ALBA is launching a webinar series focusing on region-specific issues linked to diversity and faced by underrepresented groups in brain research around the world.
Diversity and inequity have a different meaning depending on a region or country's culture and history. With this series, the ALBA Network wishes to picture a truly diverse and global view on issues faced by underrepresented neuroscientists; but also to discuss possible solutions to these challenges, which would be relevant to particular regions of the world by taking into account their specificity.
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Latin America
What are the main barriers to succeed in brain sciences in Latin America?
24th February 2021
In this first webinar, ALBA focuses on issues linked to diversity and faced by underrepresented groups in brain research in Latin America.
The session was introduced by the chairs: Prof. Carmen Sandi and Prof. Francesca Cirulli. Then Dr. Ana Silvia presented the results of the IBRO-LARC Survey: Evaluation of gender inequities in the Latin American neuroscience community.
Prof. Elaine Del Bel (Brazil) and Prof. Zulma Dueñas (Colombia) briefly discussed the issues faced by underrepresented groups in brain research in their respective countries.
In the second part of the event, each panelist introduced a different aspect of the challenges currently faced by underrepresented groups in brain research in Latin America.
A discussion with the audience followed the presentations.
Speakers
Ana Silva (Laboratory of Neuroscience of the School of Sciences at Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay) - Member of IBRO Latin American Regional Committee
Edna Matta-Camacho (Carleton University, Canada) - Founder & President of the STEM without Borders Foundation
Gregory Quirk (University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, Puerto Rico) - Recipient of the 2020 Dolores Shockley Minority Mentoring Award
José Luis Pena (Einstein Institute, New York, United States) - Member of the Einstein Senate Committee for Diversity and Inclusion
Valeria Ramirez Castañeda (UC Berkley, United States)
Zulma Dueñas (National University of Colombia, Colombia) - President of COLNE
Elaine Del Bel (University of Sao Paulo, Brazil) - ALBA Advisor & President of FALAN
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India
ALBA Session: Bias in Indian STEM
Saturday 10th April 1:00-3:00 pm CET/ 4:30-6:30 pm IST
ALBA organized a special event on ‘Bias in Indian STEM’ at NeuroFemIndia 2021.
Prof Shubha Tole (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research); ALBA Advisor; moderated and led the discussion on biases in Indian STEM academia. The panel discussed the main biases that women and minorities in India face as they navigate the academic system.
Panelists:
Prof. Bittu Rajaraman (Ashoka University) - Bittu is an Associate Professor of Biology and Psychology. He advocates for diversity and inclusion in STEM
Dr. Farah Ishtiaq (Tata Institute for Genetics and Society) - Farah is an Evolutionary Ecologist. She advocates against ageism in Science.
Grace Banu (Project Mukti) - Grace is the first Indian Engineer who is Transgender. She is a Transgender and Caste activist.
Dr Shambhavi Naik (Takshashila institution; Cloudkrate) - Shambhavi is a Technology and Policy programme specialist. She is the founder and CEO of Cloudkrate.
This event was part of the NeuroFemIndia Online Conference 2021.
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East & South-East Asia
Diversity in brain research in East & South-East Asia: a gender perspective
Tuesday 11 May 2021 - 4-5.30 pm CST / 5-6.30 pm JST / 10-11.30 am CEST
In this webinar, ALBA wished to address gender issues in brain research in East and South-East Asia.
Despite progress in key areas in some countries, the East & South-East Asia region's record on gender equality is still falling short. Structural inequalities and discriminatory gender stereotypes continue to limit women's equal participation in brain research, especially at senior levels. Discussing these issues also remain taboo. This webinar wished to highlight the various issues linked to gender in some of the major countries in the region, in order to draw similarities and differences; but also to discuss possible paths to the progression of equity.
Panelists:
Dipesh Chaudhury (New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), United Arab Emirates) - ALBA Ambassador and Chair of the event
Hailan Hu (Zhejiang University, China) - ALBA Advisor and Chair of the event
Jacque Ip (The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China) - ALBA Ambassador and Chair of the event
Pike See Cheah (Universiti Putra Malaysia - UPM, Malaysia) - Senior Lecturer & Researcher at the Department of Human Anatomy and Chair of the IBRO Asia/Pacific Regional Committee (IBRO-APRC)
Yukiko Goda (RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Japan) - Team Leader of the Synaptic Plasticity and Connectivity Lab
Linda (Shen) Gu (The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China) - Assistant Professor at the School of Biomedical Sciences
Seung-Hee Lee (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology - KAIST, South Korea) - Associate Professor at the Sensory processing Lab
Gail Tripp (Okinawa Institute of Science & Technology - OIST, Japan) - Professor at the Human Developmental Neurobiology research unit & Vice President for University Community Services & Chair of OIST's Gender, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee
Xiaohong Xu (Chinese Academy of Sciences, China) - Head of the Laboratory of instinctive behaviour, Center for excellence in brain science and intelligence technology
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Central & Eastern Europe
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Central and Eastern Europe: challenges and solutions
Thursday 26 August 2021 10:30 am CEST
This event is organised on the occasion of the Virtual FENS Regional Meeting 2021 (Krakow, Poland).
The session will start with an introduction of the Network and the ALBA Declaration on Equity and Inclusion by Zeljka Krsnik (ALBA Board of Directors; Croatia) and Dora Reglodi (ALBA Ambassador; Hungary).
The panel discussion constituted from ALBA Members who come from underrepresented groups working in Central and Eastern European Countries will discuss challenges regarding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in academia.
A discussion with the audience will follow the presentations.
More information on this event here.
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Middle East & North Africa
Challenges and opportunities for brain scientists in the MENA region
Friday 3 December 2021 05:00 pm CET
With Arabic subtitles
The session starts with an introduction of the ALBA Network. This is followed by a panel discussion on the region-specific challenges and diversity issues faced by neuroscientists, as well as success stories and research opportunities in the region. A discussion with the audience follows the presentations.
The panel comprises prominent neuroscientists from the MENA region and its diaspora.
Hilal Lashuel (Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne - EPFL, Switzerland) - Associate Professor of Neuroscience, ALBA Advisor and Panel Chair
Hala Darwish (American University of Beirut, Lebanon / University of Michigan, USA) - Associate Professor at the University of Michigan School of Nursing and Panel Chair
Dipesh Chaudhury (New York University Abu Dhabi - NYUAD, United Arab Emirates) - Assistant Professor of Biology, ALBA Ambassador and Panel Chair
Mohammad M. Herzallah (Al-Quds University, Palestine / Rutgers University, USA) - ALBA Ambassador, Founding director of the Palestinian Neuroscience Initiative at Al-Quds University
Samia Bensassi (Mongi Ben Hamida National Institute of Neurology, Tunisia) - Associate Professor of Neurology and ALBA Ambassador
Mohamed Salama (Amercian University in Cairo - AUC, Egypt / Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland) - Associate Professor at AUC Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology
Sara Elfarrash (Mansoura University, Egypt), Assistant Professor of Physiology and ALBA Ambassador
Karem Al-Zoubi (Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan) - Professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics
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Sub-Saharan Africa
What it takes to succeed as a neuroscientist in Africa
2nd February 2022
In this webinar, ALBA & World Women in Neuroscience wish to address diversity issues across the Sub-Saharan African neuroscience community. The panel discussion will explore the challenges and biases faced by neuroscientists while establishing their careers in the region, as well as the strengths present in the region - which can be exploited to find solutions.
This webinar is organised in partnership with World Women in Neuroscience.