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Science Of Sleep, Friday 2/14 Professor Bob Stickgold, Harvard Medical School [Video]
Abstract Sleep plays a critical role in normal memory processing and mental health, beyond its obvious role in helping us maintain attention during the day. Sleep stabilizes and strengthens new memories, integrates them into existing memory networks, extracts gist and discovers relationships within new memories, and facilitates subsequent insights. At the same time, sleep disorders can exacerbate, trigger, or even cause psychiatric disorders, including depression, ADHD, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. Evidence for all these claims will be presented, and their implications for well-being discussed. Bio Robert Stickgold is an associate professor of psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. He received his B.A from Harvard University and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, both in biochemistry. He has published over 100 scientific publications, including papers in Science, Nature, JAMA, and Nature Neuroscience. His current work looks at the nature and function of sleep and dreams from a cognitive neuroscience perspective, with an emphasis on the role of sleep and dreams in memory consolidation and integration. His work is funded NIMH and Autism Speaks.

Science Of Sleep, Friday 2/14 Professor Bob Stickgold, Harvard Medical School [Video]

Abstract
Sleep plays a critical role in normal memory processing and mental health, beyond its obvious role in helping us maintain attention during the day. Sleep stabilizes and strengthens new memories, integrates them into existing memory networks, extracts gist and discovers relationships within new memories, and facilitates subsequent insights. At the same time, sleep disorders can exacerbate, trigger, or even cause psychiatric disorders, including depression, ADHD, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. Evidence for all these claims will be presented, and their implications for well-being discussed.

Bio
Robert Stickgold is an associate professor of psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. He received his B.A from Harvard University and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, both in biochemistry. He has published over 100 scientific publications, including papers in Science, Nature, JAMA, and Nature Neuroscience. His current work looks at the nature and function of sleep and dreams from a cognitive neuroscience perspective, with an emphasis on the role of sleep and dreams in memory consolidation and integration. His work is funded NIMH and Autism Speaks.

Mindfulness and Neurofeedback, Friday 2/21 Professor Judson Brewer, University of Massachusetts Medical School [Video]
Abstract Over the past decade, there has been an explosion of interest in how contemplative practices such as meditation can inform science and how science can inform these practices. Recent advances have begun to unravel the mysteries of how mindfulness practice can affect learning processes leading to positive habit change. Using evidence from clinical trials of smoking cessation, this presentation will first map out how mindfulness targets key components of operant conditioning pathways. It will then detail neuroscientific findings from novice and expert meditators using traditional and real-time fMRI to link the subjective experience of effortless awareness that may be a key aspect of mindfulness, to regional brain activity in the default mode network. It will conclude with a discussion of how targeted neurofeedback may provide a “mental mirror” for augmenting mindfulness training. Bio Judson Brewer MD PhD is the Director of Research at the Center for Mindfulness and associate professor in medicine and psychiatry at UMass Medical School. He also is adjunct faculty at Yale University, and a research affiliate at MIT. A psychiatrist and internationally known expert in mindfulness training for addictions, Brewer has developed and tested novel mindfulness programs for addictions, including both in-person and app-based treatments. He has also studied the underlying neural mechanisms of mindfulness using standard and real-time fMRI, and is currently translating these findings into clinical use. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, spoken at international conferences, presented to the US President’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, been featured at TEDx, Time magazine (top 100 new health discoveries of 2013), Forbes, Businessweek, NPR and the BBC among others. He writes an addiction blog for The Huffington Post.

Mindfulness and Neurofeedback, Friday 2/21 Professor Judson Brewer, University of Massachusetts Medical School [Video]

Abstract
Over the past decade, there has been an explosion of interest in how contemplative practices such as meditation can inform science and how science can inform these practices. Recent advances have begun to unravel the mysteries of how mindfulness practice can affect learning processes leading to positive habit change. Using evidence from clinical trials of smoking cessation, this presentation will first map out how mindfulness targets key components of operant conditioning pathways. It will then detail neuroscientific findings from novice and expert meditators using traditional and real-time fMRI to link the subjective experience of effortless awareness that may be a key aspect of mindfulness, to regional brain activity in the default mode network. It will conclude with a discussion of how targeted neurofeedback may provide a “mental mirror” for augmenting mindfulness training.

Bio
Judson Brewer MD PhD is the Director of Research at the Center for Mindfulness and associate professor in medicine and psychiatry at UMass Medical School. He also is adjunct faculty at Yale University, and a research affiliate at MIT. A psychiatrist and internationally known expert in mindfulness training for addictions, Brewer has developed and tested novel mindfulness programs for addictions, including both in-person and app-based treatments. He has also studied the underlying neural mechanisms of mindfulness using standard and real-time fMRI, and is currently translating these findings into clinical use. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, spoken at international conferences, presented to the US President’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, been featured at TEDx, Time magazine (top 100 new health discoveries of 2013), Forbes, Businessweek, NPR and the BBC among others. He writes an addiction blog for The Huffington Post.

Self-Tracking Devices, Friday 2/28 Natasha Dow Schull, MIT [ Video]
Abstract Self-tracking devices Abstract Digital self-tracking, sometimes called ‘life hacking’ or ‘personal analytics,’ involves parsing ones experience (e.g. bodily processes, use of time, emotional states) into digital bits of information and then feeding this information back into everyday life in the form of behavioral adjustments – a trend some have called “algorithmic living.” While people have long used technology to record and reflect upon how they live, the present historical moment is witnessing a dramatic expansion in the practice and scope of self-tracking. As digital self-tracking increasingly migrates from Quantified Self meetups and hacker conventions into the aisles of Best Buy, smartphone app stores, and healthcare settings and as more and more individuals have at their fingertips devices and software with which to measure, assess, and modulate themselves, what new modes of self-understanding and self-regulation emerge? Bio Natasha Dow Schüll is a cultural anthropologist and associate professor at MIT’s Program in Science, Technology, and Society. Her book, ADDICTION BY DESIGN: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas (Princeton University Press 2012), draws on extended research among compulsive gamblers and the designers of the slot machines they play to explore the relationship between technology design and the experience of addiction. Her current research concerns concerns the rise of digital self-tracking technologies and the new modes of introspection and self-governance they engender. Schüll’s research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and featured on 60 minutes and in The New York Times, The Economist, The Atlantic Monthly, The Washington Post, The Financial Times, Forbes, Salon, NPR, WGBH, and WNYC, among others.

Self-Tracking Devices, Friday 2/28 Natasha Dow Schull, MIT [ Video]

Abstract
Self-tracking devices

Abstract
Digital self-tracking, sometimes called ‘life hacking’ or ‘personal analytics,’ involves parsing ones experience (e.g. bodily processes, use of time, emotional states) into digital bits of information and then feeding this information back into everyday life in the form of behavioral adjustments – a trend some have called “algorithmic living.” While people have long used technology to record and reflect upon how they live, the present historical moment is witnessing a dramatic expansion in the practice and scope of self-tracking. As digital self-tracking increasingly migrates from Quantified Self meetups and hacker conventions into the aisles of Best Buy, smartphone app stores, and healthcare settings and as more and more individuals have at their fingertips devices and software with which to measure, assess, and modulate themselves, what new modes of self-understanding and self-regulation emerge?

Bio
Natasha Dow Schüll is a cultural anthropologist and associate professor at MIT’s Program in Science, Technology, and Society. Her book, ADDICTION BY DESIGN: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas (Princeton University Press 2012), draws on extended research among compulsive gamblers and the designers of the slot machines they play to explore the relationship between technology design and the experience of addiction. Her current research concerns concerns the rise of digital self-tracking technologies and the new modes of introspection and self-governance they engender. Schüll’s research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and featured on 60 minutes and in The New York Times, The Economist, The Atlantic Monthly, The Washington Post, The Financial Times, Forbes, Salon, NPR, WGBH, and WNYC, among others.

Human Centered Design, Ari Adler and Greg Wolos , Friday 2/28, IDEO.
Abstract IDEO we take a human-centered approach to design, working to bring new products, services, and digital experiences into the world. We use this approach in order to more deeply understand the people we are designing for and to be better equipped to address their needs, goals and aspirations through innovative design solutions. In this session, we will cover some of the fundamental concepts of the human centered design process using example techniques, tools and case studies from our work in the health and wellbeing space. Ari Adler Ari Adler is a Portfolio Director in IDEO's Boston studio. He works across projects to guide individual designers, teams, and clients in the human-centered design and innovation process, with a focus on solving complex technical challenges. Ari has been at IDEO since 2000, starting in Palo Alto as a mechanical engineer and project leader. After moving to Boston in 2005, he helped build and lead the Health and Wellness practice. Ari has worked with clients in the medical, consumer, and industrial domains, and has played a leadership role in all phases of the design process: from insight gathering, design strategy and concept ideation, to detailed engineering design, and project stewardship. He has been named as an inventor on 19 patents, including work on padlocks, sports equipment, office furniture, consumer health packaging and powered surgical instruments. In addition to project work, Ari has facilitated design and innovation workshops for corporate clients, academic institutions, and nonprofits in the US, Europe, and Latin America and has lectured on design thinking and human-centered product innovation at UC Berkeley, Harvard and MIT. Before joining IDEO, Ari was a product designer at Continuum. Ari holds a BS in Physics and Mathematics from Brandeis University, and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, where he was a researcher at the Media Lab. For his Master's thesis, he designed a low-cost telemedicine system for use in less developed countries. In addition to the US, Ari has lived in Mexico and Colombia, and is fluent in Spanish. Greg Wolos Greg Wolos is a Senior Design Lead at IDEO’s Boston studio. He leads an array of projects that range from detailed engineering to high level design strategy, but always with an emphasis on solving complex problems. He strongly believes in a human centered approach to design, combining his engineering background and expertise for technical problem solving with a love for craft and a passion for the user. At IDEO, he has worked with clients across a breadth of industries including home audio, medical devices, manufacturing strategy, healthcare strategy, large scale industrial shipping, consumer electronics, quantified self devices, and home goods. In addition to project work, Greg is interested in craft and the role design plays in the space between the digital and physical worlds. He enjoys the porous nature of the IDEO environment and finds that his project work often informs his craft, and vice versa. Before joining IDEO, Greg was a stress analyst for The Boeing Company, working on composite structures for the 777 and 747. He has worked for W. L . Gore & Associates designing and leading teams to develop hard disk drive filtration products. While at Gore, Greg specialized in design for high volume injection molding, semi-automated assembly, and global supply chain strategy. Prior to IDEO, Greg also co-founded a design company focusing on furniture and minimalist home goods, an experience that solidified his interest in leveraging his engineering, manufacturing, and design expertise. Greg holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado, and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Delaware. For his Master’s thesis, he developed a novel test and device to visualize cartilage in 3d using sapphire coverslips. Greg’s work has been on view at the Smithsonian, he’s a US patent holder, and he’s spoken about prototyping in the design process at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He is happiest when it’s Sunday morning, he’s in the woodshop, and Johnny Cash is on the radio.

Human Centered Design, Ari Adler and Greg Wolos , Friday 2/28, IDEO.

Abstract
IDEO we take a human-centered approach to design, working to bring new products, services, and digital experiences into the world. We use this approach in order to more deeply understand the people we are designing for and to be better equipped to address their needs, goals and aspirations through innovative design solutions. In this session, we will cover some of the fundamental concepts of the human centered design process using example techniques, tools and case studies from our work in the health and wellbeing space.

Ari Adler
Ari Adler is a Portfolio Director in IDEO's Boston studio. He works across projects to guide individual designers, teams, and clients in the human-centered design and innovation process, with a focus on solving complex technical challenges. Ari has been at IDEO since 2000, starting in Palo Alto as a mechanical engineer and project leader. After moving to Boston in 2005, he helped build and lead the Health and Wellness practice. Ari has worked with clients in the medical, consumer, and industrial domains, and has played a leadership role in all phases of the design process: from insight gathering, design strategy and concept ideation, to detailed engineering design, and project stewardship. He has been named as an inventor on 19 patents, including work on padlocks, sports equipment, office furniture, consumer health packaging and powered surgical instruments. In addition to project work, Ari has facilitated design and innovation workshops for corporate clients, academic institutions, and nonprofits in the US, Europe, and Latin America and has lectured on design thinking and human-centered product innovation at UC Berkeley, Harvard and MIT. Before joining IDEO, Ari was a product designer at Continuum.

Ari holds a BS in Physics and Mathematics from Brandeis University, and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, where he was a researcher at the Media Lab. For his Master's thesis, he designed a low-cost telemedicine system for use in less developed countries. In addition to the US, Ari has lived in Mexico and Colombia, and is fluent in Spanish.

Greg Wolos
Greg Wolos is a Senior Design Lead at IDEO’s Boston studio. He leads an array of projects that range from detailed engineering to high level design strategy, but always with an emphasis on solving complex problems. He strongly believes in a human centered approach to design, combining his engineering background and expertise for technical problem solving with a love for craft and a passion for the user. At IDEO, he has worked with clients across a breadth of industries including home audio, medical devices, manufacturing strategy, healthcare strategy, large scale industrial shipping, consumer electronics, quantified self devices, and home goods. In addition to project work, Greg is interested in craft and the role design plays in the space between the digital and physical worlds. He enjoys the porous nature of the IDEO environment and finds that his project work often informs his craft, and vice versa.

Before joining IDEO, Greg was a stress analyst for The Boeing Company, working on composite structures for the 777 and 747. He has worked for W. L . Gore & Associates designing and leading teams to develop hard disk drive filtration products. While at Gore, Greg specialized in design for high volume injection molding, semi-automated assembly, and global supply chain strategy. Prior to IDEO, Greg also co-founded a design company focusing on furniture and minimalist home goods, an experience that solidified his interest in leveraging his engineering, manufacturing, and design expertise.

Greg holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado, and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Delaware. For his Master’s thesis, he developed a novel test and device to visualize cartilage in 3d using sapphire coverslips. Greg’s work has been on view at the Smithsonian, he’s a US patent holder, and he’s spoken about prototyping in the design process at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He is happiest when it’s Sunday morning, he’s in the woodshop, and Johnny Cash is on the radio.

Optimizing your Brain, Friday 3/7 3pm in E14-244, Professor John Ratey, Harvard Medical School. [Video]
Abstract Dr. Ratey will address the connection between exercise and the brain's performance and the benefits of utilizing movement to prepare the brain for learning. He will discuss how exercise can supercharge mental circuits to sharpen thinking and enhance memory and be used as one of the best ways to help with emotional regulation and optimize our ability to learn, remember and perform. Bio John J. Ratey, MD, is an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, research synthesizer, speaker, and best selling author. An internationally recognized expert in Neuropsychiatry, Dr. Ratey has published over 60 peer reviewed articles, and 8 books published in 14 languages, including the groundbreaking ADD-ADHD “Driven to Distraction” series with Ned Hallowell, MD. With the publication of his most recent book, "Spark-The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain," Dr. Ratey has established himself as one of the world's foremost authorities on the brain-fitness connection. He serves as Adjunct Professor at National Taiwan Sports University and is Reebok's Ambassador for Active Kids. Recognized by his peers as one of the Best Doctors in America since 1997, Dr. Ratey and his work are frequently profiled in the media, where he’s been featured on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS and NPR, as well as in The New York Times, Newsweek, The Washington Post, US News and World Report, Men’s Health, and other national publications.

Optimizing your Brain, Friday 3/7 3pm in E14-244, Professor John Ratey, Harvard Medical School. [Video]

Abstract
Dr. Ratey will address the connection between exercise and the brain's performance and the benefits of utilizing movement to prepare the brain for learning. He will discuss how exercise can supercharge mental circuits to sharpen thinking and enhance memory and be used as one of the best ways to help with emotional regulation and optimize our ability to learn, remember and perform.

Bio
John J. Ratey, MD, is an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, research synthesizer, speaker, and best selling author. An internationally recognized expert in Neuropsychiatry, Dr. Ratey has published over 60 peer reviewed articles, and 8 books published in 14 languages, including the groundbreaking ADD-ADHD “Driven to Distraction” series with Ned Hallowell, MD. With the publication of his most recent book, "Spark-The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain," Dr. Ratey has established himself as one of the world's foremost authorities on the brain-fitness connection. He serves as Adjunct Professor at National Taiwan Sports University and is Reebok's Ambassador for Active Kids. Recognized by his peers as one of the Best Doctors in America since 1997, Dr. Ratey and his work are frequently profiled in the media, where he’s been featured on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS and NPR, as well as in The New York Times, Newsweek, The Washington Post, US News and World Report, Men’s Health, and other national publications.

Optimizing Human Performance Friday 3/14 Marko Ahtisaari, MIT Media Lab DIrector's Fellow http://www.media.mit.edu/video/view/ahtisaari-2014-03-14
Abstract Marko Ahtisaari will discuss the topic of optimising human performance in the context of creative collaborative work. He’ll discuss his recent experience leading the multidisciplinary Nokia design studio and the techniques he has personally used to stay creative and productive. He will highlight the relevant research as background to these practices. The talk takes a holistic view of everyday life. The goal is to spark a process of positive self-reflection on everyday practices in the class. Bio Marko is a technology entrepreneur and designer. For the last four years he was executive vice president of design at Nokia, responsible for hardware and user interface design. Recent work by the studio includes the award winning Lumia family of smartphones and the Nokia N9. Prior to Nokia, Marko was CEO and Co-founder of Dopplr (acquired by Nokia in 2009) and part of the team at Blyk, the free ad-funded mobile network. He left Nokia in November 2013 to return to being an entrepreneur.

Optimizing Human Performance Friday 3/14 Marko Ahtisaari, MIT Media Lab DIrector's Fellow http://www.media.mit.edu/video/view/ahtisaari-2014-03-14

Abstract
Marko Ahtisaari will discuss the topic of optimising human performance in the context of creative collaborative work. He’ll discuss his recent experience leading the multidisciplinary Nokia design studio and the techniques he has personally used to stay creative and productive. He will highlight the relevant research as background to these practices. The talk takes a holistic view of everyday life. The goal is to spark a process of positive self-reflection on everyday practices in the class.

Bio
Marko is a technology entrepreneur and designer. For the last four years he was executive vice president of design at Nokia, responsible for hardware and user interface design. Recent work by the studio includes the award winning Lumia family of smartphones and the Nokia N9. Prior to Nokia, Marko was CEO and Co-founder of Dopplr (acquired by Nokia in 2009) and part of the team at Blyk, the free ad-funded mobile network. He left Nokia in November 2013 to return to being an entrepreneur.

A Whole Body Approach To Brain Health, Friday 3/21 Martha Herbert, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School [Video]
Abstract Physical and biological needs of the brain must be met as a precondition for "higher" functions to be performed. Basic physical and biological functions are performed by an array of cell and tissue types without which neurons could not live or function. The quality of health, lifestyle and environment can profoundly affect these physical and biological parameters. Transduction of molecular and metabolic biology into electrophysiological signaling is vulnerable to poor physical and biological health, and conversely can be tuned up by improving whole-body health. Many chronic neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative conditions can potentially be modulated, improved or slowed in their progression in this fashion In addition, poor health status can increase vulnerability to stress, brain injury and brain disease, while good health status may confer protective resiliency. Taking a whole body approach to brain health can open the way to many practical ways to support the brain through presently available health practices, and improve effectiveness of medical practice and can open new avenues for systems brain-body research. Bio Martha Herbert, PhD, MD, www.marthaherbert.org, is a pediatric neurologist and neuroscientist at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, where she is an assistant professor in Neurology. She is an affiliate of the Harvard-MIT-MGH Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging where she directs the TRANSCEND Research Program, which uses advanced brain imaging techniques and biomarkers to look at metabolic, perfusion, and brain function measures of brain change. She received her medical degree at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, her residency training at New York Hospital-Cornell and Massachsetts General Hospital-Harvard, and her doctorate at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her academic research interests include how changes in whole-body physiology, structure and organization of movement may impact electrophysiology to alter brain function, development and structure; how environmental influences can act through our physiology to degrade molecular, tissue and neuroglial function - or create improvement and fulfill potential; and how emerging bioinformatics and small-scale measurement technologies can facilitate crowdsourcing of health and lifestyle data and build motivation to make these healthful changes. She works to convey to the scientific, policy and public communities that there is a better, more inclusive and action-promoting way of looking at autism, brain health and chronic disease, which is the message of her book, The Autism Revolution: Whole Body Strategies for Making Life All It Can Be (Harvard Health Publications and Random House, 2012, www.AutismRevolution.org and www.autismWHYandHOW.org).

A Whole Body Approach To Brain Health, Friday 3/21 Martha Herbert, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School [Video]

Abstract
Physical and biological needs of the brain must be met as a precondition for "higher" functions to be performed. Basic physical and biological functions are performed by an array of cell and tissue types without which neurons could not live or function. The quality of health, lifestyle and environment can profoundly affect these physical and biological parameters. Transduction of molecular and metabolic biology into electrophysiological signaling is vulnerable to poor physical and biological health, and conversely can be tuned up by improving whole-body health. Many chronic neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative conditions can potentially be modulated, improved or slowed in their progression in this fashion In addition, poor health status can increase vulnerability to stress, brain injury and brain disease, while good health status may confer protective resiliency. Taking a whole body approach to brain health can open the way to many practical ways to support the brain through presently available health practices, and improve effectiveness of medical practice and can open new avenues for systems brain-body research.

Bio
Martha Herbert, PhD, MD, www.marthaherbert.org, is a pediatric neurologist and neuroscientist at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, where she is an assistant professor in Neurology. She is an affiliate of the Harvard-MIT-MGH Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging where she directs the TRANSCEND Research Program, which uses advanced brain imaging techniques and biomarkers to look at metabolic, perfusion, and brain function measures of brain change. She received her medical degree at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, her residency training at New York Hospital-Cornell and Massachsetts General Hospital-Harvard, and her doctorate at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her academic research interests include how changes in whole-body physiology, structure and organization of movement may impact electrophysiology to alter brain function, development and structure; how environmental influences can act through our physiology to degrade molecular, tissue and neuroglial function - or create improvement and fulfill potential; and how emerging bioinformatics and small-scale measurement technologies can facilitate crowdsourcing of health and lifestyle data and build motivation to make these healthful changes. She works to convey to the scientific, policy and public communities that there is a better, more inclusive and action-promoting way of looking at autism, brain health and chronic disease, which is the message of her book, The Autism Revolution: Whole Body Strategies for Making Life All It Can Be (Harvard Health Publications and Random House, 2012, www.AutismRevolution.org and www.autismWHYandHOW.org).

Essential Self Technologies: Tapping into the Wisdom of the Body, Thursday, 4/11 Linda Stone, MIT Media Lab Advisory Board [Video]
Abstract Essential Self Technologies connect us with our essential nature through the sensing and feeling self. These technologies are often passive, ambient, and non-invasive. They involve the use of light, vibration, sound, and music to support us in discovering and sustaining flow-like states and contributing to a sense of embodiment. While quantified self technologies offer value by contributing to awareness (of steps, pulse ox, HRV, etc), Essential Self Technologies support us in tapping into the wisdom of the body. Quantified Self is to Essential Self as syntax is to semantics. See: http://radar.oreilly.com/2013/12/quantified-self-to-essential-self-mind-and-body-as-partners-in-health.html Bio Stone spent close to twenty years in high tech, first at Apple, then at Microsoft. At Apple, she did pioneering work in multimedia and publishing between 1086-1993, and also worked for CEO, John Sculley. At Microsoft, she did pioneering work in online social life an online communities between 1993-2002, and also worked for CEO, Steve Ballmer. From 1994-1999, she was a lecturer for the NYU Interactive Telecommunications Graduate Program. She's coined a number of phrases including: continuous partial attention, email apnea, screen apnea, conscious computing, Essential Self Technologies. Currently, she blogs, writes, consults, and advises, both for profit and non for profit companies. She's on the Advisory Board for the MIT Media Lab. http://www.lindastone.net On Twitter: @LindaStone

Essential Self Technologies: Tapping into the Wisdom of the Body, Thursday, 4/11 Linda Stone, MIT Media Lab Advisory Board [Video]

Abstract
Essential Self Technologies connect us with our essential nature through the sensing and feeling self. These technologies are often passive, ambient, and non-invasive. They involve the use of light, vibration, sound, and music to support us in discovering and sustaining flow-like states and contributing to a sense of embodiment. While quantified self technologies offer value by contributing to awareness (of steps, pulse ox, HRV, etc), Essential Self Technologies support us in tapping into the wisdom of the body. Quantified Self is to Essential Self as syntax is to semantics. See:
http://radar.oreilly.com/2013/12/quantified-self-to-essential-self-mind-and-body-as-partners-in-health.html

Bio
Stone spent close to twenty years in high tech, first at Apple, then at Microsoft. At Apple, she did pioneering work in multimedia and publishing between 1086-1993, and also worked for CEO, John Sculley. At Microsoft, she did pioneering work in online social life an online communities between 1993-2002, and also worked for CEO, Steve Ballmer. From 1994-1999, she was a lecturer for the NYU Interactive Telecommunications Graduate Program. She's coined a number of phrases including: continuous partial attention, email apnea, screen apnea, conscious computing, Essential Self Technologies. Currently, she blogs, writes, consults, and advises, both for profit and non for profit companies. She's on the Advisory Board for the MIT Media Lab. http://www.lindastone.net On Twitter: @LindaStone

Sparking Behavior Change to Create a Culture of Health, Friday, 4/11 Lori Melichar, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation [In E15 Bartos Auditorium] [Video]
Abstract Why do we reach for a cookie when we know an apple is better for us, even if we’re trying to lose weight? And, more to the point: What does it take to get us to reach for the apple instead? Find out what the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is learning about what it really takes to change people’s behavior. Drawing on ideas from the worlds of science, advertising, economics, social networking and design, Dr. Melichar will review major influence strategies and emerging research. At the end of her talk, she’d like to hear from you: What influences your behavior? What does it take to get you to change? And what innovative ideas do you have for motivating behavior change – in the arena of health, or otherwise? Bio Lori Melichar is a labor economist and team director at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), where she focuses on scouting cutting edge ideas across sectors with the potential to create a culture of health. Previously at the Foundation she managed several programs to help create a well-trained health care workforce and was part of efforts to advance the science of quality improvement (QI) research and evaluation. Prior to joining RWJF in 2002 Melichar served with the National Institutes of Child Health and Development and the Demography of Inequality initiative at the University of Maryland Center on Population, Gender and Inequality. She also has worked at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals as a consultant and economic policy analyst and at the Project Hope Center for Health Affairs. Melichar holds a PhD and MA in economics from the University of Maryland at College Park and a BA in economics from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. An Oklahoma native, she resides in New York City with her husband and children.

Sparking Behavior Change to Create a Culture of Health, Friday, 4/11 Lori Melichar, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation [In E15 Bartos Auditorium] [Video]

Abstract
Why do we reach for a cookie when we know an apple is better for us, even if we’re trying to lose weight? And, more to the point: What does it take to get us to reach for the apple instead? Find out what the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is learning about what it really takes to change people’s behavior. Drawing on ideas from the worlds of science, advertising, economics, social networking and design, Dr. Melichar will review major influence strategies and emerging research. At the end of her talk, she’d like to hear from you: What influences your behavior? What does it take to get you to change? And what innovative ideas do you have for motivating behavior change – in the arena of health, or otherwise?

Bio
Lori Melichar is a labor economist and team director at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), where she focuses on scouting cutting edge ideas across sectors with the potential to create a culture of health. Previously at the Foundation she managed several programs to help create a well-trained health care workforce and was part of efforts to advance the science of quality improvement (QI) research and evaluation. Prior to joining RWJF in 2002 Melichar served with the National Institutes of Child Health and Development and the Demography of Inequality initiative at the University of Maryland Center on Population, Gender and Inequality. She also has worked at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals as a consultant and economic policy analyst and at the Project Hope Center for Health Affairs. Melichar holds a PhD and MA in economics from the University of Maryland at College Park and a BA in economics from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. An Oklahoma native, she resides in New York City with her husband and children.

Three Lessons from Coaching Thousands of Tiny Habits, Friday, 4/11 BJ Fogg, Stanford University
Abstract Over the last 26 months, I've used email to coach over 21,000 people in a new method of habit formation. This was not my intent at the start. But week after week, as more people signed up for my 5-day course, I just kept going, day after day, even while on vacation. (Whew!) From my personal interactions with so many, I saw patterns in people's struggles to improve their lives. Along the way I revised my teaching to help people focus on extremely small changes, to better recognize and celebrate their successes, and to trust a process of habit formation that does not rely on willpower. In all of this, I became deeply convinced that motivation is not the key to long-term behavior change. More important is making the behavior easy to do and pairing it with an existing routine to trigger performance. Bio BJ Fogg received his doctorate from Stanford, investigating how computers can be designed to influence people. Today he is the Director of Stanford's Behavior Design Lab. His lab's current focus is on "Trigger Design." Each year Fogg creates a new course to teach at Stanford, with topics ranging from mobile persuasion to health habits. Outside of Stanford, Fogg teaches a 2-day boot camp in behavior design. He's trained innovators from Google, Kaiser, Microsoft, and Accenture, as well as startups like Red Brick, Lift, and FitBit. During the evenings and weekends, he has personally coached over 20,000 people in creating new habits, using a method he calls Tiny Habits. Fortune Magazine named Fogg as one of “10 New Gurus You Should Know.” Fun fact: The co-founder of Instagram was in Fogg's 2006 course. A project he did (called "Send the Sunshine") ultimately led to Instagram.

Three Lessons from Coaching Thousands of Tiny Habits, Friday, 4/11 BJ Fogg, Stanford University

Abstract
Over the last 26 months, I've used email to coach over 21,000 people in a new method of habit formation. This was not my intent at the start. But week after week, as more people signed up for my 5-day course, I just kept going, day after day, even while on vacation. (Whew!) From my personal interactions with so many, I saw patterns in people's struggles to improve their lives. Along the way I revised my teaching to help people focus on extremely small changes, to better recognize and celebrate their successes, and to trust a process of habit formation that does not rely on willpower. In all of this, I became deeply convinced that motivation is not the key to long-term behavior change. More important is making the behavior easy to do and pairing it with an existing routine to trigger performance.

Bio

BJ Fogg received his doctorate from Stanford, investigating how computers can be designed to influence people. Today he is the Director of Stanford's Behavior Design Lab. His lab's current focus is on "Trigger Design." Each year Fogg creates a new course to teach at Stanford, with topics ranging from mobile persuasion to health habits. Outside of Stanford, Fogg teaches a 2-day boot camp in behavior design. He's trained innovators from Google, Kaiser, Microsoft, and Accenture, as well as startups like Red Brick, Lift, and FitBit. During the evenings and weekends, he has personally coached over 20,000 people in creating new habits, using a method he calls Tiny Habits. Fortune Magazine named Fogg as one of “10 New Gurus You Should Know.” Fun fact: The co-founder of Instagram was in Fogg's 2006 course. A project he did (called "Send the Sunshine") ultimately led to Instagram.

Brain Fitness Friday 4/18 4-5pm, Professor Alvaro Pascual-Leone, Beth Israel Medical Center & Harvard Medical School (In E15 Bartos) [Video]
Abstract The human brain is made up of neurons, highly sophisticated and stable cellular structures. However, neurons are engaged in dynamically changing networks that provide a most energy efficient, spatially compact, and precise means to process input signals and generate adaptable responses to a changing environment. These networks can be characterized in humans using neurophysiologic and neuroimaging techniques. Plasticity is an intrinsic property of such networks, and may be best conceptualized as evolution’s invention to enable the nervous system to escape the restrictions of its own genome (and its highly specialized cellular specification), and thus adapt to environmental pressures, physiologic changes, and experiences. Plasticity mechanisms change across the lifespan and as such this can have an impact on the brain’s capacity to adapt to changes in and demands from the environment. However, these age-related changes in efficacy of plasticity mechanisms also result in a greater risk of general disease and disability. Noninvasive brain stimulation (NBS) offers a means to selectively modulate activity across specific neural networks. This can be demonstrated in studies combining NBS with functional neuroimaging (e.g. resting state functional connectivity MRI). Such MRI-guided NBS can prime neural networks and make them more receptive of plastic changes induced by cognitive training, thus enhancing desirable behavioral effects. The combination of NBS with cognitive training is thus a promising approach to promote the efficacy of network modulation strategies in health and disease. Ultimately these multifactorial intervention approaches offer the promise of individualized, controlled guidance of brain activity to minimize functional consequences of insults, restore function, and prevent age-related decline. The goal of BIDMC’s Brain Fit Club (BFC) is to translate new discoveries in brain sciences into personalized therapies for sustaining brain health, and provide the resources for patients and healthy individuals alike. We hold that aging brains stay healthy best, and injured brains heal faster, with the right kind of mental activity, social engagement, and brain-specific exercises geared to modulate specific brain networks that map onto specific behavioral and cognitive functions. BIDMC’s BFC integrates education and personalized care. In as much as a physical fitness club provides group instruction, personal trainers, exercise equipment, and training studios, the BFC is a dedicated space in which specialized staff teach, train, and motivate. BFC members are given the tools necessary for sustaining continued brain health through scientifically-validated brain training exercises, group classes on sleep and nutrition, mindfulness training, yoga, music, and assistive technologies helpful in daily life. Socialization through peer support (via formal and informal groups, moderated blogs) is central to the BFC, both for sustaining motivation and because this is a well-accepted, key element in cognitive health. Each BFC member begins with a comprehensive neuropsychological and neurophysiologic evaluation, after which the team develops an individualized interventional plan based on each member’s profile. Success is monitored continuously and plans are adapted to accommodate changing needs. BFC’s long-term vision is to replace the focus on illness with a focus on wellness, positive lifestyle choices, and neurologic illness prevention. It is our expectation that the BFC will become as commonplace and widely beneficial as the neighborhood gym. Bio Dr. Pascual-Leone serves as the Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research at Harvard Medical School and has directed the Clinical Research Center Program of Harvard Catalyst since 2012. Before he served as Program Director (2001-12) at the Harvard-Thorndike GCRC at BIDMC. Pascual-Leone is an HMS Professor of Neurology, and an internationally recognized pioneer in the field of noninvasive brain stimulation where his contributions span from technology development, through basic neurobiologic insights from animal studies and modeling approaches, to human proof-of-principle and multicenter clinical trials. His clinical research using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been fundamental in establishing the field of therapeutic noninvasive brain stimulation, securing FDA approval for TMS in depression and human cortical mapping, and opening up a growing number of applications in clinical neuroscience. Dr. Pascual-Leone and his team combine various brain imaging and brain stimulation methodologies to characterize brain plasticity across the lifespan in health and disease. He continues to work as a Cognitive Neurologist.

Brain Fitness Friday 4/18 4-5pm, Professor Alvaro Pascual-Leone, Beth Israel Medical Center & Harvard Medical School (In E15 Bartos) [Video]

Abstract
The human brain is made up of neurons, highly sophisticated and stable cellular structures. However, neurons are engaged in dynamically changing networks that provide a most energy efficient, spatially compact, and precise means to process input signals and generate adaptable responses to a changing environment. These networks can be characterized in humans using neurophysiologic and neuroimaging techniques. Plasticity is an intrinsic property of such networks, and may be best conceptualized as evolution’s invention to enable the nervous system to escape the restrictions of its own genome (and its highly specialized cellular specification), and thus adapt to environmental pressures, physiologic changes, and experiences. Plasticity mechanisms change across the lifespan and as such this can have an impact on the brain’s capacity to adapt to changes in and demands from the environment. However, these age-related changes in efficacy of plasticity mechanisms also result in a greater risk of general disease and disability.

Noninvasive brain stimulation (NBS) offers a means to selectively modulate activity across specific neural networks. This can be demonstrated in studies combining NBS with functional neuroimaging (e.g. resting state functional connectivity MRI). Such MRI-guided NBS can prime neural networks and make them more receptive of plastic changes induced by cognitive training, thus enhancing desirable behavioral effects. The combination of NBS with cognitive training is thus a promising approach to promote the efficacy of network modulation strategies in health and disease. Ultimately these multifactorial intervention approaches offer the promise of individualized, controlled guidance of brain activity to minimize functional consequences of insults, restore function, and prevent age-related decline.

The goal of BIDMC’s Brain Fit Club (BFC) is to translate new discoveries in brain sciences into personalized therapies for sustaining brain health, and provide the resources for patients and healthy individuals alike. We hold that aging brains stay healthy best, and injured brains heal faster, with the right kind of mental activity, social engagement, and brain-specific exercises geared to modulate specific brain networks that map onto specific behavioral and cognitive functions.

BIDMC’s BFC integrates education and personalized care. In as much as a physical fitness club provides group instruction, personal trainers, exercise equipment, and training studios, the BFC is a dedicated space in which specialized staff teach, train, and motivate. BFC members are given the tools necessary for sustaining continued brain health through scientifically-validated brain training exercises, group classes on sleep and nutrition, mindfulness training, yoga, music, and assistive technologies helpful in daily life. Socialization through peer support (via formal and informal groups, moderated blogs) is central to the BFC, both for sustaining motivation and because this is a well-accepted, key element in cognitive health. Each BFC member begins with a comprehensive neuropsychological and neurophysiologic evaluation, after which the team develops an individualized interventional plan based on each member’s profile. Success is monitored continuously and plans are adapted to accommodate changing needs.

BFC’s long-term vision is to replace the focus on illness with a focus on wellness, positive lifestyle choices, and neurologic illness prevention. It is our expectation that the BFC will become as commonplace and widely beneficial as the neighborhood gym.

Bio
Dr. Pascual-Leone serves as the Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research at Harvard Medical School and has directed the Clinical Research Center Program of Harvard Catalyst since 2012. Before he served as Program Director (2001-12) at the Harvard-Thorndike GCRC at BIDMC. Pascual-Leone is an HMS Professor of Neurology, and an internationally recognized pioneer in the field of noninvasive brain stimulation where his contributions span from technology development, through basic neurobiologic insights from animal studies and modeling approaches, to human proof-of-principle and multicenter clinical trials. His clinical research using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been fundamental in establishing the field of therapeutic noninvasive brain stimulation, securing FDA approval for TMS in depression and human cortical mapping, and opening up a growing number of applications in clinical neuroscience. Dr. Pascual-Leone and his team combine various brain imaging and brain stimulation methodologies to characterize brain plasticity across the lifespan in health and disease. He continues to work as a Cognitive Neurologist.

Modeling Health Outcomes Using Mobile Sensors, Thursday, 5/2 Anmol Madan, Ginger IO
Abstract Mobile phones are a pervasive platform for opportunistic sensing of social and health related behaviors. In this talk, I discuss how sensor data from mobile phones can be used to model and predict health outcomes. The talk starts with a review of research at the MIT Media Lab, and then transitions into how Ginger.io has built a commercial platform to collect, annotate, analyze and drive healthcare interventions at scale, deployed with major US hospital systems and healthcare providers. The Ginger.io three-part platform -- patient app, behavioral analytics engine, and provider dashboard -- applies this technology to give care providers a window into their patients' health between office visits. Our mobile app uses smartphone sensors to passively collect information about a patient’s daily patterns. Using this data, our machine learning models are able to detect at-risk patients significantly better than the standard of care. Any concerning changes in behavior are communicated to the provider through our simple, action-oriented web dashboard. Ginger.io is part of the care solutions at institutions such as Kaiser Permanente, Novant Health, UCSF, Duke Medical and Cincinnati Children's. Bio Anmol Madan is CEO & Co-Founder at Ginger.io. He leads the overall product vision and business strategy at Ginger.io, and has extensive research experience in modeling large-scale human behavior data using statistical and pattern recognition methods. His past research has been featured in academic publications in computer science, and is frequently seen in popular media and press. He received his PhD from the Media Lab, at MIT (with Alex Pentland), and is a frequent speaker on the topics of behavioral analytics, data privacy, and healthcare entrepreneurship. Under his leadership, Ginger.io has been deployed at over 20 large healthcare institutions, and won industry awards (over $500k), was cited as one of the most exciting companies in health data/IT space by Todd Park (US White House CTO), and honored as one of 50 Disruptors for 2013 (CNBC), and 10 Most Innovative Healthcare Companies in the world (FastCompany).

Modeling Health Outcomes Using Mobile Sensors, Thursday, 5/2 Anmol Madan, Ginger IO

Abstract
Mobile phones are a pervasive platform for opportunistic sensing of social and health related behaviors. In this talk, I discuss how sensor data from mobile phones can be used to model and predict health outcomes. The talk starts with a review of research at the MIT Media Lab, and then transitions into how Ginger.io has built a commercial platform to collect, annotate, analyze and drive healthcare interventions at scale, deployed with major US hospital systems and healthcare providers. The Ginger.io three-part platform -- patient app, behavioral analytics engine, and provider dashboard -- applies this technology to give care providers a window into their patients' health between office visits. Our mobile app uses smartphone sensors to passively collect information about a patient’s daily patterns. Using this data, our machine learning models are able to detect at-risk patients significantly better than the standard of care. Any concerning changes in behavior are communicated to the provider through our simple, action-oriented web dashboard. Ginger.io is part of the care solutions at institutions such as Kaiser Permanente, Novant Health, UCSF, Duke Medical and Cincinnati Children's.

Bio
Anmol Madan is CEO & Co-Founder at Ginger.io. He leads the overall product vision and business strategy at Ginger.io, and has extensive research experience in modeling large-scale human behavior data using statistical and pattern recognition methods. His past research has been featured in academic publications in computer science, and is frequently seen in popular media and press. He received his PhD from the Media Lab, at MIT (with Alex Pentland), and is a frequent speaker on the topics of behavioral analytics, data privacy, and healthcare entrepreneurship. Under his leadership, Ginger.io has been deployed at over 20 large healthcare institutions, and won industry awards (over $500k), was cited as one of the most exciting companies in health data/IT space by Todd Park (US White House CTO), and honored as one of 50 Disruptors for 2013 (CNBC), and 10 Most Innovative Healthcare Companies in the world (FastCompany).