The Neurobiology of Disease Workshop (NDW) provides basic scientists and trainees with an in-depth introduction to neurological disorders. It is organized as a day-long workshop held the Friday before the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) Annual Meeting. The overall goal of the Workshop is to introduce the world of neurological disease to the basic scientist, with the expectation that whatever their interest or expertise in the nervous system, they may bring extraordinary new questions, ideas and even solutions to problems in the field. Reflecting the dynamic and rapidly advancing state of neuroscience research, the topic of each NDW is identified only one year in advance. Although the specific topics change each year, the Workshop?s agenda format remains consistent. The core of the Workshop begins with a patient presentation. Growing less common in clinical departments, and certainly unique to a basic science workshop, is the patient presentation that begins the day-long NDW program. This is a live interview performed by an experienced clinician in front of the entire audience. Not only are patients presented, but in applicable cases, family members of the patient also attend the Workshop. Often the family members are asked to describe how the disease has affected their own lives, helping neuroscientists in training see the human side of diseases of the nervous system. The patient presentation is followed by multiple lectures that cover the essential clinical and basic science information necessary to understand the disease or disorder. The set of lectures includes neuropathology (where relevant), the anatomy of the systems involved, neurochemical and physiological correlates, current treatments, and other related information. The faculty members, chosen for their expertise in the field, present the core information, which lasts approximately three to four hours. As detailed above, a patient is presented by a senior clinician early in the Workshop schedule, and time is allotted for the audience to ask questions of the patient or the clinician. Following the patient and core lecture presentations, Workshop participants form breakout groups, each led by a team of two faculty members, for a period of extended discussions. The total time for each discussion group is 1.5 hours and these sessions are designed to stimulate participant thinking and speculation about the disease and to inform them of the research already underway.
More than 1,000 disorders of the brain and nervous system result in more hospitalizations and lost productivity than any other disease group, including heart disease and cancer. It is estimated that neurological illnesses affect 1 billion individuals worldwide (World Health Organization, 2007), including 50 million Americans, and cause more than $500 billion in US health care costs, not including costs borne by caretakers (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). The number of patients requiring treatment will continue to increase, furthering the need for research to understand and treat diseases effectively. Thus, it is critical to develop a strong and diverse neuroscience research workforce to find new and innovative ways to prevent and treat neurological illnesses.
