Early Career BIPOC Neuropsychology Seminar Series

​Purpose: The primary goal of this series is to provide early-career BIPOC scholars with an opportunity to present their research and connect with a broader audience beyond their immediate lab environments. Research shows that underrepresented students innovate at higher rates than their majority counterparts but often receive less recognition and fewer academic opportunities (Hofstra et al., 2020). Throughout my career, invited talks have played a key role in networking and professional development, but most of these opportunities came after I had gained seniority. As a PI, I highly value the work of my graduate students and post-docs, and believe we need to hear more from early-career researchers about their research programs. Another reason for launching this series is to increase representation. While we actively recruit undergraduates for research in our lab, we haven’t done enough to attract students from BIPOC groups—a gap we are working to address. Inviting early-career BIPOC scholars to present their research helps enhance representation in the field of neuropsychology.

Time Commitment: We understand the time and effort involved in developing research programs and conducting thoughtful science. For this lecture series, we ask for a one-hour commitment: 45 minutes for the research presentation and 15 minutes for Q&A. If you are also interested in individual meetings with me, other OSU faculty members, or graduate students in our lab, we would be happy to arrange those as well.

Virtual Sessions and Social Media: We will announce these sessions on social media and open them to a broader audience. However, if you prefer to limit attendance to Ohio State University participants, there is an option to indicate that preference. Your choice will not affect the selection process.

Selection of Speakers: Speakers will be selected based on several factors: 1) diversity in career status, geographical location, and institutional affiliation; 2) alignment of the research topic with the broad interests of our lab; and 3) a variety of research topics across the entire lecture series. The lecture series will be held annually, and if we are unable to offer you a spot this year, you will automatically be considered for next year unless you indicate otherwise. Thank you again for your interest!
 

Ruchika Prakash

Director, Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Brain Imaging
Professor, Psychology
Ohio State University
Email: prakash.30@osu.edu