Loyola University Chicago 

Loyola University Chicago was awarded a two-year project-based grant through the Dana Center Initiative. Loyola University Chicago’s two-year plan for advancing Neuroscience & Society leverages their commitment to imbuing discovery, creation, and education with social value and connecting it with outreach to promote equity and advancement. A critical problem in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) is that conventional educational approaches foster neglect of societal impacts and especially alienate students who are minoritized in STEM. Due to its potential to help us understand ourselves, neuroscience is a very popular STEM discipline garnering deep public interest, providing the optimal nexus for enhancing connections between STEM and Society. The Loyola Program in Neuroscience and Society deploy neuroethics pedagogically to increase interest in neuroscience research careers in pre-college students and cultivate STEM identity fused with social awareness. Engagement in activities will break the grip of reductionist focus, elevating participants’ interest in neuroscience and appreciation of the value-laden synergies bridging neuroscience and society.