Columbia University

This grant supports Columbia University’s Future Minds Program, which helps students discover, explore, and pursue career pathways in neuroscience, while addressing the pressing societal issue of the youth mental health crisis. Through immersive research experiences, structured mentorship, and community-engaged scientific communication, the program aims to develop a diverse future neuroscience workforce committed to using neuroscience to address societal needs. 

The Future Minds Research Program provides 12 high school students with a paid, year-long internship that begins with a week-long summer bootcamp and continues through a five-week immersive research placement followed by academic-year programming. During the bootcamp, students participate in seminars, lectures, and hands-on workshops introducing foundational neuroscience concepts and human-centered neuroscience research methods. Ethical considerations are intentionally integrated throughout the program, including neuroethics seminars and discussions on privacy, access, fairness, bias in brain-based evidence, and the responsibilities of scientists to communities impacted by their work. Students then transition into mentored laboratory placements where they engage in study design, data collection, and analysis while continuously examining how their work connects to societal needs. As the program progresses, students build scientific communication, career readiness, and community engagement skills through sustained academic-year programming. A journal club focused on the neuroscience of youth mental health strengthens critical thinking skills through faculty-led discussions of topics including technology and the developing brain, neurodiversity, social justice, and community well-being. These discussions encourage students to connect neuroscience to everyday life, examine ethical boundaries, and consider how neuroscience can better serve society. 

Students also receive career coaching and near-peer mentorship focused on academic pathways, college applications, and research opportunities. Throughout the year, they work with BioBus to share their learning through public-facing events, including Saturday Science programming in Harlem and the Future Minds Bash, where they present scientific posters and community-directed communication projects to families, peers, and community members. Additionally, students serve on the first Youth Advisory Board for Columbia Psychiatry, providing direct input on youth mental health neuroscience research and, in turn, informing faculty understanding of youth priorities and lived experiences. 

Future Minds is designed as a replicable model for other institutions, with curriculum and mentor resources intended for broad dissemination and adaptation, including in settings without extensive laboratory infrastructure through didactic programming, journal clubs, and community-centered scientific communication projects. 

This grant supports the Dana Education objective to engage K-12 students in learning about neuroscience and its relevance to society through structured education opportunities (formal and non-formal) that integrate relevant, real-world topics and issues to capture their interest and inspire continued study.