One major goal of the UTHealth Houston Neuroscience Research Center is to promote brain awareness in the local community. Learn about our current programs:
-
Brain Night for Kids
As part of international Brain Awareness Week, Brain Night for Kids gives elementary school children and their families an opportunity to learn about neuroscience through experiments and activities designed JUST FOR KIDS! This exciting, educational event is made possible through our partnership with The McGovern Health Museum.
The goal of Brain Night is to increase their awareness of how the brain works and possibly create a new generation of neuroscientists. Demonstrations range from bike-helmet safety, brain reflexes, eye-hand coordination and comparing brains of different species. Children are encouraged to build their own nerve cell with pipe-cleaners and get a face painting of a nerve cell or brain. In addition, the children have the opportunity to touch an actual human brain.
You can email us at [email protected].
-
Graduate Student Brain Awareness Outreach Award
Graduate Student Brain Awareness Outreach Award
This award is open to all UTHealth doctoral students who have exhibited an exceptional interest and effort in brain awareness and neuroscience outreach activities. Applicants must be in good academic standing and have completed their candidacy examination.
Graduate Student Brain Awareness Outreach Award Recipients Year Recipient 2023 Pedram Honarpisheh and Fiona Smith 2021 Andrea Ancer-Leal 2020 Melissa Franch and Jamie Wright 2019 Samantha Debes 2018 Ryan Baumert 2017 Ndidi Uzor 2016 Curtis Neveu 2015 Charles Beaman 2014 Jonathan Flynn 2013 Heather Turner 2012 Sarah Baum Distinguished Medical Student in the Neurosciences Award
Each year the UTHealth Neuroscience Research Center recognizes an outstanding fourth-year medical student for excellence in Neuroscience research while in medical school. The student can be either MD or MD/PhD, but must show evidence of pursuing a career in Neurology, Neurosurgery, Neuroradiology, Psychiatry or other neuro-related field. Selection criteria will include, but is not limited to, academic excellence, summer research and research during academic year, peer reviewed publications and participation in local and national meetings.
Distinguished Medical Student in the Neurosciences Award Recipients Year Recipient 2023 Michelle Chen and Alexa Ryder 2022 Avi Bukhbinder and Anam Haque 2021 Hannah Uhlig-Reche and Vijay Dharmaraj 2019 Sidish Venkataraman and Gregory Jones 2018 Cihan Kadipasaoglu and David Savage 2017 Jenny Riecke 2016 Henry Caplan 2015 Christopher Conner 2014 Alexander Frolov 2013 Jeremy Wetzel 2012 Audrey Nath -
Lending Library Program
Through the generosity of the DANA Alliance for Brain Research, the Neuroscience Research Center of UTHealth Houston is now a member of the Lending Library Program for teaching materials related to Neuroscience. Items include, but are not limited to, human and nonhuman brain models, skulls and endocasts, and transport material.
For more information about borrowing any of these materials for use in schools or other demonstrations, please send an email to [email protected].
-
Annual Neuroscience Public Forum
The Annual Neuroscience Forum will be held on April 2, 2025. The annual forum is part of international “Brain Awareness Week”. It is one of the largest, public neuroscience outreach events held in Houston, allowing hundreds of members of the Houston community to interact with scientists and clinicians as well as view demonstrations and displays related to brain function and health.
The topic of the 2025 forum is Youth Mental Health: Navigating the Storm and Stress of Adolescence.
Moderator:
Jeff R. Temple, PhD
Associate Dean of Clinical Research Director, Center for Violence Prevention Professor and Psychologist School of Behavioral Health SciencesPanelists:
Dana DeMaster, PhD
Associate Professor Department of Pediatrics The Children's Learning Institute (CLI) McGovern Medical SchoolMelissa Peskin, PhD
Professor and Vice Chair Health Promotion & Behavioral Sciences UTHealth Houston School of Public HealthFunlola Are, PhD
Assistant Professor Program Director of the Nurturing Resilience Initiative Faillace Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences McGovern Medical SchoolhCesar A. Soutullo MD, PhD
John S. Dunn Professor Vice Chair and Chief, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Director, ADHD Outpatient Program
Our Brain Awareness Activities
Brain Night for Kids (at the McGovern Health Museum, 1515 Hermann Drive) is held in March from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. This free event is packed with several activities for kids! Families are invited to hold a real human brain, get their faces painted, learn about reflexes and explore how the brain works. View photos from last year’s event on our Facebook page.
The Annual Neuroscience Public Forum (at the Cooley University Life Center, 7440 Cambridge St., Houston, TX 77054) is an annual free event held in conjunction with Brain Awareness Week, an international campaign organized by the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, to inform the public of brain-related issues and the importance of brain research.
The Neuroscience Research Center gratefully acknowledges the support of The Ellwood Foundation, with a special thanks to volunteers from UTHealth Houston Medical School Students, UTHealth Neuroscience Graduate Program Students, UTHealth Houston Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, and UTHealth Houston Departments and Programs — Neurobiology and Anatomy, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Pediatric Surgery, and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.