How Does an Engineer Approach Problems of Health and Medicine? | Why Doesn’t the Government Get it? Some Reflections on the Reasons for the Disconnect Between Research and Policy with a Particular Focus on Education

Vikram Yadav will speak about his learnings about the human brain and his lab’s attempts to reverse engineer the organ to study neurodegeneration and discover new therapeutics. The talk will end with a discussion regarding the limits of these technologies. In particular, where should society and scientists draw the line?

Despite government calls for evidence-based policy, and desires of some academics to influence policy, there is often a disconnect between research and policy. In this talk, Jude Walker will discuss some of the reasons for the seeming gulf between the academic and government worlds from the perspective of the field of Education. This talk will also touch on a new study in which Jude is exploring how university researchers do and can influence Canadian adult literacy and skills policy through their engagement with government-commissioned research.