Applications open for BRAINS 2017: symposium for early career neuroscientists
BRAINS – Broadening the Representation of Academic Investigators inNeuroSciences
BRAINS is a national program to accelerate and improve the career advancement of neuroscience postdoctoral researchers and assistant professors from underrepresented groups. The BRAINS program was awarded renewal funding through 2021 from NIH’s National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).
Applications for the 2017 cohort will be accepted through 9 am Pacific Time on May 22, 2017.
The BRAINS program goal is to increase engagement and retention of academic early-career neuroscientists from underrepresented groups through cohort-based community development and access to tips, tools, and skills development to prepare for tenure track success. The program is designed to increase participants’ career self-efficacy, sense of belonging to the neuroscience and help them thrive in their careers.
To achieve this goal, the program offers two participant pathways: BRAINS Fellows and BRAINS Affiliates.
BRAINS Fellows attend a multi-day professional development symposium packed with discussions with senior scientists’ panelists on a wide variety of career topics such as time management, designing a research program, work/life balance, thriving as a scientists from an underrepresented group etc. and participate in ongoing facilitated peer mentoring circles. The BRAINS Fellows Symposium will be held September 28 – October 1, 2017 on Bainbridge Island, just a short ferry ride from downtown Seattle, WA.
BRAINS Affiliates are invited to series of three interactive webinars addressing core BRAINS curriculum topics (e.g., time management, mentoring, and thriving as a scientist from an underrepresented group) and ongoing facilitated peer mentoring circles. The BRAINS Affiliates program will begin in October 2017.
BRAINS participants are early career Ph.D. scientists in neuroscience-related fields from underrepresented groups, including racial and ethnic minorities and people with disabilities. Early career includes postdoctoral researchers, assistant professors, assistant research professors, and other pre-tenure level science positions.
You can learn more about the BRAINS program and access our application by visiting our website (www.BRAINS.washington.edu). You may also be interested in reading our recent paper, Learning to Thrive: Building diverse scientists’ access to community and resources through the BRAINS program, in CBE Life Sciences Education (http://www.lifescied.org/content/15/3/ar49.full). You can also find us on Twitter @BRAINSbites Feel free to contact us with any questions you might have (brains@u.washington.edu).