The Brains behind the Brain Alliance: James Bourne
Associate Professor James Bourne is currently a Group Leader at the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute and a NHMRC Senior Research Fellow.
- What sparked your interest in neuroscience?
As a kid, I was always inquisitive and wanting to know how things worked. I was always taking appliances apart which resulted in me electrocuting myself and being sent on electronic camps. However, as a teenager my interest switched to wanting to understand how the complex circuitry of the brain worked.
- Why do we need to crack the brains code?
Understanding the brain’s code is essential not only to identify the principal formula to our existence but also to address the many diseases and disorders that inflict so many people in our community. It will provide the seed upon which we can develop new tools and strategies to develop cures.
- If you weren’t a neurobiologist what would you be instead?
I started out in medicine, but was incredibly bored by rote learning, but still have a real interest. However, I think I would want to be an engineer as I still yearn to understand how things work, and electrical engineering is a great way to model the circuitry of the brain.
- What’s your favourite fact about the brain?
The average brain has approximately 50,000 thoughts a day. How many do we remember?