Zuckerman Institute Introduces High School Students to Frontiers of Neuroscience

BRAINYAC: The Zuckerman Institute’s Brain Research Apprenticeships in New York at Columbia.

July 28, 2014

Over the summer Idniel Paula headed to Nobel laureate and University Professor Eric Kandel’s neuroscience lab, donned a white coat and peered through a microscope. His daily routine resembled that of many experienced scientists but not of a typical 16-year-old high school student.

He was part of BRAINYAC (Brain Research Apprenticeships in New York at Columbia), a research program at the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute that places New York City high school students in laboratories for five weeks during the summer following training sessions on Saturdays during the preceding months. Funded by the Pinkerton Foundation, it helps students broaden their scientific knowledge, hone research skills and learn about possible biomedical careers. It is one element of the Zuckerman Institute’s unique mission to increase public understanding of brain science, especially in our community.