Community

Columbia University Neuroscience Outreach (CUNO)  seeks to foster a lifelong interest in the brain and in science among New York City school students and the general public. See more about CUNO here. Their programs are listed below.

Late Night Science

Saturday Science

Classroom Visits

Spanish Education

Scientist on the Subway

Awardees

Briana McRae

Brianna has been involved in multiple years of service on the Recruitment planning committee. Her community outreach includes leadership in the Columbia University Neuroscience Outreach (CUNO) Saturday Science program, and service as a mentor in programs such as the Columbia Black Undergraduate Mentorship Program (BUMP) Biology and Black People Space.

Elizabeth Pekarskaya

Liz’s leadership and service to NB&B includes participation in the planning committees for our first-year Boot Camp, Recruitment, and our Program Retreat. She co-founded and chaired our Student Advisory Committee (SAC), and co-founded a Peer Mentorship Program to pair first-year students with advanced students for guidance and networking during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. In the community, she has served as a writer and editor for the Scientist on the Subway (SciSub) blog as part of Columbia University Neuroscience Outreach, and been a mentor for Women in Science at Columbia (WISC) and the Columbia Black Undergraduate Mentorship Program (BUMP) Biology.

Michelle Stackmann

Michelle was active in Columbia University Neuroscience Outreach (CUNO), including serving as Co-President and co-founding the Scientist on the Subway (SciSub) blog. She oversaw community outreach activities such as their monthly ‘Saturday Science’ events and presented her work during ‘Late Night Science.’ Michelle organized CUNO’s first Bilingual Brain Fair, and was involved in the translation of neuroscience lesson plans into Spanish which were then shared online for public use. She was also a mentor with Científico Latino’s Graduate Student Mentorship Initiative (GSMI).

Jasmine Stone

Jasmine has demonstrated a deep commitment to teaching and mentorship outreach for NB&B and the wider Columbia community. She co-founded and chaired a mentorship working group at the Zuckerman Institute to bring together students, postdocs, faculty, and administration to advance mentorship training and coaching; she is also an active participant in the ZI Trainee Advisory Committee (ZTAC). She has provided teaching resources to our community as a Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) lead teaching fellow, helped expand NB&Bs Python course, and worked with NB&B administrators to enhance the students experience by organizing initiatives such as an annual tax information session. She serves as a mentor for the Columbia Access to Doctoral REadiness (CADRE) post-baccalaureate program. She has also served on the Bootcamp planning committee.

Andrés Villegas

Andrés was instrumental in the founding of NB&B’s Columbia Access Neuroscience (CAN) program to advise diverse undergraduates applying to graduate school. He was also an early participant in our Student Advisory Committee (SAC). He participated in the Columbia Neuroscience Seminar Selection Committee to promote diversity and inclusion among invited speakers, and served on the social events committee for Zuckerman Institute Gender Inclusion (ZIGI) group. As vice-president of Columbia University Neuroscience Outreach (CUNO) he spearheaded the development of programming for the Latino community, and led the Bilingual Brain Fair. He also organized science lectures and tutoring sessions at area high schools. Andrés served as a panelist for Columbia’s participation in ENDURE (NIH Blueprint Enhancing Neuroscience Diversity through Undergraduate Research Education Experiences).

Nominees

Valentine Andreu

Amanda Anqueira

Nick Bulthuis

Lilian Coie

Kevin Gonzalez

Kimberly Hernandez

Risa Kimura

Yvonne Li

Abhishek Shah

Sharon Su

Abby Wood

Marjorie Xie