MBB UNDERGRADUATE SYMPOSIUM 2026: HOW EARLY ADVERSITY GETS UNDER THE SKIN

MBB UNDERGRADUATE SYMPOSIUM 2026: 
HOW EARLY ADVERSITY GETS UNDER THE SKIN

Friday, February 20th, 3-5 p.m.
Northwest Building B101(smaller basement lecture hall)

Please note: This event is not open to the public.


The MBB junior symposium features talks by and discussions with a variety of scholars on an interdisciplinary theme in mind/brain/behavior. The symposium will include speaker presentations and a panel discussion with speakers and symposium organizers. Participation is required of students pursuing the Certificate in MBB (students in honors MBB tracks) and is also open and recommended to students pursuing or considering a secondary field in MBB.


SYMPOSIUM THEME

Early childhood is notable for how rapidly the brain is growing and how sensitive the brain is to experience. Unfortunately, for many children around the world, exposure to adverse experiences during these early years can exert long-lasting effects on health and wellbeing. The concept of biological embedding refers to the process by which early life experiences become instantiated in neural, physiological, and behavioral systems, sharping development across the life course. This symposium will bring together evidence from both human and non-human animal studies to examine how early life adversity influences cognition and multiple biological systems, including aging and cardiometabolic function. Speakers will highlight the mechanisms through which experiences during critical and sensitive periods confer risk, as well as conditions under which positive experiences can mitigate negative effects. Collectively, this symposium will highlight key pathways linking early environments to later-life outcomes and will identify promising targets for prevention and intervention efforts. 

PRE-REGISTRATION

Please pre-register at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1_we1zuR_AU8njbs-gJ1nqW8hqp2z553R0lnI7t-lYRg by noon on Wednesday, February 18th.


SCHEDULE

3 p.m. – Welcome and Introduction, Ellen Jopling

3:15 p.m. – Mitigating Early Adversity in the Brain, Takao Hensch
          Professor of Molecular & Cellular Biology/FAS, Professor of Neurology/Medical School
          https://henschlab.mcb.harvard.edu

3:45 p.m. – Early Neglect and Cardiometabolic Health in Young Adulthood: Findings
   from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, Natalie Slopen
          Associate Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences/Chan School of Public Health
          https://hsph.harvard.edu/profile/natalie_slopen

4:15 – The Lasting Impact of Violence Within and Across Generations, Stacy Drury
          Professor and Leon Eisenberg Chair of Psychiatry/Medical School
          https://www.childrenshospital.org/profiles/stacy-s-drury

4:45 p.m. – Discussion Panel, moderated by Charles Nelson


ORGANIZERS

Ellen Jopling
          Research Fellow in Pediatrics/Medical School & Boston Children’s Hospital 
          https://www.ellenjopling.com/

Charles Nelson
          Professor of Pediatrics/Medical School, Professor of Psychology/Medical
             School/Professor of Education/Graduate School of Education, Professor of Social
             and Behavioral Sciences/Chan School of Public Health, Richard David Scott Chair in
             Pediatric Developmental Medicine Research/Boston Children’s Hospital
          https://research.childrenshospital.org/researchers/charles-nelson-iii