Grant to Support The NorthEast Under/Graduate Research Organization for Neuroscience (NEURON) PI: Frye, Cheryl Anne
The Northeast Under/graduate Research Organization for Neuroscience (NEURON) has educated and promoted young neuroscientist professional development through annual one-day conferences. Over the past 15 years, NEURON has served over 4,000 trainees, the majority of which are those from racial and/or ethnic minority groups and/or other groups traditionally underrepresented in science. This proposal is to fund the 2009-2010 program. The Fall 2009 NEURON meeting will be held at the Boston Latin School (BLS), the 1st public school in the nation. BLS is an inner-city, high-performing school, which requires an entrance exam, with a high proportion of minority students from greater Boston. The NEURON meeting will be integrated with related activities at BLS (3-day event of the 37th Anniversary of BLS, annual science fair). Scientific information will be disseminated to participants via a keynote address, poster session, and workshops. All activities are designed to enhance outreach, networking, and opportunities for integration among high schools, colleges, and universities. Activities include a Brain Primer, which is an introduction about neuroscience given by Brian Persaud, who works for MATCH, a public charter school in Boston that operates in conjunction with Boston University. Other workshops include Getting into grad school and being successful, Society for Neuroscience, What it is and how to take advantage of it, and Partnerships in Neuroscience Research. By our integration of these events, we will increase participation by high school students and minorities, broaden the scope of outreach (local to nationwide) and continue NEURON's dedication to addressing research, training, education and pipeline issues. The Spring 2010 NEURON meeting will be held in collaboration with Hunter College's Annual Psychology Conference in New York City. Dr. Eric Nestler is the keynote speaker. There will be workshops on Getting into grad school and being successful, Grantsmanship, and Enhancing diversity in science. Funding of this program will enable NEURON to continue to have a significant impact on trainees and faculty who work closely with them.
Project Title: Grant to Support The NorthEast Under/Graduate Research Organization for Neuroscience (NEURON) Conference, Symposia & Workshop 2009/10 NEURON PI: Cheryl Frye Awardee: SUNY at Albany Award Number: 1004244 Award Expires: 01/31/2011 Program Officer Name: Cedric L. Williams Program Officer Email Address: clwillia@nsf.gov Program Officer Phone Number: (703)292-8421 The Northeast Under/graduate Research Organization for Neuroscience (NEURON) has been enriching students’ neuroscience experience and enhancing their professional development since 1997. Funding was provided for the hosting of two academic conferences, one in Boston on November 22, 2009, and another in New York City on April 24, 2010. At Boston, NEURON took place as a collaboration with the Boston Latin School (BLS) and their annual science fair/alumni recognition ceremony. Dr. Cheryl Frye, in conjunction with receiving a lifetime achievement award from BLS, also gave the keynote address. Additionally, three workshops were provided to aid in the professional development of trainees: "How to succeed in college", "Society for Neuroscience: What it is and how to take advantage of it", and "Small college-large research institution partnerships: challenges and benefits". These workshops were targeted towards enhancing the professional development at every educational level. The conference culminated with around 40 student poster presentations. The following spring we hosted the New York City conference in continuing collaboration with the City University of New York-Hunter. Dr. Eric Nestler gave the keynote address along with two workshops on "Diversity-based programs: promises and expectations" and "Internship: a key to your career". Additionally, three academic symposia exploring current hot topics in neuroscience were offered: environmental stress and epigenetics, metabolic and genetic factors influencing cognition, and educational outreach opportunities. The array of academic and professional offerings allow us to attract large audiences that includes trainees ranging from high school to post doc/young faculty. The 2009/2010 conferences provided 496 participants with conference experience, of those, 60-70% were women, 32-38% were part of a self-reported ethnic minority group, and 41-50% received some form of financial aid, many of whom presented on over 100 poster and oral presentations. Thus, we were able to bring the advantages of a major neuroscience meeting, without participants needing to endure any undo economic hardships, while maintaining a constituency that is representative of the population.
