How Frontiers for Young Minds makes science accessible to kids

We are proud to announce the launch of the Neuroarts Academic Network (NAN). Developed as part of the NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative—a collaboration between The Johns Hopkins University and The Aspen Institute—the Network’s goal is to make the core principles of neuroarts part of established academic and professional career opportunities. The Neuroarts Academic Network is a new global academic network that will focus on the transformative power of the arts in health, learning, and across society. The network will span disciplines including the arts, health, basic sciences, public health, architecture, design, education, business, community development, and more. Informed by a Working Group with members from over 35 public and private universities and institutions from around the globe, the Network seeks to connect existing programs and support sustainable and rigorous growth of the field through research, training, and career development. We are proud to be a supporter of the NAN! https://lnkd.in/eFSuP4D7

I had the privilege of serving as a committee member for Catherine Elizabeth Moore throughout her PhD journey in System Science at Portland State University. Her dissertation, “From Model to Behavior: Methodological Challenges in Using Fuzzy Cognitive Maps to Represent Mental Models,” is a significant contribution to the field. Her work examines how Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs)—semi-quantitative, cause-and-effect models—can represent mental models and whether these structures connect to real-world behavior. While FCMs are often assumed to reflect individual actions and decisions, Catherine’s research provides one of the first experimental investigations into this assumption. By linking theories of mental model use (simulation vs. cue-based) with structural indicators in individual FCMs and comparing them against behavioral survey results, her study found no direct correlation. Instead, it highlights the methodological challenges of collecting high-quality FCMs and bridging the gap between model structures and human behavior. This distinction between methodology-focused and subject-focused research is an important insight for advancing systems science. Her full dissertation is available here: [https://lnkd.in/gJJ36Sxc] Congratulations, Catherine, on this remarkable scholarly achievement and for advancing the boundaries of System Science! #SystemsScience #PhDResearch #FuzzyCognitiveMaps #ComplexSystems #BehavioralScience #MentalModels #DecisionMaking #ResearchExcellence #DoctoralResearch #PortlandStateUniversity

We are excited to announce the launch of the Neuroarts Academic Network (NAN). The NAN is a new global academic network that will focus on the transformative power of the arts in health, learning, and across society. Developed as part of the NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative—a collaboration between The Johns Hopkins University and The Aspen Institute with funding from The Music Man Foundation—the Network’s goal is to make the core principles of neuroarts part of the established academic and professional career opportunities across disciplines including the arts, health, basic sciences, public health, architecture, design, education, business, community development, and more.    Informed by a Working Group with members from over 35 public and private universities and institutions from around the globe, the Network seeks to connect existing programs and support sustainable and rigorous growth of the field through research, training, and career development. We invite you to learn more about the NAN and its Working Group. https://lnkd.in/eFSuP4D7

I'm incredibly proud to announce the launch of the Neuroarts Academic Network (NAN) — a global community of scholars, educators, and practitioners who believe in the transformative power of the arts to shape health, learning, and human flourishing. With members from over 35 universities and institutions worldwide, NAN will serve as a vital connector—linking programs, advancing rigorous research, and, most importantly, creating accessible pathways for training and careers in neuroarts. This work is essential—not only to advance the field of neuroarts but to build a more equitable and diverse workforce that reflects the full range of human experience and creativity. By embedding neuroarts in academic and professional structures, we can ensure that future leaders, researchers, and practitioners come from all backgrounds and communities, and that the benefits of this work are widely shared. This is just the beginning—and we’re excited to grow together.

🎨🧠 What if the arts weren’t “extra,” but essential to how our brains learn? Neuroscience shows that the arts boost memory, sharpen focus, spark creativity, and build meaningful connections. In her latest blog, Region 7 Curriculum Coordinator Brooke Kinsman shares insights from The Brain Science Behind the Arts and explains why creativity fuels every lesson—for both students and teachers. 👉 Read the full blog here: https://bit.ly/4o1bp0X #Region7ESC #ArtOfLearning #NeuroscienceInEducation #CreativityInTheClassroom #EducationLeadership

Next week, ACCORDS will host the next in the series of our Grand Rounds event, "Open Science: Why and How," with Laura Scherer, PhD. This event is available in-person on the University of Colorado Anschutz campus as well as Zoom. Scherer will share her personal story of her experience with the "crisis of confidence" in psychology, which quickly spread to neuroscience, economics, and parts of biomedical science. This crisis led to the formation of the Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science, of which Scherer was a founding member. Scherer will then cover research practices and incentive structures that can reduce the quality of scientific inferences, and discuss how Open Science practices were developed and designed to counter some of these effects and produce more robust, replicable and reproducible science. Attendees will identify statistical practices and incentive structures in science that can result in unreliable scientific inferences and low reproducibility and replicability; learn about Open Sciences practices and how they are designed to improve scientific inferences, reproducibility, and replicability; and identify resources for supporting Open Science practices, such as data sharing. Register: https://lnkd.in/gMtyBWZV

🤩 We are proud to share that two of our colleagues have been selected for #FWO funding: 💡 Pedro Ilídio (promotor prof. Celine Vens) 👉 Biclustering is an advanced technique to find patterns in large datasets. Pedro will focus specifically on the analysis of biomedical datasets and enhancing the explainability of educational recommenders. 💡 Irene Oeo Morín (promotors prof. Bert Reynvoet, prof. fien depaepe) 👉Developmental Coordination Disorder affects about 6% of school-aged children, causing difficulties in motor coordination and cognitive skills like math. This project will explore which cognitive processes need support and the effectiveness of feedback in improving their mathematical performance. The outcome aims to increase the understanding of the fundamental problems faced by children with DCD and inform professionals on how to support them. 👏 Congratulations to Pedro and Irene on this achievement! Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - Vlaanderen (FWO), KU Leuven, imec #itec #kuleuven #imec #research #researchproject #biomedicalresearch #instructionaldesignandtechnology #brainandcognition #psychology #biclustering #datascience #developmentalcoordinationdisorder #congratulations

 We are pleased to share that four of the six King’s Doctoral Prize programmes to be supported by the King’s Doctoral College will be led by academics from the Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine. These new programmes exemplify our Faculty’s commitment to interdisciplinarity, bringing together expertise in biomedical sciences, engineering, physical sciences, informatics and AI to address major healthcare challenges. The successful programmes are: - Professor Sasi Conte & Dr Chad Swanson – Multiscale RNA Networks & Pathways (in partnership with NMES, FoDOCS and IoPPN) - Dr Peter Hill & Professor James Mason – Translational Research & Innovation in Microbial Sciences (in partnership with NMES and FoDOCS) -Dr Alan Hodgkinson (BMBS) – Genome Data Science for Therapeutic Target Discovery (in partnership with NMES, FoDOCS and IoPPN). - Professor Alistair Young – Medical Imaging from Molecules to Populations Three of these programmes build directly on the success of our Research Interest Groups (RIGs), demonstrating their value in generating innovative ideas that can grow into large-scale, high-impact collaborations: https://lnkd.in/e3-eJKVy FoLSM has a strong track record in doctoral training, and these latest initiatives will be central to training the next generation of researchers and strengthening King’s position in interdisciplinary biomedical science. Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences, King's Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences and Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience.

Have you been following Science Literacy Week? We've got something special to share! 🧠 To mark the occasion, we’re proud to share a collaboration with the Ontario Science Centre (OSC), where their team highlights simple, evidence-informed brain health tips from OBI that you can easily integrate into your daily life. Led by the Canadian Association of Science Centres | Association canadienne des centres de sciences in partnership with educators, libraries, government agencies and STEM learning leaders from across Canada, #ScienceLiteracyWeek encourages a shared vision of a sustainable, knowledge-driven future, with the goal of igniting curiosity, celebrating Canadian science, and deepening public engagement through knowledge translation. At the Ontario Brain Institute, we are dedicated to supporting informed decisions about your brain health by providing access to practical tools, community resources, and public talks that translate research into everyday life. Explore our resources: https://lnkd.in/gpt9RM4t 💡 Save the date! Don't miss our upcoming public talk on November 3: 'AI in Brain Health Advances'. RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/gpZt5EjZ