McWane’s Community Impact, Recognized in Research

A new publication in The Journal of Neuroscience highlights the impact of “Neuroscience for All,” a University of Alabama at Birmingham initiative designed to connect neuroscience research with the community.

The paper shares a model for how scientists and community partners can work together to make brain science more accessible, engaging, and relevant in everyday life. Through hands-on experiences, public talks, and local events, Neuroscience for All reaches thousands across the Birmingham area each year. In fact, annual Brain Awareness Week events alone now engage nearly 4,000 participants, reflecting significant growth in community interest and participation.

McWane Science Center plays a key role in advancing this work as a community partner and host site for major outreach events like Brain Awareness Week, helping translate research into real-world experiences and bring neuroscience to life for visitors of all ages.

More than just outreach, this collaboration reflects a broader goal of building trust in science, improving health understanding, and inspiring future generations to pursue STEM careers.

Science communication plays an essential role in bridging the gap between researchers and the general public. Now, more than ever, it is essential for neuroscientists to interact with their communities to increase understanding of basic neuroscience concepts and enhance trust in academic scientists as members of the community. However, it can be difficult, as scientists, to develop and maintain effective lines of communication with the public. To address this, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, we have been organizing public outreach events aimed to educate the public about various aspects of neuroscience. The goal of this article is to share our strategy for expanding our successful once-per-year “Brain Awareness Week” event to a year-round “Neuroscience for All” program and to provide practical materials and a dedicated, interactive GitHub-based platform for discussion of personal experiences and extensions and improvements to materials. We hope that the resources and examples we outline will facilitate other institutions to easily expand existing programs or create new ones from scratch and that our online forum will facilitate broader discussion and improvement of neuroscience outreach initiatives across institutions. -Abstract, Neuroscience for All: Sharing Neuroscience with Your Community (2026)¹

The full article from The Journal of Neuroscience will be publicly available in approximately six months, and we look forward to sharing it then. Keep an eye out on our social media for updates on the article and more!

Linkedin
Facebook
Instagram

¹ Caangay, A. E., Grey, D. K., Newman, C. E., Eickstead, C. T., Walters, T. E., Bullock, M., Gwinn-Arakas, A., Coachman, A., Roth, J. R., & Visscher, K. M. (2026). Neuroscience for all: Sharing neuroscience with your community. The Journal of Neuroscience, 46(12). https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.0107-26.2026