Brain Awareness Week is a global campaign to increase public awareness of the progress and benefits of brain research. It is also a great opportunity to build bridges between scientists and the public. Academic people get the chance to show people the results, and speak about their future plans in a simpler and UNDERSTANDABLE way.

The international Dana Foundation brings together businesses, institutions and projects that work in the field of brain research, and are happy to present their exciting work each year in March.

Medical School of University of Pécs also opens its gates to those who are interested in this topic, because let’s face it: ordinary people can be just as excited as any scientist when it comes to looking behind the scenes. Most of us are curious about how work is done in universities, laboratories, or hospitals.

We are able to show children in a playful way, what does it mean to be a brain researcher, making the discipline more appealing at the same time. We have announced a drawing competition as well, because we were eager to know how kids would depict one of the most complex organ in the human body. We will also provide drawing facilities in Nador Gallery, for those, who want to join us in arts and crafts later. We will not let adults to get bored either: for them, we have prepared some really exciting demo: together, we will „see the invisible”, we will understand our delusions, and we will be able to look closely at realistic models of our brain. We will have several interesting presentations, presented by professionals.

The next BAW campaign date:
March 12-18, 2018
University of Pécs, Faculty of Medicine

The event offers programs at several locations and venues in Pécs:

• Brain surgery intimately – A Parkinson’s Patient’s report with pictures

Date: 12th March 2018 Monday 5pm – 6pm

Location: Civil Közösségek Háza (Pécs, Szent István Square 17.)

Room capacity: ca. 80 people

Presenting: Szentpéteri L. József (photographer), Hatvani Zsolt (patient)

Topic of presentation: Interactive presentation based on the documentary of the surgery and the experience of the patient

• Brain inspection by functions at University of Pecs
  • Examination of learning and memory processes with animal models
  • Skull injuries

Date: 13th March 2018 Tuesday 2pm – 3pm

Location: Medical School, Main building (7624 Pécs, Szigeti Str 12.), I. lecutre hall

Presenting: Dr. László Kristóf associate professor, Institute of Physiology
Presenting: Dr. Nagy Máté resident of neurosurgeon, Department of Neurosurgery

Topic of presentation: How your brain works when you study or remember something? What are the consequences of a head injury?

• Visiting a laboratory

Date: 13th March 2018 Tuesday 3pm – 5pm

Location: Medical School, Main building (7624 Pécs, Szigeti Str 12.) Department of Anatomy, Institute of Physiology, Department of Pharmacology

Topic of the program: visitors get the chance to participate in an exciting, interactive introduction of laboratories, where actual brain research happens

• Awe-inspiring beauty – How does our brain deal with the lineaments of people among us?

Date: 14th March 2018 Wednesday 4.30pm – 6pm

Presenting: Prof. Hejj Andreas

Location: Civil Közösségek Háza (Pécs, Szent István Square 17.)

Room capacity: ca 80 people

Topic of the program: Attractive or not? Familiar or stranger? Audience-friendly presentation with colourful illustration of this fundamental, but extremely important task, processed by our brain

• „I’m a bag of nerves” – Origami day at Filter Cafe

Date: 16th March 2018 Friday 10am – 3pm

Location: Filter Kultúrkávéház (Pécs, Színház Square 2.)

Brief introduction of the program:

Folding and connecting neurons from paper with the Origami Club of Pécs.

From 1pm on Dr Sik Attila, neurobiologist, director of Institute of Transdisciplinary Discoveries explains the working mechanism of the paper-built „model”. Free entrance!

• The way they saw it – Art of psychiatric patients

Date: 12th March 2018 Monday – Gallery Opening 3pm Dr. Simon Mária és Dr. Sík Attila

16th March 2018 Friday, 4pm – Presentation and guided tour with Dr. Simon Mária

Location: Modern Magyar Képtár (7621 Pécs, Papnövelde Str. 5.)

Our guest: Dr. Simon Mária, senior lecturer of Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy

Brief introduction of the program: Exhibition of art collection from the past century of people who struggled with mental illness

• Playful brain „activities” – Interactive exhibition / Programs at Nador Gallery

Date: 17th March 2018 Saturday 10am – 6pm

Venue: Nádor Gallery (Pécs, Széchenyi Square 15.)

Programs:

• 11:30am and 3pm: See the invisible – Dr. Szentpéteri L. József (National Geographic photographer) presenting slow-motion photography
• From 10am: Presenting the arts of art students – all inspired by our brain
• From 10am: Show us, how you imagine our brain! Exhibition of the kids’ drawing competition
• From 10am: Arts and crafts for both children and adults (painting, drawing, plasticine, etc.)
• From 10am: Our brain is beautiful – Collection of microscopic pictures
• From 10am: Exhibited (and touchable) brain models (provided by coworkers of the Medical School)
• 10:30am and 1:30pm: Optical illusions across dimensions. Presentation about the possibilities of cheating our brain (Dr. Jandó Gábor)
• 11am and 2pm: How can we see in 3D? Presenting a new computer program for testing our sight (Dr. Jandó Gábor, Dr. Mikó Baráth Eszter)
• 1pm and 4pm: Check out your brain with electroencephalography – Electrophysiological monitoring method to record electrical activity of the brain (Dr. Mikó Baráth Eszter)
• 5pm: Kids’ drawing competition’s prize-giving

Our Announced Drawing Contest: http://itd.pte.hu/baw_rajzpalyazat