This roundtable explores the power of words across brain development, medicine, and community, while highlighting the importance of critical thinking in the age of AI and screens.
“So Matilda’s strong young mind continued to grow, nurtured by the voices of all those authors who had sent their books out into the world like ships on the sea.” ― Roald Dahl, Matilda
“The skill of reading with attention, with discernment, is as important today as ever, not merely because of the proliferation of mis-and disinformation, but also because of the continual integration of AI into our everyday lives as well as our research methods.” — Christopher Brown
This roundtable discussion will consider the power of words as evidenced by brain imaging; child development; storytelling in medical settings; reading in community, and, in this age of screens and AI, the ability to nurture critical thinking habits
All Helix Center events are free and open to the public, including this one!
This is an upcoming event that will happen on May 16th, 2026 at 2:30PM.
Location:
The Helix Center for Interdisciplinary Investigation
The Marianne & Nicholas Young Auditorium
247 East 82nd Street
New York, NY 10028
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Participants
General Internist
Literary Scholar
Rita Charon is a general internist and literary scholar and one of the founders ofthe field of narrative medicine. She completed the MD at Harvard and the PhD in Englishat Columbia. She is the Bernard Schoenberg Professor of Social Medicine, Professor ofMedicine, and founding chair of the Department of Medical Humanities and Ethics atColumbia. Her...
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Silvana and Christopher Pascucci Professor in Learning Differences, Harvard Graduate School of Education
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Nadine Gaab is the Silvana and Christopher Pascucci Professor in Learning Differences at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the director of the GaabLab. Her research focuses on typical/atypical learning trajectories from infancy to adolescence with an emphasis on language/reading development within a learning disabilities framework. Her work is at the intersection of cognitive...
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Associate Professor, Department of Psychology and the Neuroscience Institute
Peretsman-Scully Hall, Princeton University
Uri Hasson grew up in Jerusalem. As an undergrad he studied philosophy and cognitive sciences at the Hebrew University. He completed his Ph.D. in Neurobiology at the Weizmann Institute in Israel and was a postdoctoral fellow at NYU before moving to Princeton. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Psychology Department and the Neuroscience Institute...
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Professor of Teaching and Learning, New York University
Susan B. Neuman is a Professor of Teaching and Learning at New York University specializing in childhood education and early literacy development. Previously, she has served as the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education under George W. Bush. She has authored over 100 articles and 12 books. Her research interests include early childhood...
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