Senior Isobel Souza cuts and disects a sheep brain during a club meeting. The club also spends time raising awareness about dangerous neurological diseases.
Neuroscience Club provides valuable education
We all have brains, but do we all know how they work? The Neuroscience Club is here to answer these questions.
During meetings, club leaders and seniors Nick Collins, Christina Yeo and Kenji Goto-Hardy teach students about neuroscience by presenting information through powerpoints they created. After the powerpoint, they usually watch a video or wrap up the meeting with a discussion.
According to senior Paria Reich, members of the club all share one common passion.
“I’ve been a fan of neuroscience for several years now, so when I found that there was a neuroscience club that opened I was eager to join because that sounded like a really cool idea, and I’ve stuck with it,” Reich said.
Collins, Yeo and Goto-Hardy like to make sure guest speakers are occasionally present.
According to Yeo, last year, the club had a grad student from Boston University come in who was doing research on rats and mice. Another time, a student from Brandeis sat down with the club and talked about the Hodgkin Huxley and Cable Theory.
It’s a learning experience for everyone, according to adviser Arnie Marcus.
“I don’t enjoy realizing how little I know about the brain, but I do enjoy learning what they talk about because I always learn something when I’m able to attend the Thursday meetings,” Marcus said.
In the springtime, the club raises money and prepares for the Multiple Sclerosis walk, which helps raise awareness about the disease that affects the central nervous system in your brain.
“You could choose to donate a certain amount of money. If you donated a certain amount of money you were able to get a t-shirt, and stuff like that. The walking in general was really cool, it was like five miles I think,” Reich said. “It’s a useful fundraiser to raise money for because MS is a very serious condition.”
Marcus enjoys seeing the students’ excitement about neuroscience.
“I like to support what students like to do,” Marcus said. “And as a person that’s getting old, we need good neurologists.”