018-TV-02

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jan. 22, 2002

CALENDAR LISTING

DO WE LEARN TO SEE? NOBEL LAUREATE DR. TORSTEN N. WIESEL OFFERS INSIGHTS AT BREN LECTURE

EVENT:
Dr. Torsten N. Wiesel, a 1981 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine who pioneered research in the brain circuitry of vision, will speak on "Do We Learn to See: The Role of Nature and Nurture in the Neurobiology of Vision" in the 25th Bren Fellows Lecture.

DATE:
Thursday, Feb. 7, 2002

TIME:
8 p.m.

LOCATION:
Crystal Cove Auditorium, UC Irvine Student Center. The event is free; parking is $5.

BACKGROUND:
Dr. Torsten N. Wiesel, president emeritus of Rockefeller University in New York City, will discuss how we develop the ability to see and process visual information. While a researcher at Harvard Medical School, Wiesel received the 1981 Nobel Prize with colleague David Hubel for their pioneering research in brain circuitry and the neurochemistry of vision. In key findings, Wiesel and Hubel traced the path of light entering the eye to specific brain cells and discovered that sight is controlled by a group of complex master cells. Their work has been crucial in the development of therapies for vision problems.

The Bren Fellows Program at UC Irvine was inaugurated in 1989 to create an environment in which regional, national and international problems can be addressed from an interdisciplinary standpoint. The program brings together Bren Fellows, other UCI distinguished faculty and nationally and internationally known scholars to exchange knowledge in a series of seminars, lectures and other events. Previous Bren Lecture speakers include Nobel Laureates James Watson (1992), Francis Crick (1993), Murray Gell-Mann (1995), Joshua Lederberg (1997), Mario Molina (1998), David Baltimore (1999) and Yuan T. Lee (2000).

###
Contact:
Tom Vasich
(949) 824-6455
tmvasich@uci.edu

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE: A TOP-10 PUBLIC UNIVERSITY

A complete archive of press releases is available on the World Wide Web at www.today.uci.edu.