The future of brain development

Live from the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute 2026 Symposium, and in partnership with the institute’s podcast From Our Neurons to Yours, host Russ Altman talks with brain development researchers Karen Parker and Jason Yeatman. Parker studies autism at the molecular level, translating those findings to clinical trials. Yeatman studies dyslexia, deploying assessment tools to 1.2 million students at nearly 3,000 schools. While their individual work is different in approach, the conversation sheds light on the similar obstacles both face in turning scientific discovery into real-world impact. Their mutual takeaway is that scientific breakthroughs are increasingly the work of diverse teams, not lone investigators. “The magic happens at the interdisciplinary boundaries,” Parker tells Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.

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Episode Reference Links:

• Learn more about Karen & Jason's work lab: Parker Lab | Yeatman Lab
• Listen to Jason’s Episode: The Future of Learning to Read
• You can also listen to this episode on the podcast, From Our Neurons to Yours. We created this show in collaboration with their team.

Connect With Us:

• Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website
• Connect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / Mastodon
• Connect with School of Engineering >>> Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / Facebook

Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction
Russ Altman introduces guests Karen Parker, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and comparative medicine, and Jason Yeatman, a professor of pediatrics and education at Stanford University.
(00:03:25) Connecting Molecules to Behavior
How interdisciplinary teams can connect biology, behavior, and clinical outcomes.
(00:04:36) From Research to Education
Why education lacks the research-to-practice infrastructure found in medicine.
(00:06:09) Testing What Works in Schools
The challenges of bringing stronger scientific evidence into education.
(00:08:12) Bridging Neuroscience and Psychology
Why better infrastructure is needed to connect brain science and psychology.
(00:10:05) Building Better Collaborations
How competing incentives can complicate interdisciplinary partnerships.
(00:11:51) Training Scientists to Collaborate
Why academic incentives can make collaboration harder for early-career researchers.
(00:13:34) Working Across Disciplines
How different specialties can work together to study brain development.
(00:14:07) Partnering with Schools
Why successful school partnerships start with addressing real needs.
(00:15:51) Research That Matters in Practice
How school partnerships can shape more relevant scientific questions.
(00:18:22) Building Research Networks
The challenge of connecting schools and districts through shared research infrastructure.
(00:19:26) Studying Brain Development in Children
The challenges of studying developing brains, especially in children with neurodivergence.
(00:21:24) Building Long-Term Research Cohorts
How registries and school networks can accelerate developmental research.
(00:23:05) Longitudinal Data at Scale
How large school datasets can support long-term research on development.
(00:24:20) AI in Brain and Education Research
How AI could accelerate research while creating new risks.
(00:27:44) Future In a Minute
Rapid-fire Q&A: research infrastructure, interdisciplinary science, and learning.
(00:29:51) Conclusion
 

Connect With Us:

Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website

Connect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / Mastodon

Connect with School of Engineering >>>Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / Facebook

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