Baycrest Health Sciences & Baycrest Foundation Publications
Issue link: http://baycrest.uberflip.com/i/141186
Baycrest conferences showcase world-leading research The frontal lobes conference attracted more than 40 internationally-recognized presenters and scientists from around the world. Boomers driving strategies for healthy aging Baby boomers have the power to change the way we think about aging and supportive models of care, keynote speaker Shirley Sharkey, a top health-care executive, told attendees of the the 9th Annual KuninLunenfeld Applied Research Unit (KLARU) Conference, Baycrest hosts its Rotman Research Institute Confer- hosted at Baycrest. ence annually and every 10 years the focus is on the frontal lobes. This year the conference was co-hosted This influential population will be "self-directed, by Baycrest and the University of California at Berke- educated, informed, physically active, computer savvy, ley, and was attended by close to 700 clinicians, scien- demanding" and have more disposable income and a tists and academics. The frontal lobes are implicated in younger attitude than their predecessors, she said. a number of disorders, including depression, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, and schizophrenia. More than 200 health-care professionals attended the The conferences advance the understanding of this conference where KLARU researchers shared promis- key part of the brain and share research into new ap- ing early evidence showing that Baycrest's innovative proaches to understanding, diagnosing and treating self management programs and lifestyle intervention these disorders. strategies are helping middle-aged and older adults age successfully. Frontal lobes research is the science of "what makes us human," explains conference co-chair Dr. Donald Stuss, Baycrest scientists publish widely a senior scientist with the RRI. The region was once In 2009, more than 180 research papers were pub- considered to be the "conductor" of the brain but that lished in peer-reviewed journals by Baycrest scien- view is shifting, he says. It is now seen more like part tists. Their work was also widely referenced by other of a chamber orchestra that works with the rest of the scientists, receiving collectively close to 9400 journal brain to integrate thought, behaviour and emotions. citations (a significantly above average number). 15 Baycrest and baycrest foundation Annual Report 2009 | 2010