Page 19 - Luce 2016

S enior C o mmon Ro om

Scientific pursuits From the

in Bordeaux Director of Studies

In October 2016 I travelled to Bordeaux, It is with great pride that I report on our outstanding results and achievements
France to attend the Cajal Brain Prize for 2016.
Course – Hippocampus: From Circuits
to Cognition. This three-week intensive The level at which our students seem to balance their various commitments –
programme for 20 graduate students studies, part-time work, sport, music and of course social life, essential in the life
and post-docs focused on hippocampal of a university student – never ceases to amaze me. Every semester, I see, feel and
function, a brain region involved in hear the hum of productivity in our corridors. At any time of the day, the tutorial
space, time and memory. rooms seem to be occupied. However, from Monday through to Thursday, the
period between 5pm and 9:30 pm seemed to be the busiest, as we conducted a
The Cajal course provided me with weekly tutorial program of over 60 tutorials for a cohort of 96 students.
a huge amount of both general and
specialised knowledge in which to better Whilst our students were thoroughly engaged in a singular pathway of their own,
situate the context of my own work. The there exists a shared culture and understanding within our community of academic
course deepened my knowledge of my excellence. In 2016, 40% of all of our grades were First Class Honours with 87% of
own area (spatial cognition in rodents) all grades at Honours level.
and broadened my understanding of
its context by hearing about the human A supportive and academically engaged community such as JCH does not just
psychological work which prompted happen and I would like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our
animal experiments and how this rodent residential and non-residential tutors who take the journey alongside our students.
work was feeding back to inform soon- We recruit the highest level of tutors, many of whom are at the top of their field in
to-be-implemented MRI studies. research and teaching. We were delighted in 2016 to have an extraordinarily high
number of alumni tutoring at JCH.
In combination with an occasional
glass of Bordeaux wine, the course In addition to our tutorial program, we were pleased to continue with our Thursday
also served as an excellent scientific- night forums. These forums, conducted in the comfort of the Senior Common
network-forming environment. I now Room, were varied in their content and theme. We are very grateful to the many
have scientific friends from all across speakers who gave generously of their time, often speaking with a small cohort
the US, Europe and Japan, and I have of students. I would like to acknowledge and thank two of our residential tutors,
taken the first steps towards establishing Nadia Mazarakis and Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnson, for their organisation and
a community of future colleagues and coordination of these events. These opportunities allowed our students to gain
collaborators. valuable insights into the world of work, volunteering and postgraduate studies,
whilst building valuable connections and contacts for the future.
Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston
Mrs Donna Davies
Director of Studies

Ariel discovers rustic France Ms Cadorel, Aunty Di Kerr, Dr Powell, Mrs Davies

J anet Clarke Hall 19