Steve Kassem | Google maps for your brain
The human brain is the most complex thing in the known universe...and we’ve found that there’s no cutting corners if we want to capture all that complexity.
The brain is so intricately complex that it has more connections between its neurons than all the stars in the universe. But imagine if a neurosurgeon was able to pinpoint the location of a tumour with microscopic accuracy. Not only that, but what if they could plan their route to get there the same way you plug a destination into Google Maps?
Under the pioneering work of Dr George Paxinos, Dr Steve Kassem and his team are making these landmark achievements possible, all with some coloured pencils, a tungsten divider and glossy tracing paper.
Steve Kassem
Dr Steve Kassem is a senior research fellow with Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA). He was appointed a postdoctoral fellowship to work with Scientia Professor George Paxinos AO, bringing his novel histological and MRI skills to Professor Paxinos’ work on visualising and defining the brain. They are currently working to make the highest resolution map of the human brain, which was recently awarded a NHMRC Ideas grant.
Dr Kassem has helped author two books, “Atlas of the Developing Mouse Brain” and “Chemoarchitectonic Atlas of the Rat Brain”. An avid supporter of science communication Dr Kassem is also involved with the Sydney Science Festival.