Professor Sir Colin Blakemore special session

Celebrating the life and research of BNA Past-President Colin Blakemore

Colin BlakemoreThis plenary presentation will honour Professor Sir Colin Blakemore, a brilliant, inspirational neuroscientist who sadly died in June 2022 from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).  

Colin’s work was fundamental to our understanding of plasticity in the brain, focusing on postnatal plasticity of the visual system. During his career, Colin was a brave advocate for neuroscience and animal research and an eloquent communicator of neuroscience to the public and policymakers. 

Among his many achievements, Colin was president of the British Neuroscience Association 1997-2000. He was the first President in our new incarnation as the BNA instead of the BRA (Brain Research Association), and subsequently became one of the BNA's Patrons, remaining in this role until his death.

In this session, six neuroscientists whose careers were shaped by Colin’s influence will share their reflections. 

Speakers in the session are:

  • Dr Helen Grote (Imperial College London) 
  • Prof Anthony Hannan (Florey Institute, University of Melbourne) 
  • Prof Peter Kind (University of Edinburgh) 
  • Prof Zoltan Molnar (University of Oxford) 
  • Prof Andrew Parker (University of Oxford) 
  • Prof Tara Spires-Jones (University of Edinburgh) 

11:40 - 13:00 BST, Wednesday 26th April 2023