Supported by the Robert Whitney Newcomb Memorial Fund, this annual lecture is led by a recognized expert in neuroscience, who is selected and awarded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke as part of the NIH Neuroscience Seminar Series. As feasible and appropriate, the supported lecture topic relates to neuropeptides and toxins, neuroprotection during stroke, or ion channels, the three major research interests of Dr. Newcomb. This year, Dr. Craig Jahr, Professor and Senior Scientist, Vollum Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, lectured on the topic of Analog Signaling in the Brain at the Lipsett Amphitheater at the NIH. Dr. Jahr is a leader in the physiological dissection of synaptic transmission. His work has uncovered mechanisms of neurotransmitter release from presynaptic structures, the actions of neurotransmitter at the postsynaptic receptors and the mechanisms that remove transmitter from the synapse. The lecture, made possible by the Robert Whitney Newcomb Memorial Fund – a fund managed by the FNIH – was established to honor beloved son and brother, Dr. Robert Whitney Newcomb. Dr. Newcomb was passionately devoted to brain research. He began his scientific career at the NIH as a junior in high school working during the summer and, thanks to his mentor, Dr. Claude Klee, became a protein chemist at the age of 17. Established by the Newcomb family at the FNIH, the fund honors and furthers Dr. Newcomb’s work on brain research and the chemical basis of stroke and aging. Photo: Dr. Jahr, Dr. Scott Campbell, Newcomb Family at the April 2011 Newcomb Memorial Lecture