With our impending (PAID!) Summer Research Experience for Teachers (RET), based on our previous successful Summer Research Fellowships, we wanted to highlight the successes of our pilot teacher for this upcoming program.
From Jess’s first blog post, detailing her research experience:
“Hi! I’m Jessica, a high school Biology/Anatomy&Physiology/Marine Biology/Forensics teacher in southern California.
“I’m the only high school teacher in this summer Fellowship of the Brain but hopefully I’ll make a good enough impression so they’ll invite more teachers in the future… after all, we ARE the market.”
Jess’s grit and hustle led to a successful poster presentation at the end of the summer, and then she began transforming her research into a curriculum for her students!
Then, the following summer of 2019, Jess joined the International Research Fellowship to continue her research, to perform new (pedagogical) research, and preparing articles for publication – which have been accepted and will be published soon!
For a deeper look at her journey, and for a taste of what you might experience during your summer RET, check out all of Jessica’s Blog Posts:
Neuroscience Experiment Intern Wanted (Downtown Ann Arbor)
Compensation: $15/hr based on 40-hour work week Employment type: full-time internship
Backyard Brains is seeking a neuroscience intern to continue ongoing experiments!
You: -A STEM undergrad, currently taking a break from the classroom. (Recent grad or gap year preferable) -Passionate about scientific discovery and designing innovative, impactful experiments -Experienced in or excited by a future of scientific outreach -Able to guide a project through every step and take initiative when help is needed -Looking forward to being a Neuroscience ambassador! -Living in the Ann Arbor area
The Job: -Develop and run experiments in ongoing research projects that were started during our summer fellowships -Originate accessible experiment write-ups for use in BYB content channels -Short-term internship; can last 3-6 months, depending on availability and project. -Work in our Ann Arbor office during normal business hours (no parking on-site)
Our experiments have been featured in 9 TED talks and numerous popular science TV shows, such as White Rabbit Project and Bill Nye Saves The World. Your work will provide a basis for further research and even be included in peer-reviewed journal articles (authorship!).
To apply: Please send your CV and cover letter including your research experience (if any) to hello@backyardbrains.com. Tell us why you are interested in applying for an internship at BYB!
We Are: Backyard Brains is a DIY Neuroscience company devoted to bringing the brain to everyone! Because everyone has a brain, that complex but extremely fascinating puppet master of the body. We need more people interested in studying the brain because 20% of the world will have a neurological disorder… and there are no cures! Historically, you need to be a graduate student with funding at a major university to study the brain, but not any more! Backyard Brains wants to help everyone be a neuroscientist! We provide affordable neuroscience experiment kits for students of all ages to learn (hands-on) about electrophysiology. Now everyone from schoolchildren to grad students and every grade in between can experiment with similar tools used by real neuroscientists worldwide! What will you discover?
We’re excited to announce the Backyard Brains will be featured in an episode of “Mind Field,” a YouTube Red original series created by the famous math and science YouTuber, Vsauce!
If you aren’t familiar with Vsauce, definitely give his youtube channel a look! He has become a staple of online science education, as his YouTube videos are created to break down and explain complex ideas in a relatable and almost comedic manner. His new show, Mind Field, dives into the world of human psychology, perception, cognition, and neuroscience. Sounds like our kind of show!
Which is why we were so amped when our co-founder Tim Marzullo traveled to sunny Los Angeles to visit and film at the YouTube production studio! Our very own little slice of neuroscience education would now be exposed to the masses! (Cue mad scientist laughter.) Arriving early in the morning with his trusty toolbox packed full of neuroscience experiments, Tim got right to work filming with Michael Stevens (creator of Vsauce), Alie Ward (TV Science Personality), and the production team at the YouTube studio.
Tim explains, “It was a really novel experience. The only other film shoots I’ve been a part of had small crews and were done ‘semi-live,’ where we only had one or two takes to get something to work. For this episode, we spent all day filming just two experiments, and a lot of work went into each. We would reshoot each take several times, making sure everything turned out beautifully on camera, and refining our script so the descriptions were tight and entertaining. There were ~20 people on the Mind Field crew, so it was really a cool experience to be a part of a high-budget, professional shoot.”
Season 2, Episode 8: The Electric Brain was just dropped this month, and we were so excited to see the fruits of Tim’s trip. It is a YouTube Red show, so you’ll need a subscription to YouTube to see it, but believe us when we tell you that it will be worth it. No spoilers for the show, so we don’t want to say which of our experiments are appearing, but what we can tell you is that they are two of our more provocative experiments…
