This grant supported 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 brought this experience to the stage in front of a live audience.

UC Irvine recruits student reviewers from a Title 1 school 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 will evaluate the impact of this novel activity and disseminate information about its structure and outcomes. The goal is for the live review to become a new engagement model for bridging neuroscience and society.