Tuesday, August 22, 2006

New layout and functionality!!

I have upgraded my Blogger Account to the new Beta version. That's why you see a new layout. I will change some things. There is a bit too much empty space on the page, and the width of the post area could be bigger. But then again even if I dont write a lot, it looks like a big post! And, of course, my picture is too small!! Oh vanity.. :-)

But the real cool thing is the old posts. You can browse THROUGH ALL MY PAST POSTS and do not have to rely on my momentary state of the mind for thoughts on stuttering research!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

The best at the new layout is that your picture right is now.

best regards

Holger

Anonymous said...

Sorry don´t like the new layout, you should have sticked to the old one!

Gina said...

How dare you copy me! ;-)

Tom Weidig said...

No-one can copy you Gina, you are truely unique! ;-)

Are you going to be at the BSA conference in Telford.

Einar said...

Wow, new beta version... Good to change once a while, though I preferred the old design too... Ok, I'll stop nagging... ;-)

Anonymous said...

Hi,

This is the blog author, Tom!!!!!

I am unable to post any posts anymore!!! I write the post, click on PUBLISH or SAVE AS DRAFT and nothing happens!!!

So pls check from time to time. It is not that I am lazy!!! (for once! :-)

Tom Weidig said...

Just one more post to increase the number of comments.

So the reader get my message!

I tried to change back to the own format but it doesnt help... :-(

It is a shame as I want to publish the flyer for the research program at the BSA annual conference in Telford mid September.

Tom Weidig said...

Here is the research program... sorry for the format.


The new sciences of stammering
------------------------------

Over the last decade, advances in brain imaging, genetics, and pharmacology have provoked a revolution in the scientific understanding of the human brain. Scientists are now using this knowledge combined with the new research tools to tackle an age-long mystery: the mechanism and causes of stammering, and how best to treat stammering. The BSA has invited to its annual conference in Telford leading researchers in the fields of neuroscience, genetics, and pharmacology to share with us the new sciences of stammering and answer the question: How are neuroscience, pharmacology and genetics changing our understanding and treatment of stammering?
The main session of the program is the research plenary where leading researchers give conceptually clear and simple reviews of the progress made in their research area. After a tea break, the audience has the opportunity to ask probing questions to the panel or comment on any issues related to understanding or treating stuttering. The general sessions are followed by a research symposium where the experts will present and discuss cross-disciplinary topics.
For further information, please contact tom.weidig@physics.org or visit the BSA website: www.stammering.org/conf.html.


PLENARY
(Chair: Velda Osborne, Sat Sep 16th Sep 9:00-10:30)

Introducing the new sciences of stammering
(Tom Weidig)

The genetics of stuttering: a review
(Dennis Drayna, National Institute of Health, US)

The pharmacology of stuttering: a review
(Gerald Maguire, University of California at Irvine, US)

The brain and stuttering: a review
(Per Alm, University of Oxford)

Q&A SESSION
(Chair: Tom Weidig, Sat Sep 16th 11:00-12:00)
Panel consists of speakers plus Kate Watkins, and LouiseWright.


SYMPOSIUM (Chair: Tom Weidig, Sat Sep 16th 14:00-17:30)

Given a gene, what is its function? Given a function, what is its gene? What if gene combinations make up a function? (Dennis Drayna)

Similarities and differences in the functional brain abnormalities associated with developmental stuttering and with a mutation in the FOXP2 gene. (Kate Watkins)

What does a medication-induced reduction in stuttering tell us about physiology and genetics of stuttering? (Gerald Maguire)

Is the dopamine D2 receptor important for genetic childhood stuttering? Neurological incidents and subgrouping. (Per Alm)

The measurement problem in stammering: a cross-disciplinary Pandora's box. (additional workshop on Sunday morning)


Main speakers of plenary

Dr. Gerald Maguire is Associate Professor at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, Irvine. He is a member of the US national stuttering association (NSA) and currently serves on its research advisory board. As a person who stutters himself, he has been interested in investigating novel treatments for stuttering since early in his medical training. His research group was the first to investigate brain differences in stutterers using the PET brain imaging method. He was the lead investigator on many studies investigating medications for the treatment of stuttering. At the Telford BSA conference, he will also talk about the latest trial on Pagoclone. Dr Maguire has spoken at a wide range of conferences like NSA, World Congress of Stuttering and ASHA. His research appeared at news outlets like the LA Times, NPR, ABC News, and the Boston Globe.

Dr. Dennis Drayna is a senior researcher in genetics at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, where he currently serves as a Section Chief in the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. His primary research interests are the genetics of human communication disorders, work that has taken him to eight different countries on four continents in pursuit of families with these disorders. For example, he collected blood samples from an extended Pakistani family where many of its members stutter. At the Telford BSA conference, Dr. Drayna will discuss his latest research, and also collect blood samples from volunteers for his research work. He did a PhD at Harvard University, worked as a postdoctoral fellowship in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of Utah, and then spent 14 years in the biotechnology industry in the San Francisco Bay area.

Dr. Per Alm is a researcher at the University of Oxford, and works together with Dr. Kate Watkins on a project to understand the relationship between stuttering and brain functions. As a person who stutters he got involved in work on stuttering through the Swedish Stuttering Association. Having worked as an engineer in his previous life, he decided to take on stuttering, and go back to university to study neurosciences. He recently finished his PhD thesis on the causal mechanisms of stuttering at Lund University, Sweden. His attempts to combine a wide range of findings to a neurological model of stuttering have been well-received. He has especially emphasized the role of the brain structures called the basal ganglia. At the Telford BSA conference, Dr. Alm will discuss how the current understanding of the brain may help us understand stuttering.