First hour: Assemblymember Demond Meeks on the state budget and other recent news
Second hour: Remarkable stories related to brain research and surgery
We continue our series of conversations with local state lawmakers about the state budget and other news. This hour, we're joined by Assemblymember Demond Meeks. He shares his perspective on issues related to child care funding, health care, cannabis legislation, criminal justice reforms, public safety, abortion rights, recent mass shootings, and more. Our guest:
- Assemblymember Demond Meeks, District 137
Then in our second hour, we hear remarkable stories related to brain research and surgery at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC). Neurosurgeons and neuroscientists at URMC’s Program for Translational Brain Mapping have created detailed structural and functional maps of the brains of patients undergoing surgery for brain tumors. The maps help surgeons avoid damaging important areas and connections in the brain. Most of these surgeries are done while patients are awake and responding to their medical teams. One patient even played the saxophone during his surgery. This hour, we talk about advancements in the research, we preview an upcoming event geared at supporting it, and we hear a local woman’s experience with brain surgery and recovery. Our guests:
- Web Pilcher, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at URMC
- Brad Mahon, Ph.D., cognitive neuroscientist in the Department of Neurosurgery at URMC
- Lori Santangelo, patient
