Last year, the Dana Foundation launched the Dana Center Initiative for Neuroscience and Society. The initiative is a collaborative effort across multiple neuroscience institutions dedicated to connecting neuroscience research with the larger communities it impacts, and training the upcoming generation of neuroscientists to prioritize this goal. The initiative ultimately aims to advance neuroscience by infusing societal needs and interests at its core.
The first center launched as a part of this initiative is a collaboration with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU). The center’s work focuses on the South Los Angeles area and its connection to neuroscience across several disciplines including education, public health, social sciences, policy, and more. Dr. Ashley Feinsinger, one of the Center’s Co-Directors, explains its long-term goals in the following way.
“We envision that a sustained and genuine investment in building the capacities of neurosciences and community organizations to work together to develop research questions, design studies, and disseminate their findings, will fundamentally change the way neuroscience is done. Our hope is that, eventually, neuroscience and society will be synonymous with neuroscience.”
Upcoming events at the Center include their idea salons that will bring together experts across disciplines and community organizations to discuss community-based research in neurosciences. They will also host an Annual Public Salon in the late Spring open to all with an in-person research fair, discussion series, and workshop on best practices for community centered training, research, and practice in the neurosciences. Interested researchers, students, educators, and community members can stay updated with the Center through the UCLA-CDU Dana Center for Neuroscience and Society’s website and UCLA Brain Research Institute’s member newsletters.
UCLA-CDU
Question and Answer with UCLA-CDU Dana Center Co-Director Dr. Ashley Feinsinger and Center Fellows Erin Morrow and Kayla Lim
Q: What are some of the current or developing initiatives/projects that the neuroethics research community can look forward to participating in?
A: Our approach to developing a method for community partnered neuroscience is, at the core, a matter of neuroethics. While it involves questions about ethical practices within neuroscience (such as which questions to ask,, but also the approaches, assumptions, and attitudes that neuroscience takes towards people, lived- experiences, and human flourishing. This means that most of our programs, including our fellowship program, seed grant program, idea salon series, and systems changes workshops are all things we hope neuroethicists will join us in.
Neuroethicists can look forward to speaking or attending our idea salon series, where experts across disciplines and community organizations meet to discuss different lenses on a common issue in neuroscience and society. Our first round of these salons includes approaches to community-based research in the neurosciences, something we hope neuroethicists in policy, law, clinical and research ethics, and public health will participate in. Neuroethics researchers can also look forward to our Annual Public Salon in the late Spring, which hosts an in-person research fair, discussion series, and workshop on best practices for community centered training, research, and practice in the neurosciences. This event is open to all.
Neuroethicists can also join other researchers at UCLA, CDU, and South LA community organizations to propose seed grants aimed at exploring how to deepen the connection between neurosciences and community organizations. The heart of this program includes Human Centered Design workshops, in which participants across academic and community spaces collectively brainstorm priority issues and studies for which neuroscience research can deliver social impact. We hope neuroethicists will participate in these workshops with us; their expertise is central to the ethical design of research with communities.
Q: What key audiences does the Center prioritize reaching, and what long-term impact do you envision for its initiatives?
A: Currently, the Center prioritizes reaching: (1) neuroscience researchers, students, and educators at all points, from basic research to clinical research, and (2) residents, students, and leaders of local communities and organizations; with the goal of engaging each with the other and building capacity for meaningful collaboration.
However, these points of connection intersect with policy makers, legal scholars, educators, and medical professionals, and our longer-term goals include reaching these audiences as well. Since we hope to develop a new way of doing neuroscience, in which neuroethics and community engaged methods are deeply integrated, we also hope to reach other institutions, funders, and national organizations which might share our mission, expand its impact, and partner with us towards this goal.
In the long-term, we envision that a sustained and genuine investment in building the capacities of neurosciences and community organizations to work together to develop research questions, design studies, and disseminate their findings, will fundamentally change the way neuroscience is done. Our hope is that, eventually, neuroscience and society will be synonymous with neuroscience. This investment in the way that neuroscience asks questions and relates to the public will impact everything from education, health disparities, and more.
Q: What are the best ways for both the local and greater neuroethics research community to stay informed and engage with the center’s upcoming initiatives?
A: Members of the neuroethics research community are invited to check out the UCLA-CDU Dana Center for Neuroscience and Society’s website as well as the UCLA Brain Research Institute’s newsletters.
The Neurotech Justice Accelerator at Mass General Brigham (NJAM)
The Dana Foundation also launched the Neurotech Justice Accelerator (NJAM) at Mass General Brigham (MGH), an integrated academic healthcare system and hospital-based research enterprise. As the use of neurotechnology in society grows, NJAM aims to improve equitable access to these technologies and the ethical and legal issues around this proliferation. The program brings together a team of renowned practitioners and scholars from Mass General Bringham, the University of Minnesota, and Harvard Medical School to “provide a forum and training ground to reimagine the future of neurotechnology in society,” as explained by NJAM’s Co-Directors Dr. Gabriel Lázaro-Muñoz, Dr. Francis X. Shen, and Dr. Theresa Williamson.
NJAM will be hosting its second annual Neurotech Justice Summit in the Spring of 2025. The Accelerator currently has open calls for post-doctoral fellowships and will have both graduate fellowships and summer immersion programs for college students later in the year. For more information about NJAM and updates on the Summit and other opportunities, look for announcements on their website, social media channels, and in newsletters such as the Harvard Brain Initiative, Dana Career Network, and the Harvard Center for Bioethics.
NJAM
Question and Answer with NJAM Co-Directors Dr. Gabriel Lázaro-Muñoz, Dr. Francis X. Shen, and Dr. Theresa Williamson
Q: What are some of the upcoming NJAM programs that the neuroethics research community can look forward to participating in?
A: NJAM, a Dana Center Initiative for Neuroscience and Society, will provide a forum and training ground to reimagine the future of neurotechnology in society. NJAM commits to expanding the community of Neuroscience and Society professionals so that research and advocacy in this space has greater impact and is more inclusive. NAM will connect leaders in neurotechnology development and implementation with communities to meaningfully improve equitable access to beneficial neurotechnology and establish standars to promote responsible societal use of neurotechnology.
As such, the neuroethics research community should look out for the second Neurotech Justice Summit in the spring of 2025 (Neurotech Justice Summit – January 24, 2022). Additionally, trainees should look out for post-doctoral and graduate student fellowships in 2025. Summer college students can participate in a summer immersion program as early as summer 2025.
Q: What key audiences does NJAM prioritize reaching, and what long-term impact do you envision with its intended mission?
A: NJAM hopes to reach out in a bidirectional fashion by engaging top trainees and academicians, members of various communities, particularly individuals who will be most affected by these technologies, and neurotech leaders and developers. In doing so, NJAM believes we can change the trajectory of neurotechnology for the better by training the next generation of leaders in neurotechnology who are prepared to engage and listen to their communities.
Q: What are the best ways for both the local and greater neuroethics research community to stay informed and engage with NJAM’s initiatives and programming?
A: Please look out for announcements on our website, neuortechjustice.org, in relevant newsletters such as the Harvard Brain Initiative, Dana Career Network, and the Harvard Center for Bioethics as well as on our social media pages.
Resources
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