First-ever Brain Awareness Week a success

During a field trip to the Exploreum Science Center, students learned about the brain as part of Brain Awareness Week.

The department of physiology and cell biology at the Whiddon College of Medicine and the Gulf Coast Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the University of South Alabama recently sponsored and hosted the first-ever Brain Awareness Week in Mobile at the Exploreum Science Center March 14-18. 

Brain Awareness Week is a global initiative to foster public enthusiasm and support for brain science initially created by the Dana Foundation. The event was co-sponsored by HFC and Fisher Scientific. The Mobile event was organized by Amy Nelson, Ph.D., assistant professor of physiology and cell biology, and lab members including Evan Butlig, Samantha Chaney and Allison Bauman. 

Throughout the week, more than 20 volunteers from the Whiddon College of Medicine and the Department of Health, Kinesiology and Sport presented hands-on activities related to brain cell types, the importance of wearing a helmet, exercise and the brain, and brain and eye dissections. A total of 991 field trip students, their teachers, chaperones and families, and many visitors from the public took part in Brain Awareness Week activities. 

"We were grateful to share information about the brain with so many people of various ages," Nelson said. "This was an amazing educational opportunity for our community!"