BMRI Diversity and Inclusion | Feil Family Brain & Mind Research Institute

BMRI is committed to fostering an inclusive environment for scientists, students, faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds and experiences.

Committee Chair: Teresa Milner, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience
Committee Co-Chair: Esteban Andres Fridman, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience

Committee Members:

Karen Carter, Department Administrator

Goals & Values of BMRI Diversity Committee

I. Outreach

II. Monitoring & Evaluation

III. Mentorship

IV. In House Programming

V. Oversight

Implementation

Recruit and assemble a committee of faculty members, admin, and students within the department for diversity focused initiatives.
Including a dedicated forum for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) students who become involved with the BMRI.
Create a designated inventory on the status of faculty and students, the makeup of our department and where the gaps exist within representation.
Create a more engaged mentorship for the chair and others to allow for conversations and opportunities of academic and professional growth.

Partnerships

Our partners include the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at Weill Cornell whose mission is to create a collaborative working and learning environment. We believe that diversity is a platform for developing creative solutions to challenging healthcare problems, advancing cutting-edge biomedical research, and designing and implementing innovative teaching modalities in medical education. We view diversity in the broadest sense, including differences in race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, ability, religious practices, socioeconomic class, citizenship, life experiences, and other important aspects of human life.

Emerging Leaders in Neuroscience Lecture Series

This monthly lecture series sponsored by the BMRI Diversity and Inclusion Committee started in 2021. Extramural postdocs that are on the faculty job market and early career scientists who have recently transitioned to independence are invited to share their research with the BMRI neuroscience community. Nominations open in the summer, and selected speakers will present their research, network with BMRI faculty and peers, and receive an honorarium (if eligible). Postdocs from underrepresented backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.

https://brainandmind.weill.cornell.edu/diversity-and-inclusion/emerging-...

Feil Family BMRI Neuroscience Summer Diversity Scholars Program

Beginning in the summer of 2023, the BMRI will sponsor a Helen and Robert Appel Alzheimer's Disease Research Institute Summer Diversity Scholar and a Neuroscience Summer Diversity Scholar. These BMRI Summer Scholarships are a new opportunity for promising young college-level scientists identifying from an underrepresented background and residing in the New York City area. They will provide awardees 10-week long paid internships within the BMRI with leaders in neurodegeneration and other neurological diseases as well as addiction and psychiatric disorders. Individuals will receive one-on-one training with a researcher in one of the BMRI laboratories, develop a research idea and plan, learn scientific methods, and produce their own data. They will also be included in workshops and seminars sponsored by WCM’s Office of Diversity. At the end of the internship, the diversity scholars will present their findings in a research seminar.

https://brainandmind.weill.cornell.edu/diversity-and-inclusion/bmri-summer-scholars-program

Questions?

For any suggestions of speakers or events for the BMRI Diversity Committee, please contact Teresa Milner, Esteban Fridman, or Maullika Dua
Please share any diversity or social justice events you are participating in, to share with the BMRI community.

Teresa Milner: tmilner@med.cornell.edu

Esteban Fridman: esf2005@med.cornell.edu

Maullika Dua: mzd2020@med.cornell.edu