Overview
The educational mission of the NTC is to educate undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty in the newest neurotechnologies, training a new generation of interdisciplinary neurotechnology researchers for the 21st Century. Graduate students and postdocs supported by the NTC will be supervised by at least two different PIs, enhancing existing collaborators and fostering new ones. Where possible, we will also encourage the participation of least one industrial (or government laboratory) advisor on a graduate students’ thesis committee. The NTC will support only synergistic interdisciplinary graduate student and postdoctoral research projects; single-PI projects will not be supported.
Knowledge transfer activities
Our outreach mission is to provide broad public exposure to the importance of neuroscience and neurotechnologies and inspire interest in K-12 students in neurotechniques (and STEM generally). To maximize impact, we will concentrate on a few key initiatives, including the participation in the new Harlem Brain STEM Network which includes local STEM Programs such as Cell Motion Laboratories (BioBus and BioBase), The Zuckerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute (Z-MBBI) Teacher Training Programs and HypotheKids. We will feature several events throughout the year on the Columbia Morningside campus such as: the NTC NeuroDay, the NeuroTech Public Lecture Series, and the Ethics of NeuroTechnology Symposium.
Harlem Brain STEM Network
- BioBus and BioBase—BioBus is an innovative mobile life-science laboratory that since 2008 has travelled to more than 420 schools, reaching more than 115,000 students. With NTC support, we will equip a BioBus with microscopes and curriculum derived from NTC laboratories. The “NeuroBus” will be able to reach broad communities in the New York City area, encouraging participating in local science fairs such as the World’s Science Festival, the Maker Fair at the NY Hall of Science, and BRAIN-NY Week activities. In addition, the recently expanded BioBase Harlem is currently under construction on the new Columbia Manhattanville campus. With help from NTC, its efforts will be focused on visiting the 100 schools within walking distance of the facilities to promote neurotechnologies developed by the NTC, recruiting students from these schools to enroll in in-depth after school classes and summer camps. The NTC has the opportunity to define what the word “science” means in Harlem.
Hypothekids (Summer 2015)
The NTC sponsored the Under the Lens Week for the Summer 2015 session. NTC labs were featured in a week long course that taught children from grades K-6 about brain anatomy and neuronal function through the Yuste Lab transgenic GCAMP6s hydra lines as well as how to create mini machines using bacterial spore tapes from the Sahin lab.