The Community Engagement Core tabled at the NC Museum of Natural Science’s Annual Brain Night on March 26, 2026. The event engaged the public in neuroscience and other brain-related topics through science talks and hands-on activities. Participants were guided through the process of creating a neuron out of beads while learning about how environmental contaminants like lead can impact brain function. Brain Night 2026 saw a record-breaking 425 attendees, many of whom were eager to learn about the relationship between environmental an human health.
Dr. David Skaar
Dr. Skaar’s lab presented on work on identifying epigenetic markers (altered DNA methylation at gene regulatory regions) associated with Alzheimer’s Disease. The take-home messages for the visitors were 1) Epigenetics is a mechanism that responds to exposures, and affects life-long phenotypes; 2) The markers identified lead to affected genes that can be studied to understand phenotypes/disease, and give treatment options; 3) Because epigenetic modifications are not permanent, there is the potential to rewrite them to restore gene regulation.
- Categories:
