Megan Messana

Megan Messana is the Office and Communications Assistant at the Dana Foundation.


Down Syndrome Awareness with Lynn Nadel and Jamie Edgin
Current research on Down syndrome focuses on the links between the chromosomal condition, sleep, and memory, and what the overlap between all three can mean for the brain overall.

Pain Awareness Month Interview: Howard Fields
Pain expert Howard Fields, Ph.D., discusses opioids, pain management, and helping the roughly 20 percent of US adults who experience chronic pain.
Dissecting Why We Laugh
Unlike most reflexes, laughing seems to serve no biological purpose, making it a mystery to psychologists and neurologists alike.
#WSF19: The Promise of Psychedelics
A recent World Science Festival event invited four experts to discuss the pros and cons of psychedelics, a class of drugs that has been picked back up by researchers due to its use in treating anxiety and depression.

National Stuttering Awareness Week: May 13-19
For National Stuttering Awareness Week, we spoke with an expert in the field to learn more about treatment and diagnosis for the 70 million people worldwide who stutter.

Addressing Gender Bias in Medicine for National Women’s Health Week
Women's Health Week is an opportunity to address the troubling fact that many women, particularly women of color, often report feeling dismissed or undermined by medical professionals regarding a variety of physical or mental issues.

Coping is Not Created Equal: A Woman’s Military Experience
A recent Brainwave event paired a female Marine Corps veteran with a pharmacologist to explore trauma, coping, and the military’s effort to lessen the effects of PTSD.

National Eating Disorders Awareness Week: Feb. 25-Mar. 3
According to the National Eating Disorders Association, approximately 20 million women and 10 million men will suffer from an eating disorder at some point in their lives.
Laugh Out Loud Neuroscience
Shannon Odell writes and stars in “Your Brain On [Blank]” videos, a series that combines comedy and neuroscience to dispel the myth that her brainy teachers and classmates are not fundamentally different from anyone else.
New York City’s 2019 Regional Brain Bee
New York City’s annual Regional Brain Bee took place on Saturday with students from all five boroughs and Westchester County competing for “Best Brain.”