Ashley Cunningham
A new initiative known as Black In Neuro is taking hold around the world as scientists unite to support and encourage Blacks in the field of neuroscience, an effort swiftly supported and energized by the Mount Sinai Health System through The Friedman Brain Institute.
What launched as #BlackInNeuroWeek, a seven-day global get-together via Zoom, Skype, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram from July 27 to August 2, 2020, to celebrate Black excellence in neuroscience-related fields, continued with an inaugural Black In Neuro virtual conference October 31 – November 4.
“For me, Black In Neuro has been about redefining what a neuroscientist looks like,” says Ashley Cunningham, a first-year neuroscience PhD student at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Ms. Cunningham is one of several co-founders of the initiative and was a key organizer of its successful #BlackInNeuroWeek event. “We want to show current and future neuroscientists that we are making this space for them, where no one can dull their shine, their intelligence, or their existence. I am passionate about scientific outreach to diverse communities.”
Ms. Cunningham is working in the laboratory of Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD, researching how epigenetic mechanisms contribute to the risk and development of mood disorders, such as depression and anxiety. Dr. Nestler is the Nash Family Professor of Neuroscience, Director of The Friedman Brain Institute, and Dean for Academic and Scientific Affairs at the Icahn School of Medicine.
Says Dr. Nestler about the effort, “I am incredibly proud of Ashley Cunningham and her national leadership role in this very important initiative. Our nation’s neuroscience research enterprise suffers greatly from the lack of Black neuroscientists, and I am hopeful that this new initiative will at long last begin to correct this weakness. The Friedman Brain Institute is committed to the goals of Black In Neuro in the strongest possible ways, having launched our own Diversity in Neuroscience initiative—@DiverseBrains—five years ago.”
All of this builds on the unwavering response by the Mount Sinai Health System to integrate and accelerate efforts to dismantle racism and advance equity through recent priorities established by the Office for Diversity and Inclusion. Many efforts are ongoing with new rigor, while other programs are launching, such as the BioMedical Laureates Program, one of the first in the nation to recruit underrepresented candidates and enhance diversity among senior research faculty. It includes a companion commitment to recruit and mentor Junior Laureates, those just starting their postdoctoral fellowships. Forming the foundation for these and future efforts is the Mount Sinai Health System Task Force to Address Racism, which was established in July with a resolve to make Mount Sinai an anti-racist health care and learning institution that intentionally addresses structural racism.
Black In Neuro aims to amplify Black voices in neuroscience and provide a durable platform where participants can network and share their thoughts about a wide range of subjects, including the struggles they have overcome, and feel lifted up and supported. Among the activities during #BlackInNeuroWeek were panel discussions, lectures, and opportunities for participants to share their individual experiences. The event covered a variety of topics, including pathways to careers in neuroscience, mentorship, and the role of Black women in the field. A panel discussion on the effects of racism on neuroscientists drew more than 800 participants. At the Black Joy In Neuro session, participants opened up about how they find fulfillment and happiness in the field. Together, their goal is to build a virtual community around speaker panels, blog posts, interviews, and mentoring, all while inspiring a new generation of scientists and validating the contributions of those currently in the field.
Here are some of the Mount Sinai voices shaping the discussion:
Joseph Simon
Joseph Simon, a fourth-year neuroscience PhD student at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai who is studying social influences on decision-making in the laboratory of Erin Rich, MD, PhD, sees Black In Neuro as a movement. “For those of us already in the field of neuroscience, it demonstrates that we’re not alone, that there are others who look like us out there,” he says. “And for future generations, it presents science as a pathway to success. Often, when we think of successful people, we think of doctors and lawyers, but we don’t always think of scientists. Young people should understand that Black scientists are out there making important contributions, and that’s something they can aspire to.”
Faith Adams
Faith Adams, a first-year PhD student from Guyana studying the role of neural circuits in addiction at The Friedman Brain Institute, believes that Black people in academia, especially women, often feel isolated because so few are visible on campus. “#BlackInNeuroWeek has opened doors for me, connected me to other scientists, and started many important conversations. It showed me that others have overcome similar struggles and made me realize that I can do it, too, without having to change who I am.”
Aya Osman, PhD
A newly created Slack channel connected Aya Osman, PhD, a third-year postdoctoral fellow at The Friedman Brain Institute to two fellowship opportunities that she says she would not have otherwise known about. “Black In Neuro is helping to connect Black researchers, and I can’t emphasize enough how important that is,” she says. Dr. Osman is studying the role of the gut microbiome in various neuropsychiatric disorders, including autism and addiction, in the laboratory of Drew Kiraly, MD, PhD.
Dr. Osman believes that this initiative would not have happened had it not been for the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought racial health disparities to the forefront. “The coronavirus really opened people’s eyes,” she says. “We are now more aware than ever that certain factors, such as underlying health conditions and higher rates of employment in jobs where work from home is not possible, have resulted in the virus disproportionately killing the Black community. That, combined with the George Floyd killing, created the perfect storm that put a spotlight on how unfair it all is. This is an opportunity to focus on injustice and to effect real, long-lasting change.”
Dr. Osman is now organizing a series of public lectures at Mount Sinai, the first of which will be on Tuesday, January 19, 2021, focused on various aspects of racism and how they influence health, as part of @DiverseBrains. Invited speakers will cover a range of topics from history, shedding light on how society arrived at this point and the policies that are needed to address the disparities, particularly in the field of mental health.
Organizers of Black In Neuro see the empowerment resulting from their efforts as a necessary first step toward increasing the number of Black neuroscientists. They have identified a need for increased recruitment and retention of students, faculty members, and principal investigators who are Black. Mr. Simon says he has addressed these issues with the Mount Sinai administration. “Having a more diverse, inclusive faculty would go a long way,” he says. “Time will tell if it really leads to increased recruitment and retention and if promises are kept.”
Ernest J. Barthélemy, MD, MPH
Ernest J. Barthélemy, MD, MPH, Co-Chief Resident in Neurosurgery, finds Black In Neuro “refreshing.” Dr. Barthélemy says that, as one of the few Black neurosurgery residents in the United States, he feels the weight of his position and is pleased that other Blacks in the field now feel a sense of community. “Having benefited from so many opportunities, resources, and mentors even before residency, as a Mount Sinai medical student, I know first-hand that a lot of what’s happening at Mount Sinai is exemplary,” he says. “But we can do more. We need to continue this conversation long after the buzz dies down, and we must continue to offer robust support to assure the success of those from underrepresented communities, including increasing the number of faculty positions.”
Black In Neuro also gave Dr. Barthélemy the opportunity to expand the reach of the Society of Haitian Neuroscientists, an organization he founded in 2019 to build a community of clinical and basic neuroscientists among members of the Haitian diaspora to strengthen neuroscience capacity in Haiti. The organization provides support, scholarship, and research to the neurology program at the University Hospital of Mirebalais in Haiti, and plans partnered research and education initiatives with Haiti’s medical schools. Since #BlackInNeuroWeek, the number of neuroscientists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, psychiatrists, and physiatrists in the organization has increased from 12 to 38.
This is a transformative, and reassuring, moment for the Black neuroscientists who have united in this effort. Says Mr. Simon, who is just launching his career: “Knowing there’s a whole community out there with similar backgrounds and similar aspirations is heartwarming. For me, personally, Black In Neuro is a big deal.”