The Changing Brain: Engaging Montana’s Students with Neuroplasticity Research and Career Pathways

Addressing the urgent need for health science education in a large predominantly rural state, the Changing Brain project will deepen public understanding of neuroplasticity at the intersection of neuroscience, psychology, behavioral health, biomedical sciences, and public health issues encompassing a broad-range of factors that influence the brain, including genetic, epigenetic, pharmacological, developmental, and behavioral factors, as well as disease pathology and injury. Based at the University of Montana’s Living Lab and spectrUM Discovery Area and led by PIs Dr. Rachel Severson and Alex Sobin, the Changing Brain project will embed P-12 health science programming and career awareness in trusted community hubs in Missoula and on the Flathead Indian Reservation. Grounded in current research at the University of Montana, tied to public health issues and career opportunities relevant to Montanans, and developed in collaboration with researchers and community partners, the project’s deliverables will be designed to advance the following Specific Aims: 1) Foster the development of college and career readiness skills and near-peer role model opportunities to champion a thriving research and healthcare workforce for communities in Montana; 2) Promote public understanding of the relevance of neuroplasticity, neural injury research, and clinical careers to the health and well-being of individual Montanans and their communities; and 3) Enhance and disseminate a replicable model for embedding accessible, locally relevant P-12 neuroscience, psychology, and biomedical engagement in existing community hubs. Towards these specific aims, the Changing Brain project will produce: a) a high school “Explainer” program on the Flathead Reservation and in Missoula that positions high school students as near-peer role models and educators for P-12 students and public audiences in communities across our rural region; b) professional development for educators aimed at strengthening formal-informal science education partnerships, developing and disseminating hands-on resources for teachers to implement in their classrooms, and creating conduits between UM research labs and high school science classes; and c) a suite of Changing Brain activities and resources that will engage P-12 and public audiences on the Flathead Reservation and in Missoula with related health science themes. Programming will be co-designed and implemented with an interdisciplinary team of UM researchers in neuroscience, psychology, and biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences and from UM’s Neural Injury Center and Indians into Psychology (InPsych) Program. Formative, summative, and developmental evaluation will inform the project’s iterative improvement, as well as dissemination to the formal and informal science education fields.