BioBus

This grant continues support for BioBus’ large scale public event, (Neuro)Science is Everywhere!, engaging hundreds of community members on 125th Street in Harlem during Brain Awareness Week 2026. The event engages the community in discussions and exhibits to explore topics of brain health and the relevance of scientific research to everyday life, while also highlighting the societal impacts of ongoing science funding cuts. 

Dana Foundation support has made BioBus a staple of New York City’s annual Brain Awareness Week celebration, allowing their staff scientists and volunteers from local universities to bring neuroscience out of the lab and into the community. BioBus’ high-tech mobile and community laboratories provide students and the community at large with intimate access to scientists and research experiences in low-pressure, high-engagement settings. BioBus partners with the Greater NYC Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience (braiNY) each year, recruiting scientists from Columbia University, New York University, City College, and Regeneron, among others, to participate as volunteers.  

This event provides a unique opportunity for Harlem community members to engage in a “reverse science fair,” in which professional and academic scientists present posters of their research, and community members rank the presentations based on clarity, excitement, and perceived impact. Additional activities invite participants to step into the role of scientist through hands-on experiments, including building microscopes, examining brain cells, exploring neural communication with conductive materials, and engaging with BioBus’s Brain Bank. The event also features interactive games such as “scientist bingo,” designed to prompt deeper conversations about scientists’ backgrounds, values, and personal journeys, reinforcing the idea that science is shaped by lived experience. Throughout the event, BioBus intentionally incorporates discussion of the impacts of science funding cuts by prioritizing presenters affected by cancelled projects and inviting reflection on what science funding means for research, communities, and society. 

This grant supports the Dana Education objective to empower people of all ages to use neuroscience in their everyday lives by strengthening their knowledge of the field’s real-world applications and ethical considerations through sustained informal education programs.