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Livestreams:
Friday morning (Martinos Auditorium)
Friday afternoon / Saturday morning:  Joukowsky Forum, Watson Institute ​

Please note:
This event will take place in two venues. Friday, April 8, all morning, at the Martinos Auditorium, Granoff Center.

As of 2:00 p.m. on Friday, April 8, and the morning of Saturday, April 9, the conference will continue at the Joukowsky Forum, Watson Institute. *PLEASE NOTE: THE FRIDAY AFTERNOON SESSION IS AT CAPACITY.

Due to overwhelming responses, we regret to inform you  that we do not currently have enough room at the Joukowsky Forum to seat you there during the Friday afternoon session. An overflow room has been set up for you in the South Common Room on the 2nd floor as of 2:00 p.m. We would be glad to seat you in Joukowsky if seating becomes available.

There will be a closed session at the end of each day.

Friday, April 8

Morning Session at Martinos Auditorium, Granoff Center for the Creative Arts, 154 Angell Street, Providence, RI

8:30-8:35 a.m. Opening Comments
Beshara Doumani, Joukowsky Family Distinguished Professor of Modern Middle East History and Director, Middle East Studies

8:35-9:45 a.m. Sciences and Solidarities: How did we get here?
Brown University Panel 

• Beshara Doumani, Joukowsky Family Distinguished Professor of Modern Middle  East History and Director, Middle East Studies – “The Challenges of Interdisciplinary Field Work in Zones of Conflict”
• Sarah Tobin, Associate Director of Middle East Studies – “Overview of the Syrian Refugee Crisis in Jordan”
• Carl Saab, Associate Professor (Research), Brown University & Rhode Island Hospital, Departments of Neuroscience & Neurosurgery– “A Neuroscientist’s Perspective on a Humanitarian Crisis”
• Tala Doumani, Class of 2017 – “Reflections on the Syrian Refugee Crisis in Jordan”
• Dima Amso, Associate Professor, Department of Cognitive, Linguistic & Psychological Sciences – “Harnessing the Power of Brain Development Research”

            Presentations followed by Q&A

9:45-10:00 a.m. Coffee Break 

10:00-11:30 a.m. Stress, Resilience, and Crisis

• Christina Hull Paxson, 19th President of Brown University, Professor of Economics and Public Policy  – “Why Adversity in Childhood Matters”
• Bruce McEwen, Alfred E. Mirsky Professor and Head of the Harold and Margaret Milliken Hatch Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, The Rockefeller University – “The Brain on Stress:  Protection vs. Damage”

            Presentations followed by Q&A

11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Stress, Trauma, and Youth

• Frank Roni, Child Protection Specialist for Camps, UNICEF Jordan – “UNICEF Jordan Child Protection and Psychosocial Response to the Syrian Crisis”
• Audrey Tyrka, M.D., Ph.D., Professor Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Director of Research, Director of the Laboratory for Clinical and Translational Neuroscience, Butler Hospital – “Early Life Stress and Cellular Aging: Risk and Protective Mechanisms”

            Presentation followed by Q&A

1:00-2:00 p.m. Lunch Break

Afternoon Session in Joukowsky Forum, Watson Institute, 111 Thayer Street, Providence, RI
Overflow / simulcast room in the South Common Room

2:00-3:30 p.m. Limiting Negative Outcomes

• Curt Rhodes, Founder and International Director of Questscope for Social Development in the Middle East – “Restoration Instead of Devastation: the Synergy of Relationship, Agency and Critical Thinking Within Networks of Syrian Refugee Youth in Jordan”
• Megan R. Gunnar, Regents Professor and Director, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota – “The Protective Role of Relationships in Stress Regulation and Brain Development”

            Presentations followed by Q&A

Conclusion of public event
Conclusion of livestreaming

3:30-3:45 p.m. Coffee Break

3:45-4:45 p.m. Closed Door Discussion for Invited Participants
Joukowsky Forum, Watson Institute, 111 Thayer Street, Providence, RI

Saturday, April 9

Joukowsky Forum, Watson Institute, 111 Thayer Street, Providence, RI 02912

9:00-11:00 a.m. Poverty, Vulnerabilities, Brain Development, and Humanitarian Intervention

• Kate Washington, Independent Consultant with UNHCR MENA bureau – “Vulnerability and Targeting Specialist – What Vulnerability Modeling Can and Can’t Do: Using Data to Design and Target Assistance for Syrian Refugees in the MENA Region”
  • Kate Washington will be Skyping in
• Marcia Brophy, Regional Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Specialist – Middle East & Eurasia, Save the Children International – “Responding to Children’s Needs: The Practicalities of Delivering MHPSS in Protracted Conflicts”
  • Marcia Brophy will be Skyping in
• Kevin Bath, Assistant Professor, Department of Cognitive Linguistic and Psychological Sciences, Brown University – “Using Translational Models of Early Life Stress to Identify Markers of Risk and Resilience”
  • Please note / cancelled due to illness: Martha J. Farah, Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Natural Sciences and Director of the Center for Neuroscience & Society, University of Pennsylvania – “Severe Childhood Stress and the Challenges of Translational Science”

Presentations followed by Q&A

Conclusion of public event
Conclusion of livestreaming

11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Closed Door Discussion and Working Lunch for Invited Participants
Joukowsky Forum, Watson Institute, 111 Thayer Street, Providence, RI