Women in STEM "STEMinist Day" tour
/Research assistant Taylor Bak also volunteers as the Vice President of Internal Relations for U of Miami’s Girls Inspiring Rising Ladies in STEM (G. I. R. L. S.) group, which organized a “STEMinist Day” event today. As part of this event, Taylor put together a tour of the Cox Neuroscience Annex for the girls of PACE Miami, a “prevention and intervention program that addresses the needs of [at-risk] girls from the ages of 11-17”. The aim of this tour was to inspire these girls to consider STEM careers, occupations that are largely male-dominated and are not often presented as realistic options to school-age girls.
Several female scientists in our facility, including our research coordinator Jenna Perry (standing, wearing pink), lead a Q&A session about potential psychology and neuroscience career paths as well as their own experiences as women in STEM.
The tour included a viewing of the Neuroscience Annex’s mock fMRI scanner accompanied by a detailed explanation of brain imaging by facility assistant director, Dr. Ekaterina Denkova (standing at right).
Additionally, lab alumna Beatriz Yepes gave a demonstration of the experiments conducted by the BRAIN Group.