Commitment to DEI
Are you hosting an event that is relevant to the mission of diversity, equity and inclusion in the sciences? Do you have an idea for an event that you would like to discuss? Please contact us at biodei@brandeis.edu.
Excellence in science is enhanced by a diversity of people, perspectives, and backgrounds who learn, teach, and share ideas in an inclusive and accepting environment.
In recognition of this fact, for over two decades our department has participated in many activities designed to recruit and retain undergraduate and graduate students from diverse backgrounds. These activities include sponsoring a booth at the annual SACNAS and ABRCMS national conferences, at which faculty, students, and administrators from our programs represent Brandeis. At these meetings, students present their own scientific research and collaborate with faculty and staff to encourage prospective students to apply to our programs. The Biology Department has been home to a number of different summer undergraduate research experiences over the years that aid in our diversity efforts by allowing us to recruit and mentor students from a wide range of backgrounds. Our most recent NSF REU Site in Cell and Molecular Visualization was continuously funded from 2014-2019. We have also built relationships with colleges and universities that educate a disproportionate number of students from historically marginalized backgrounds (e.g. UMass Boston) which has resulted in numerous students attending summer research programs at Brandeis and matriculating into our PhD programs.
Despite these efforts, the Biology Department and Program in Neuroscience recognizes that, as with many institutions, our community was shaped by historic inequities to marginalized communities and thus, still falls short of this goal. Our work to build a more equitable and inclusive learning environment continues.
Joint Biology/Neuroscience DEI Committee
Mission Statement:
The goal of this committee is to foster a more inclusive and equitable culture in the Biology and Neuroscience programs. The Bio/Neuro research community includes faculty, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, staff, and undergraduate students working in research labs. Representatives from these different constituencies make up our committee which allows us to obtain a holistic view of the department climate with respect to DEI and allows for communication within and across groups. Some of our tasks include identifying DEI climate issues and taking action to address any problems. In response to issues brought to our attention, we offer DEI educational opportunities, moderated by experts in the particular topic, for our community. We also learn from others by attending conferences directly related to DEI issues (e.g. National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education (NCORE)) and meeting students from historically underrepresented groups at scientific conferences such as SACNAS and ABRCMS.
Members:
- Sebastian Kadener, PhD, Associate Professor of Biology
- Melissa Kosinski-Collins, PhD, Professor of Biology
- Suzanne Paradis, PhD, Professor of Biology (Committee Chair)
- Aishwariya Iyengar, PhD, Postdoctoral Scholar
- Jared Newell, doctoral student Program in Neuroscience
- Jamie Stonemetz, doctoral student Program in Neuroscience
- Jane Theriault, PhD, Academic Administrator
Past Members:
- Gretchen Schneider, MS, Director MS in Genetic Counseling Program
- Víkko Suárez Casanova, PhD Candidate in Neuroscience
Faculty, staff, postdocs, and students can contact the Committee at biodei@brandeis.edu for discussion of DEI related concerns and/or referral to appropriate University resources.
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- September 2023- Dr. Chip McNeal (Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Education and Learning Initiatives) led a two-part workshop entitled “Brandeis DEI WorkshopSeries for Science Labs: Understanding Implicit Bias, Microaggressions and Cultural Awareness.” This workshop was open to everyone working in science research laboratories.
- Ongoing. Invite prominent scientists from underrepresented groups for departmental seminars and request that student groups such as Diverse Brandeis Scholars do the same.
- Ongoing. Provide support for student-initiated groups such as the SACNAS chapter, Diverse Brandeis Scholars, Women in Science Initiative, Brandeis Queer Grad Student Union, Career Development for the Sciences, and the Postdoctoral Association.
- October 2022. Launched “The Unofficial Guide to the MCB/Neuro PhD Programs” that will be updated yearly.
- Summer 2022. Worked with GSAS to increase communication about dependent care insurance for graduate students.
- Summer 2022 - ongoing. Suzanne Paradis, Jane Theriault and Anahita Zare planned and led a new DEI workshop which launched in August 2022 for incoming grad students. This will become an annual event.
- Spring 2022. Helped craft Division of Science guidelines for Laboratory Norms and Expectations.
- Spring 2021 - ongoing. Facilitated seminar invitations by student groups to scholars who study issues of diversity, equity, and inclusions in their research
- Spring 2021 - ongoing. Meeting and partnering with student groups that represent individuals from underrepresented backgrounds to address issues of inequity and exclusion in timely manner when possible.
- March 2022. Invited Julián Cancino, Director of the Gender and Sexuality Center at Brandeis, to lead a discussion about gender and sexual identity with the Biology and Neuroscience community at Brandeis.
- Fall 2021. Collaborated with Dr. Anahita Zare, Director of Education, Outreach and Diversity for the Brandeis MRSEC program, to add a DEI discussion component to the Responsible Conduct of Research Class which will now be taught yearly.
- May 2021 - ongoing. Drs. Paradis and Kadener facilitated a Biology faculty discussion around diversifying syllabi and curriculum.
- Summer 2021. In collaboration with Dr. Aretina Hamilton (former Director, DEI Programming, Training, Education & Development at Brandeis) we held a DEI training for incoming and current graduate students during orientation week in August 2021.
- Spring 2021 - ongoing. Solicitation of student opinions through annual faculty meetings with UDRs, grad student and postdoc representatives. Also, asked for anonymous feedback from graduate students to gauge departmental and program cultures.
- Summer 2020. Engaged a diverse group of undergraduate and graduate students to develop BLM and Value statements.
Faculty, staff, postdocs, and students can contact the Committee at biodei@brandeis.edu for discussion of DEI related concerns and/or referral to appropriate University resources.
Although Brandeis has no formal mentorship training for faculty, the Biology Department and Neuroscience Program faculty recognize that excellence in mentoring is crucial to the success of our individual students and our research programs in general. Thus, members of our faculty have voluntarily participated in two recent mentorship workshops:
- Twenty-five Biology and Neuroscience faculty participated in-person at the day-long CIMER Entering Mentoring workshop held February 1, 2023 on the Brandeis Campus. Details about workshop goals and content can be found here: cimerproject.org.
- Twenty Biology and Neuroscience faculty participated in-person at the half-day Culturally Aware Mentoring Workshop on March 9, 2020 on the Brandeis campus. Details about workshop goals and content can be found at: NRMN CAM training module.
- ALL faculty attended a workshop on Discrimination, Harassment, Sexual Violence and Accessibility at Brandeis University sponsored by the Brandeis Office of Equal Opportunity held during winter 2020.
- Drs. Paradis and Griffith attended the NINDS Strengthening a Neural Network conference focused on increasing diversity in Neuroscience careers in April 2019.
- We are continuously identifying and deploying resources, both internal and external, for DEI training for all community members.
Students
- Recruiting underrepresented students to summer undergraduate research programs
- Operating booths and sponsoring student and faculty attendance at national SACNAS, NIH ENDURE, SFN and ABRCMS conferences. In 2022, the Department of Biology and Neuroscience program sponsored the attendance of the following people:
- SACNAS:
Professor Susan Birren
Maryanna Aldrich
Students: Vikko Suarez, Rocky Klein, Norelis Diaz Rodriguez, Natasha Baas-Thomas, and Thomas Gray (SACNAS travel award recipient).
- ABRCMS:
Professor Melissa Kosinski-Collins
Maryanna Aldrich
Jane Theriault
Students: Marissa Ashton and Jazmin Morales
- Active participation in the annual New England SACNAS regional meetings (host institution for the 2019 meeting).
- Working with the IMSD program at UMass Boston.
- Enhanced outreach to applicants from historically underrepresented groups.
- Involving diverse grad students in admission decisions.
Postdoctoral fellows
- Awarded an NIH postdoctoral training grant in Neuroscience that serves as a vehicle to hire postdocs from underrepresented groups.
Faculty
- Broadly advertising positions , including in Academic Diversity Search, Inc., Science Careers, Academic Jobs Online, American Society for Cell Biology, ASBMB, and soliciting applications from institutions/laboratories with a prevalence of diverse trainees.
- Attendance at Black In Neuro, Black In Microbiology and similarly focused sessions at national scientific meetings.
- Seek candidates who prioritize DEI in their teaching and research plans.
- Actively working to create syllabi that reflect diverse voices in science and highlight the work of researchers from underrepresented groups.
- A task force made up of members from across the Division of Science submitted a report to the Dean of Arts and Sciences advocating for changes in curriculum and additional resources available to STEM majors. The division is currently in discussion with the Dean’s office about implementation.
Resources for discussing or reporting DEI issues
The Brandeis Counseling Center (BCC) provides counseling for students in times of stress, and encourages them to ask for help with their most immediate concerns. Counseling is available to all students regardless of whether they have Brandeis health insurance or outside insurance.
Provides education, empowerment and support related to sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating/domestic violence and stalking. The Prevention, Advocacy & Resource Center (PARC) is a confidential, student-centered resource serving all members of the Brandeis community who have been impacted by violence. We offer a variety of ways to engage with us focused on both prevention of and response to violence.
The Ombuds staff remains available virtually as a confidential, independent, impartial, and informal resource for all members of the Brandeis community including undergraduates and graduate students, faculty, staff and alumni. In our role as ombuds, we support the dignity, well-being and safety of each person who visits us by providing a safe space to talk confidentially and off the record about difficult situations and offer conflict resolution support.
Brandeis chaplains offer counseling, support and community to students of all faiths. The chaplains oversee on-campus worship and student religious life while also offering community support in times of joy and crisis.
Reporting Resources (Non-Confidential)
This office is responsible for addressing all issues of discrimination, harassment and sexual violence within the Brandeis community. If you have experienced an incident related to these issues, you can report this through their report page on their website either anonymously or by giving your contact information.
If you have concerns about the well-being of a student or other concerns, you can use Brandeis’s Report It page, where there are a number of different reports available depending on the nature of the concern (e.g., sexual misconduct, mental health, harassment, etc.).
Additional resources to support community members can be found on the DEI Resources page.