Nicolas Daviaud, PhD, postdoctoral fellow, neuroscience, explained his work to visitor Shauntay Williams.
To commemorate Brain Awareness Week—a global endeavor showcasing the progress and benefits of brain research—The Friedman Brain Institute sponsored its fourth annual “Art of the Brain” exhibition. Featuring photographs, medical illustrations, and sculptures that celebrate the beauty of the brain as seen through the eyes of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai scientists, the exhibition took place at the Grady Alexis Gallery in East Harlem.
The opening reception, held Monday, March 13, was attended by many of the researchers who displayed their work, which they created by using the latest technological advances in imaging and 3D printing to help them gain a deeper understanding of the brain. During the 18-day run, the exhibition drew Mount Sinai faculty and staff, and the public.
The gallery also hosted PS 171 middle school students for several hours of immersive, interactive brain-related activities, in an event organized by The Friedman Brain Institute in collaboration with the Icahn School of Medicine’s Center for Excellence in Youth Education (CEYE) and Mentoring in Neuroscience Discovery at Sinai (MiNDS).
PS 171 middle school students participated in brain-related activities.
Among the students’ scientific adventures—which they and CEYE staff detailed using Snapchat—was a guided tour of the exhibition by MiNDS volunteers Xin-an Liu, PhD, postdoctoral fellow in neuroscience; Denise Croote, a first-year PhD student in the neuroscience program; and Eric Rath, a former traumatic brain injury (TBI) patient at Mount Sinai, who is now a TBI and addictions counselor.
Additionally, CEYE teaching assistants helped students view their own brain waves through the NeuroSky® MindWave— educational software that uses an electroencephalogram sensor to detect brain activity. Meanwhile, medical illustrators Christopher M. Smith, MA, and Jill K. Gregory, MFA, brought additional pieces of their work and spoke with students about the rewards and challenges of creating beautiful, yet functional, images to accurately illustrate a scientific topic.