NIH Director’s Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series

The NIH Director’s Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series, colloquially known as WALS, is the highest-profile lecture program at the NIH. Lectures are held on most Wednesdays from September through June from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. ET in Lipsett Amphitheater, Building 10, on the NIH Bethesda campus.

Sign up for notices about each lecture

This is a call for nominations for the 2026–2027 season of the Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series (WALS). We are accepting nominations between now and January 9, 2026. Please use the online nomination form at https://oir.nih.gov/wals/wednesday-afternoon-lecture-series-nominations.

Clinical Encounters in Neurogenetics: Taking Cues from Single Patients to Discover Genes, Mechanisms, and Therapeutic Approaches

Carsten G. Bönnemann, M.D.
NINDS

Astute Clinician Lecture

Lecture summary:

This lecture will describe three personal journeys of discovery that led my team and me from encountering a single enigmatic patient to uncovering new genes, mechanisms, and treatment approaches, while also providing fundamental insights into human neurobiology. The journey will take place in the space of the "Neurogenetics of Motion and Sensation" and will follow the peripheral nervous system from the motor neuron, via the muscle, to the sensory system. 

Neonatal Genomic Sequencing: The Past, The Present, and the Unchartered, Controversial Future

Jill L. Maron, MD, MPH
Brown University

In June of 2021, Care New England announced the appointment of Jill L. Maron, MD, MPH, to Chief of Pediatrics at Women & Infants Hospital. We enthusiastically welcomed Dr. Maron into our Department of Pediatrics on October 1, 2021. She serves as the Oh-Zopfi Endowed Chair of Pediatrics at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

Previously, Dr. Maron served as the Vice Chair of Pediatric Research and Executive Director of the Mother Infant Research Institute (MIRI) at Tufts Children’s Hospital.

This page was last updated on Friday, December 5, 2025