# Environmental Neuroscience for All: A participatory science program and platform for students, teachers, scientists, and communities

> **NIH NIH R25** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $269,580

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Environmental Neuroscience for All uses a combination of online and in-person tools and an open science
approach to support high school students in carrying out their own original research projects focusing on
environmental neuroscience, a fast-growing field of research at the intersection of behavioral science and more
‘traditional’ STEM fields that recognizes the critical role of human brain and behavioral science in better
understanding the impact that the environment has on humans, and the impact that humans have on our
environment. How is our brain health and wellbeing affected by our environment? Can we improve how we
interact with our environment by deepening our understanding of how the human brain is wired? Together with
scientists and their teachers and communities, students will explore these and other questions about the multi-
directional relationship between the human brain, human behavior, and our environment. We will build on the
technology, content, and network of schools and community partners created through our SEPA project
BrainWaves and our community science platform MindHive. We will develop curriculum materials and tools
grounded in open science practices, which represent a shift away from narrower, more traditional views of the
“scientific method,” toward a collaborative and iterative approach to science inquiry. We will also build out an
online platform with tools that support collaborative study ideation, peer feedback, data collection and
engagement, and communication. Students will learn how to formulate research questions and translate them
into testable hypotheses; design, review, and revise environmental neuroscience studies; and collect, analyze,
and communicate research findings. Together, the curriculum materials and web-based platform will support
authentic community science research spearheaded by teens in a network of environmental neuroscientists,
community organizations, and student peers - both locally and nationwide, and both in-person and online. In
sum, Environmental Neuroscience for All will connect geographically and socio-economically diverse learners
and communities; and in doing so create pathways toward more transparent, accessible, and inclusive
environmental science. As such, the project will not only help further integrate human brain and behavioral
science, an increasingly relevant STEM field, into preK-12 science curricula, but will also educate a new
generation of scientists in open science principles, building the foundations for a STEM workforce that
approaches environmental challenges as a collective, interdisciplinary effort.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10861900
- **Project number:** 5R25MH135446-02
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Suzanne Dikker
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $269,580
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-06-07 → 2028-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10861900

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10861900, Environmental Neuroscience for All: A participatory science program and platform for students, teachers, scientists, and communities (5R25MH135446-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10861900. Licensed CC0.

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