MEDIA/OUTREACH
Allen Institute for Brain Science - Distinguished Seminar Series. (Oct 26, 2022) (click here for video)
Brian was honored to contribute to #stemeducation while speaking on "Understanding and breaking legacies of stress" at the Distinguished Speaker Seminar Series hosted by the Allen Institute for Brain Science.
Brian was honored to contribute to #stemeducation while speaking on "Understanding and breaking legacies of stress" at the Distinguished Speaker Seminar Series hosted by the Allen Institute for Brain Science.
Interview on Radiowest NPR Utah. (Aug 4, 2022) (click here for audio)
Brian was honored to contribute to #stemeducation in this conversation with Radiowest NPR Utah. Among other things, there was talk about redlining/racism/discrimination - chemical storms/epigenetic aging/brain dev - community/communication/collaboration to halt legacies of stress.
"No matter what you are talking about, whether it's racism or discrimination more generally... all of these atrocities interface with our biology and get embedded under our skin and have far reaching consequences for our offspring"
"All that our societal interventions can do is mask what the biological consequences of those atrocities were.The way we mask those is to be intentional and consistent in the societal interventions and policies that we put in place"
"I refuse to yield to the pessimism that comes from the hyper partisanship that we currently live in. We have to think global and act local"
Brian was honored to contribute to #stemeducation in this conversation with Radiowest NPR Utah. Among other things, there was talk about redlining/racism/discrimination - chemical storms/epigenetic aging/brain dev - community/communication/collaboration to halt legacies of stress.
"No matter what you are talking about, whether it's racism or discrimination more generally... all of these atrocities interface with our biology and get embedded under our skin and have far reaching consequences for our offspring"
"All that our societal interventions can do is mask what the biological consequences of those atrocities were.The way we mask those is to be intentional and consistent in the societal interventions and policies that we put in place"
"I refuse to yield to the pessimism that comes from the hyper partisanship that we currently live in. We have to think global and act local"
McCain Institute Sponsored Practitioner Practitioners Prevention Network Symposium at the Council of Foreign Relations in Washington DC. (July 28, 2022) (video below)
Brian talked about Child&Brain Development + Legacies of Violence as part of a Practitioners Prevention Network Symposium sponsored by the McCain Institute at the Council of Foreign Relations in Washington DC. Humbled to learn so much from those who are dedicating their lives to stemming the tide of violence, radicalization and terrorism, both, domestically and internationally.
Brian talked about Child&Brain Development + Legacies of Violence as part of a Practitioners Prevention Network Symposium sponsored by the McCain Institute at the Council of Foreign Relations in Washington DC. Humbled to learn so much from those who are dedicating their lives to stemming the tide of violence, radicalization and terrorism, both, domestically and internationally.
Great Scientists, Great Failures video series. (video below)
12/13 grad school rejections, 27/27 job rejections, 38/40 grant rejections. I talk about some failures/rejections/microaggressions that I have experienced in the 22 years that I have been doing science. I also talk about growing up in India, a pressure cooker that I brought to the USA, and two of my super-powers (hint: I live with one of them). Thanks Dr. Megan Hagenauer for the opportunity to do this. Thanks, Drs. Vidita Vaidya, David Crews, Kerry Ressler and many other colleagues for all that you have taught me and continue to teach me.
Inheriting the Book of Life - a conversation with Andy Cahill on his Wonder Dome podcast.
https://mindfulcreative.coach/the-wonder-dome/2021/7/27/65-brian-dias
This conversation on The Wonder Dome podcast inspired me to introspect and articulate my thoughts on a variety of subjects (some snippets in the text below). Thanks, Andy Cahill for the invite and the opportunity. Thanks, Ashley Munday, for your generosity in putting Andy and I in touch with each other.
6:26 -- personal motivation to study legacies of stress.
9:27 -- expanding our idea of adverse childhood experiences beyond physical abuse and neglect to include household challenges like social-economic-food insecurity.
14:15 -- legacies of stress perpetuate across generations via social and biological vectors.
30:37 -- there is no formula to break legacies of stress but that weaving a supportive social fabric around our children can tip the scales toward breaking them.
33:34 -- breaking down structural barriers that have perpetuated legacies of genocide/war/slavery and providing agency to those affected will allow our biology to emerge from the storms of these legacies and see silver linings that lighten their burden.
37:53 -- xenophobia and the scarcity economy + how remembering our shared humanity and interdependence can serve as antidotes.
42:15 -- neurobiological systems that are shaped by culture (e.g. politics/religion/social hierarchies) to create an “us vs them” mentality.
46:01 -- we are not “wired” and we don’t have a “blueprint” for our behaviors. “noise” in our biological systems can be harnessed to re-edit our books of lives and create new meaning/behavior.
51:25 -- the next frontier: precision medicine in psychiatry to move from populations to individuals and why that matters.
60:00 -- scientists as truth-seekers who do not flip-flop in their positions but instead work in communities to assimilate/interpret/implement new findings in an ethically responsible manner so that society can be the best version of itself.
Humbled to share the screen with the incomparable Dr. Yael Danieli and to be in the presence of Mona Oshana's resilience. Discussing multi-generational legacies of stress, epigenetic clocks and halting these legacies as part of a conversation hosted by the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Thank you, Jacqueline Carroll for inviting me to participate.
The impact of COVID on Child & Brain Development, silver linings, and cultural dimensions of intergenerational stress - a conversation with Rachel Parker (Senior Director of Research, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research)
Talking about intergenerational trauma and COVID with the amazing Emmy-winning, Jaye Watson and Kenny Hamilton, on a series called Your Fantastic Mind that aired on Georgia Public Broadcasting.
TEDx talk on Halting Legacies of Trauma
Scientists are discovering how trauma can be inherited.
(an article that quotes Brent Bezo + Drs. Isabelle Mansuy, Rachel Yehuda, Yael Danieli, John Greally, and Brian Dias)
“The conundrum with a phenomenon like this is how much of it is biological inheritance—that is, sperm and egg—versus social transmission of information, which is akin to Grandma sitting at the dinner table and talking to you about the atrocities that she and her family might have experienced,” says Brian Dias, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory University. “That’s really difficult to disentangle in the human condition… and I think there is compelling evidence on both sides of those mechanisms.”
(an article that quotes Brent Bezo + Drs. Isabelle Mansuy, Rachel Yehuda, Yael Danieli, John Greally, and Brian Dias)
“The conundrum with a phenomenon like this is how much of it is biological inheritance—that is, sperm and egg—versus social transmission of information, which is akin to Grandma sitting at the dinner table and talking to you about the atrocities that she and her family might have experienced,” says Brian Dias, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory University. “That’s really difficult to disentangle in the human condition… and I think there is compelling evidence on both sides of those mechanisms.”
The Neurobiology of Family Separation
(an article that quotes Drs. Merida Grant, Michael Treadway, André Fischer, and Brian Dias)
Brian Dias at Emory University, suggests thinking of epigenetics from the perspective of an orchestra. “Producing a symphony requires musical instruments to be played at a particular time and in a particular way. Epigenetic marks are like the expressions of the conductor of an orchestra. They ensure what, when, and how the instruments (genes) are played.”
Reuniting the children with a relative in a structured, predictable setting with a shared language and family culture while also ensuring access to mental health providers could provide a balm for trauma, says Dias, even if it doesn’t erase the trauma.
(an article that quotes Drs. Merida Grant, Michael Treadway, André Fischer, and Brian Dias)
Brian Dias at Emory University, suggests thinking of epigenetics from the perspective of an orchestra. “Producing a symphony requires musical instruments to be played at a particular time and in a particular way. Epigenetic marks are like the expressions of the conductor of an orchestra. They ensure what, when, and how the instruments (genes) are played.”
Reuniting the children with a relative in a structured, predictable setting with a shared language and family culture while also ensuring access to mental health providers could provide a balm for trauma, says Dias, even if it doesn’t erase the trauma.
BBC covers the concept of intergenerational trauma
Humbled to be quoted alongside Dora Costa, Rachel Yehuda, Isabel Mansuy and Anne Ferguson-Smith.
Dias says.
“There’s a malleability to the system. The die is not cast. For the most part, we are not messed up as a human race, even though trauma abounds in our environment.”
"At least in some cases, healing the effects of trauma in our lifetimes can put a stop to it echoing further down the generations."
Humbled to be quoted alongside Dora Costa, Rachel Yehuda, Isabel Mansuy and Anne Ferguson-Smith.
Dias says.
“There’s a malleability to the system. The die is not cast. For the most part, we are not messed up as a human race, even though trauma abounds in our environment.”
"At least in some cases, healing the effects of trauma in our lifetimes can put a stop to it echoing further down the generations."
CIFAR feature on Dias Lab's work on inter-generational influences of parental experiences.
www.cifar.ca/cifarnews/2019/01/15/inheriting-experience
www.cifar.ca/cifarnews/2019/01/15/inheriting-experience
Banner on Emory's campus celebrating FAPESP-SPRINT Award from University of São Paolo that allows the Dias Lab to collaborate with Dr. Newton Canteras a world-renowned expert in the study of unconditioned fear responses.
Dr. Dias was a panelist discussing “Consciousness – Perspectives from Western Neuroscience and Buddhist Philosophy” at The 2016 Emory-Tibet Symposium: Bridging Buddhism and Science for mutual enrichment”. This was a conversation with His Holiness – The Dalai Lama, Dr. Christof Koch (Director, Allen Brain Institute), Dr. Carol Worthman (Emory University), Ven. Lodoe Sangpo and Ven. Gelek Gyaltsen (Tenzin Gyatso Scholars). Click image for video
Dr. Dias is a Neuroscience Faculty member of the Emory Tibet Science Initiative (ETSI)
