News Release

Duke University neurobiologist to speak
at SPIRE symposium on Friday (June 9)

CHAPEL HILL – Dr. Erich D. Jarvis, a neurobiologist at Duke University, will give a public lecture at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Friday (June 9) as part of the annual day-long SPIRE Research Symposium.

Seeding Postdoctoral Innovators in Research and Education (SPIRE) is a three-year fellowship program for postdoctoral scientists who aim to balance research and teaching careers. The program combines research, professional development and an opportunity to teach and mentor undergraduates at one of eight partner historically minority universities in the state.

Currently in its seventh year, the symposium highlights the research accomplishments of SPIRE fellows through presentations and a poster session. The symposium also features a keynote speaker of national prominence. In his 11 a.m. talk, Jarvis will discuss “The Neurobiology of Vocal Learning and the Path Taken as an Underrepresented Scientist.”

“We are very excited to host Dr. Jarvis, who will not only share his innovative and nationally recognized research program, but also his unique perspective and philosophy on increasing diversity in the science professions,” said Dr. Leslie S. Lerea, SPIRE’s director.

The symposium, free to the public, will be in Alumni Hall I at UNC's George Watts Hill Alumni Center, at the corner of Ridge Road and Stadium Drive, adjacent to Kenan Stadium. For more on the day’s line-up, directions and parking, visit http://spire.unc.edu.

Jarvis is an associate professor of neurobiology at Duke University Medical Center. In 2005, he won the National Institutes of Health’s Director’s Pioneer Award for his innovative approach to biomedical research.

His laboratory researches the neurobiology of vocal communication with emphasis placed on the molecular pathways involved in the perception and production of learned vocalizations. The laboratory uses an integrative approach that combines behavioral, anatomical and molecular biological techniques. The main animal model used is songbirds, one of the few vertebrate groups that evolved the ability to learn their vocalizations.

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SPIRE contact: Claire Bury, (919) 843-5915 or bury@unc.edu

News Services contact: Lisa Katz, (919) 962-2093 or lisa_katz@unc.edu