Western University’s BrainsCAN Diversity in Neuroscience Summer Internship program provides undergraduate students who self-identify as members of visible minorities an opportunity to have an immersive experience in a cognitive neuroscience research environment.
These undergraduate students make up the visible minorities as either Indigenous, LGBTQ2S+, with a disability, or women.
Key Takeaways:
- Western University provided immersive research opportunities to students who self-identify as members of underrepresented sectors.
- Students from visible minorities took part in the BrainsCAN Diversity in Neuroscience Summer Internship program.
- Undergraduate students were immersed in a cognitive neuroscience research environment.
Western University aims to provide marginalized groups with the research skills needed to excel both inside the academe and outside the university’s borders.
These underrepresented groups face barriers in research because of systemic biases. The program aims to break down these barriers and gear up students regardless of their background with research training and experiences to address such issues.
Aside from this aim, the program also aims to prepare undergraduate students for future leadership roles while significantly contributing to cognitive neuroscience.
Over the summer, the program has compelled interns to research various topics such as Alzheimer’s disease, the impact of face masks on emotion recognition, metabolic syndrome patients, and intergenerational transmission of reading, among others.
While the research alone has immersed students in various experiences, they could also establish connections with their peers through the virtual BrainsCAN panel sessions that highlighted the various neuroscience fields.
The next Diversity in Neuroscience Summer Internship program call for applications will happen in Spring 2022.
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