also performed a fellowship in cognitive neurology and neuropsychology.
Dr. Hart is recognized by his peers as one of the world’s foremost experts on how individuals store and access knowledge in the brain, the field of cognition referred to as semantic memory. In addition to four seminal publications in Nature and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) on how the human nervous stores and retrieves knowledge in semantic memory, his laboratory has proposed one of the leading models in the field of cognitive neuroscience, the Neural Hybrid Model of Semantic Memory. His recent work has focused on applying these findings to patients with impairment in semantic memory to advance diagnoses and treatments. His laboratory focusses on applying these findings at present to multiple sclerosis, dementia, traumatic brain injury (TBI), toxin exposure (Gulf War Illness), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Dr. Hart is a past president of the Society for Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology and the Behavioral Neurology Section of the American Academy of Neurology. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, the World Journal of Psychiatry, the World Journal of Radiology, the Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences, and Neurocase. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles related to his research and presented his findings more than 150 times all over the world. He recently published a text book in his field The Neurobiology of Cognition and Behavior.
Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, international study, pre-professional foundations, leadership development, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with more than 40 percent of students representing ethnic minorities. A residential student body of approximately 1,275 students and a faculty of more than 100 allow a 13:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. The College is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. Founded in 1849, the College is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.