University of California, Irvine,
Center for the Neurobiology of
Learning and Memory (UC Irvine)

This grant supports UC Irvine’s LEARNMEM2023 Frontiers for Young Minds (FYM) Live Review at the International Conference on Learning and Memory. This unique event enables children and scientists to work together to co-create scientific journal articles that are accessible and exciting to younger audiences. 

FYM is a nonprofit journal that publishes scientific articles written by scientists for young readers and engages children in the review process. Children work with graduate student mentors to evaluate the articles, provide feedback to the authors, and accept or reject the manuscripts for publication. The LEARNMEM2023 Live Review brings this experience to the stage in front of a live audience. 

UC Irvine recruits student reviewers from under-resourced schools and under-represented populations to ensure that a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives inform the review process and create accessible and appealing articles. Through dialogue with the students, scientists learn from their diverse voices and incorporate that knowledge into their work. By selecting children from underrepresented communities and engaging them in the scientific process, this activity has the potential to shape their attitudes about science and science careers. 

UC Irvine evaluates the impact of this novel activity and disseminates information about its structure and outcomes. The goal is for the live review to become a new engagement model for bridging neuroscience and society. 

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

This grant also supports the Dana Frontiers objective to pilot innovative multidirectional engagement opportunities to embed community perspectives in research, policy, and decision-making.