Visiting Scholars Program Hosts Neuroscientist

From October 9–10, 2013, Dr. Robert M. Sapolsky, biologist, neuroscientist, writer, stress expert, and MacArthur “Genius” Fellow, took a break from his fieldwork and neurological research to educate Upper School students about the biology of stress, individuality, memory, and mental disease. Brought by the Robert E. Dennard Visiting Scholar Program, Dr. Sapolsky shared a unique mixture of anecdotes and research data through a combination of storytelling and humor that was perfectly suited for his St. Mark’s audience.

 

Sapolsky conducted question and answer sessions with students in AP Biology, Sociobiology, and AP Psychology, as well as at an alumni breakfast. During these sessions, he imparted his knowledge of the evolution of the human brain, human nature, neurobiology, individuality, human behavior with respect to brains, genes, and hormones, and the relationship between age and openness to novelty. Students conversed freely with Sapolsky, sharing their stressors, asking a plethora of questions, and receiving immediate feedback.

 

Dr. Sapolsky received his B.A. in biological anthropology summa cum laude from Harvard Univer­sity and a Ph.D. in neuroendocrinology from Rockefeller University. His articles have appeared in publications such as Discover and The New Yorker, and he writes a biweekly column for the Wall Street Journal entitled “Mind & Matter.” Sapolsky has also written The Trouble with Testosterone, Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, and Monkeyluv and Other Essays on our Lives as Animals. In 2008, he won Rockefeller University’s Lewis Thomas Prize for Writing about Science. He is currently working on a book to be titled: Human Aggression, Human Compassion And the Ambiguities of Biology.