First Edition

Summer 2024

Table of Contents

Hello Alumni!

We’re so excited to welcome you to our very first alumni newsletter! Our Neuroscience and Behavior program reached its 10 year anniversary and that's something to celebrate. We wouldn't be here without each and every one of you, our alumni.

This first newsletter is jam-packed with exciting updates about how the program has evolved and grown over time, with many highlights of this past academic year. Your engagement and participation over the years has made this all possible. Please take your time to look at all the great things your support is helping us accomplish.

Scroll to find out more!

Kind regards,

Nancy Michael, Ph.D.
Director of Undergraduate Studies, Neuroscience and Behavior
Rev. John A. Zahm, C.S.C. Teaching Professor
Department of Biological Sciences

Professor Sunny Boyd shared some fascinating history on what it took to create the Neuroscience and Behavior Major at Notre Dame.

Back in the late 80's, early 90's professor of Philosophy, Ed Manier organized a book club that met weekly to read essays from the book "Mindwaves." this was the first hint of neuroscience.

White papers were submitted to the Strategic Academic Priorities Committee to propose a neuroscience institute in 2007.  A parallel proposal was submitted with a focus on cognitive science with the same group of participants plus Computer Science Professor Matthias Shuetz. Neither proposal was successful at this time.

In 2012, another white paper was submitted called "Advancing Our Vision" which coincided with the "Conversations in Brain, Mind, and Behavior" initiative which was organized by Psychology Professors Jess Payne and Michelle Wirth. Unfortunately, these two initiatives did not launch a neuroscience major yet.

Finally in the 2013-2014 school year, the Dean of the College of Science, Greg Crawford, tasked Professor Boyd with creating the NSBH major along with then chair of psychology, Dan Lapsley. A committee including members from both departments would work on it all year and it would be approved by the Academic Council in April 2014. This would become the very first interdisciplinary undergraduate major between these two colleges.

The 2023-24 academic year marked the 10 year anniversary of this program. There have been a lot of changes in the last 10 years. From 2 graduates to 150, the program continues to grow.  Our staff doubled this school year as well. The 2023-2024 school year saw the inaugural Distinguished Lecture Series and Brain Bee - two new events we're excited to expand and grow. Learn more about these programs under Events below. You are all a part of our history too. We encourage you to fill out this Alumni Survey to update us on your life since your undergraduate days at Notre Dame. 

We started in 2015 with two students who managed to fanegel their way into the brand new Neuroscience and Behavior major as seniors (Hi Jasmine and Michael!). This year, we had exactly 150 students graduate across the College of Science and Arts and Letters! The Neuroscience and Behavior program currently totals around 600 students. We are excited for the continued interest in neuroscience and plan to grow and expand this program. If you would like to view videos of the event, please click on the link below the photos.

Processional

Welcome: Nancy Michael, PhD

Student Reflection & Awards

Keynote: Megan Brown, PhD

Diploma Ceremony

"The Last Class"

Outstanding Undergraduate Research Awards:

Sandy Nam

Nadia Nosek

Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Awards:

Madeline Chiang

Brandon Roberts

Outstanding Undergraduate Leadership Awards:

Brooke Friedman

Tianna Sullivan

Universal Scholar Award:

Alan Avalos

Annika Brown

We were fortunate to meet up with the 2019 Valedictorian and Neuroscience and Behavior Major Dr. Sofia Carozza. This South Bend native who is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University Medical School was invited to speak on “What is the Brain” at the McGrath Institute and College of Science Organs and Origins Conference Series on April 5th and 6th. 

Sofia reflected on her time here at the University of Notre Dame recalling she was in one of the first classes to graduate as a declared neuroscience major. She explained that it was through Dr. Nancy Michael’s mentorship that she fell in love with the neuroscience program. “I took a lot of courses across disciplines, trying to arrive at a more robust and comprehensive picture of what it means to be a person and to live a good life,” she said.  Sofia majored in both neuroscience and theology because of her desire to understand all of reality. She explains that although Notre Dame prepares students to have successful careers, the point of being here is “to behold the truth of creation and to try to advance our knowledge of it. And that's an immense privilege that can set the foundation for a very rewarding intellectual, professional, and spiritual life for the rest of your adulthood.”

Sofia received a Marshall Scholarship to earn her masters and doctorate in neuroscience at the University of Cambridge. Afterward, she returned to the states, specifically Boston, for a postdoctoral position at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. There, she works in a neurology lab that examines the relationship between social bonds and brain health. “As a neuroscientist, your object of study is the human person. And so, in a sense, there's not a single question that's off limits,” she said. While her research focus is developmental neuroscience, she is also undertaking interdisciplinary projects on aphasia and the philosophy of science.  Much like her mentor, Dr. Michael, you can simply hear the joy and wonder in her voice as she speaks about the work she’s doing now.

Vanessa Chan has been appointed the incoming Director of Undergraduate Studies for our Neuroscience and Behavior students in the College of Arts and Letters! You can send her congratulations here: tchan3@nd.edu. 

Joe O'Tousa, the inaugural Co-Director for the Neuroscience and Behavior major in the College of Science, has retired! A new Co-Director has yet to be appointed, so stay tuned for updates.

Anre Venter will be retiring during the 2024-25 academic year, so if you want to let him know what he means to you, you're invited to drop a note here: aventer@nd.edu. 

Diane Wright was added as the first staff member to the Neuroscience and Behavior major in fall of 2021, and has proven invaluable to our accomplishments. Her contributions are now reflected in a promotion to a newly created position as our Neuroscience and Behavior Program Manager; a position reflecting her true leadership and contributions. Our continued growth was also recognized by the opportunity to bring on another team member - Jen Kuzdas! The only reason you are getting this newsletter is because of the communication skills and talents Jen brings to our program. With Jen's communications skills, we hope to be in much better touch with you all moving forward. We are also very excited to announce that we will be adding one more member to our team during the 2024-2025 school year.

Contact us at:

dwright2@nd.edu

jkuzdas3@nd.edu

The 2023-2024 school year ushered in many new events and programs. Below are some highlights from this year...

This year we launched a full day conference to highlight all the ways that neuroscience shows up in society. With a framing plenary session, keynote address, poster session and breakout sessions, there was a great exchange of ideas and a lot of opportunities for networking. We had a fantastic turn out of close to 100 attendees. If you are interested in supporting the science communication efforts of your Neuroscience and Behavior major, you can join our Michiana chapter no matter where you've landed geographically. Your dues go to support many of the program's science engagement and communication efforts including but not limited to the Impact Summit, the Brain Ambassadors program and our annual Brain Awareness Fairs. If you are local to the Michiana region and are interested in becoming involved in Chapter leadership for our Michiana Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience, you are also invited to please click the link to the left to "Join MSfN Here" and we will be in touch soon.

This course is in support of broader community engagement efforts for the major where community organizations can request visits from student "Brain Ambassadors" to bring hands-on neuroscience learning to the community! Course time offers student development, neuroscience content, activity design and logistic support for the Brain Ambassadors community engagement platform.

We had 11 Brain Ambassadors for the 2023-2024 school year, up from 6 the previous school year.  These ambassadors participated in five key events including a mini brain fair, a new Brain Bee competition, the annual Brain Awareness Fair, and the St. Joseph County Public Library's BookCon and Science Alive events.

The annual Brain Awareness Fair was held at Howard Park in South Bend this past April. Students and faculty welcomed close to 300 visitors from the Michiana community and demonstrated ways to keep their brains healthy and active. The event is a way to promote STEM disciplines with hands-on activities to foster public enthusiasm for neuroscience. WNDU was in attendance to share the event with their viewing audience (click on the gold button to the left to watch this segment).

In addition to our annual Brain Awareness Fair, Brain Ambassadors created a mini Brain Fair at the Near Northwest Neighborhood Arts Cafe event in October and participated in the St. Joseph County Public Library’s (SJCPL) Science Alive and BookCon events for the second year.

We were also able to partner with the SJCPL main branch and the New Carlisle-Olive Township Public Library to set up displays with books, handouts, puzzles, and games for their patrons for Brain Awareness Week. 

Our Student Leadership Committee has rolled out some great programs including the Taste of Fitness which they offered twice this school year. Students could participate in a number of physical fitness activities to help their mental and physical health.

Students have also set up mentor programs, study breaks, a comprehensive study abroad guide, lab shadowing, an NSBH merch contest, and tutoring.

A new program was launched in the 2023-2024 school year called the Distinguished Lecture Series. We were honored to host Fiona Harrison, PhD as our first guest lecturer. She had a roundtable luncheon with students followed by a presentation entitled “Trace Element Exposure and Risk for Neurodevelopmental Disorders” to faculty and students. Next year we plan to add a community event and move the event to the Fall. If you are interested in getting involved in this program, please make sure to fill out this Alumni Survey.

Under the mentorship of Velshonna Luckey, the Brain Ambassadors started a Brain Bee Chapter this year. Students came to informational meetings to learn about neuroscience. Then in April, they had a competition with four students competing. We plan to grow this program each year and encourage you to fill out this Alumni Survey if you'd like more information.

We had 78 Neuroscience and Behavior Majors who graduated with Nu Rho Psi National Honors this year. In April, Dr. Lane had a beautiful ceremony to welcome the 70 new inductees in the Reading Room at Jordan Hall.

We are working on a new Neuroscience and Behavior website that has a page for you, our alumni! We are planning a launch date before the 2024-2025 school year. You can help add to the Alumni page by filling out the Alumni Update Google Form below. We'd love to hear from you and see where your journey has led you.

You wouldn't believe how excited we get when we hear from alumni.  Please update us through the following Google Form.  Thanks!

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