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

 

 

 

 

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. 

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 

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.

Challenges and opportunities for brain scientists in the MENA region

Friday 3 December 2021 05:00 pm CET

The session will start with an introduction of the ALBA Network. This will be 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 will follow 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