UCLA Brain Health Summit Program

UCLA Brain Health Summit

Friday March 20, 2026 – DAY 1

 

7:15 to 8:00 am

Breakfast

 

8:00 to 8:10 am

Welcoming Remarks Day 1:

Conference organizers welcome

Helen Lavretsky welcomes attendees and opens the event

 

8:10 to 8:20 am

Sahib Khalsa and Indu Subramanian

What is Brain Health? Integrating Perspectives from Neurology and Psychiatry

 

8:20 to 8:35 am

UCLA Leadership remarks:

Dean, UCLA School of Medicine: Vice Dean for Research, Stephen Smale (5 min)

Department chairs, Psychiatry and Neurology: Helena Hansen (5 min) and Tom Carmichael (5 min)

 

8:35 to 9:35 am

Global Brain Health and Policy Keynote Panel:

8:35 to 9:45 am 

Steve Carnevale (Commissioner, California Commission on Behavioral Health)

8:45 to 9:00 am

Harris Eyre (Global Brain Economy Initiative, Rice University)

Brain Economy

9:00 to 9:15 am  

David Sholl (Executive Vice President for Research, Rice University)

Rice University Experience in Brain Economy innovation

9:15-9:30 am

Steven Lewis (President, World Federation of Neurology (WFN)  “The WFN and Brain Health"9:30-9:9:40 QA

 

9:40 to 10:05 am

Keynote Lecture 1 (20 minutes with 5 min Q&A):

Brain Health Across the Lifespan: From Neurodevelopment to Neurodegeneration

Dan Geschwind (Senior Dean, Vice Chancellor for Precision Medicine, UCLA)

 

10:05 to 10:20 am

Coffee Break

 

10:20 to 11:40 am

Brain Health Science Panel 1

Measuring Brain Health: Envisioning A Brain Health Index

Helen Lavretsky (UCLA), Olusola Ajilore (Univ Illinois-Chicago), Elaine Hsiao (UCLA), Bijan Najafi (UCLA), Xavier Cagigas (UCLA), Christina Ramirez (UCLA). Moderator: Alice Luo Clayton (McKnight Brain Research Foundation)

 

11:40 am to 1:00 pm

Lunch/Networking

 

Funding Innovation in Science and Healthcare

1:00 to 1:20 pm

Keynote Lecture 2 (15 minutes with 5 min Q&A)

Value-Based Brain Healthcare

Susan Armiger, President & CEO, Catalight; Moderator: Christopher Giza (UCLA)

 

1:20 to 1:40 pm

Keynote Lecture 3 (15 minutes with 5 min Q&A)

Title The role of philantropy in expanding the vision of brain health and critical infrastructure: BD2 as a case study

Cara Altimus (Milken Institute)

 

1:40 to 2:10 pm Panel discussion

The role of philanthropy in funding new Brain Science

Alice Luo Clayton (McKnight Brain Research Foundation), Nancy Keach (BrightFocus Foundation), Kelly O’Brien (West Health Institute), Moderator: Kana Enomoto (McKinsey Institute)

 

2:10 to 3:25 pm

Brain Health Science Panel 2

Modifiable Lifestyle Factors across the lifespan

Jack Feldman (UCLA), Gina Poe (UCLA), Zhaoping Li (UCLA), Joshua Goldman (UCLA), Fadel Zeidan (UCSD). Moderators: Jack Feldman and Zaldy Tan (Cedars Sinai)

 

3:25 to 3:40 pm

Coffee Break

 

3:40 to 5:10 pm

Art, Creativity, and Brain Health Mini Panels

 

3:40 to 4:10 pm

Mini Panel 1: Music and Brain Health

Assal Habibi (USC), Ken Wells (UCLA). Moderator: Alex Leow (University of Ill- Chicago)

 

4:10 to 4:40 pm

Mini Panel 2. Visual arts and Dance: Marjani Forté-Saunders and Karla Diaz. Moderator: Eraka Bath (UCLA).

 

4:40 to 5:10 pm

Mini Panel 3. Jake Broder (Global Brain Health Institute). Moderator: Gina Poe (UCLA)

 

5:10 to 5:20 pm

Audience Reflections and Closing Remarks

 

5:20 to 7:00 pm

Day 1 Networking Reception (by invitation):

Luskin Ballroom

 

 

Saturday March 21, 2026 – DAY 2

 

7:15 to 8:15 am

Breakfast

 

8:15 to 8:30 am

Welcoming remarks   

Helen Lavretsky and Sahib Khalsa and Indu Subramanian

 

8:30 to 8:55 am 

Keynote Lecture 4 (20 minutes with 5 min Q&A):

The Human Advantage: Stronger Brains in the Age of AI

Kana Enomoto (McKinsey Health Institute)

 

8:55 to 9:20 am

Keynote Lecture 5 (20 minutes with 5 min Q&A):

Improving Brain Health at Scale

Jürgen Unützer (University of Washington)

 

9:20 to 9:45 am

Keynote Lecture 6 (20 minutes with 5 min Q&A):

Bigger is Better: Texas Brain Economy Goes West

Jochen Reiser (University of Texas Medical Branch)

 

9:45 to 10:45 am

Brain Health Mini Panel

Elevating the Patient and Caregiver Voice

Mark and Pam Sennet, Sandy Gleysteen, James Keach: Discussant: Linda Ercoli

 

10:45 am to 11 am

Coffee Break

 

11 am to 12:15 pm

Brain Health Science Panel 3

Brain Health in Neurologic Disorders

Jason Hinman (UCLA), Indu Subramanian (UCLA), Andrew Charles (UCLA), Raj Mazumder (UCLA), Lee Goldstein (Boston University). Moderators: Jason Hinman and Indu Subramanian

 

12:15 to 1:30 pm

Lunch

 

1:30 to 2:45 pm

Brain Health Science Panel 4

Brain Health in Childhood: Exposures and Neurodevelopmental Considerations

Christopher Giza (UCLA), Shafali Jeste (UCLA), Shannon Thyne (UCLA); Rujuta Wilson (UCLA), Moderator: Christopher Giza

 

2:45-3:10

Keynote lecture #8

“Exposomics and Mental Health: Loneliness vs. Social Connections and Wisdom”
Dilip Jeste (International SDOH research network) 

 

3:10 to 3:25 pm

Coffee Break

 

3:25 to 4:40 pm

Brain Health Science Panel 6

Technological Innovations in Brain Health

Terence Sanger (UC Irvine), Brennan Spiegel (Cedars-Sinai) Ruth O’Hara (Stanford), Amir Rahmani (UC Irvine); Moderators: Sahib Khalsa and Indu Subramanian

 

4:40 to 4:50 pm

Sahib Khalsa and Indu Subramanian

Brain Health Redefined: Reflections from Neurology and Psychiatry

 

4:50 to 5 pm

Helen Lavretsky

Closing remarks and future directions

 

 

 

 

This program is subject to change.