Gage to present Smythe Lecture April 8
McGovern Medical School welcomes Fred “Rusty” Gage, PhD, Vi and John Adler Chair for Research on Age-Related Neurodegenerative Diseases at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, as the keynote speaker for the 2025 Cheves Smythe Distinguished Lecture, on April 8.
The Cheves Smythe Lecture, hosted by the Office of Research Affairs, will be at noon, in MSB 2.006. Gage will present on “Aging as a Major Risk for Dementia.”
The Gage lab concentrates on the adult central nervous system and unexpected plasticity and adaptability to environmental stimulation that remains throughout the life of all mammals. The lab has demonstrated that human beings are capable of growing new nerve cells throughout life in a process called neurogenesis. By studying the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms, the Gage Lab is working to understand how these cells can be induced to become mature functional nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
The Gage Lab is currently focused on neurogenesis; modeling neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders; neuronal mosaicism and diversity; human evolution; somatic retrotransposition, LINE-1 and Alu.
The Cheves Smythe Distinguished Lecture was established in 2006 to honor Dr. Cheves Smythe, the first dean of the Medical School, who served 1970-1975. Smythe skillfully guided the school through its early years with his long-standing commitment to the field of geriatrics and education and his exemplary standards of leadership.