Society president

Sherry Ginn, Ph.D., a psychology instructor at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, has been elected president of the International Society for the History of the Neurosciences. She is the first woman to hold the post.

The society was founded in 1995, with members from Europe, Australia, Asia and both Americas. Ginn's term began in June at the 13th annual conference in Berlin. She has been a member since 1996.

Among Ginn's interests are representations of neuroscience in art and literature. Her paper about the intersections of art and neuroscience in Renaissance Italy was published recently. She also has a project under way examining the wax anatomical models of Anna Morandi Manzolini, chief model maker of the Bologna school of modeling.

Another of her ongoing projects concerns the ways in which science and scientists have been depicted in popular culture, specifically in science fiction and horror films.

Ginn's presidential address in Berlin was titled: "Travel, Study and Wishful Thinking in 19th Century Continental Europe." She said this period of time is the one in which she would most like to live, should time travel ever be possible. She specifically discussed the year 1885, in which a number of scientific discoveries were made in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.

One of her roles as president is to plan and chair the annual conference. She has chosen Charleston as the site of the 2009 meeting, with a focus on neurology and war.

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