Meitzen Wins National Award for Neuroscience Outreach

John Meitzen, assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at NC State University, has been named a 2016 recipient of the Society for Neuroscience’s (SfN) prestigious Next Generation Award.

SfN is the largest international neuroscience society, with nearly 38,000 members. The Next Generation Award is a national honor that recognizes SfN members who have made outstanding contributions to public communication, outreach and education about neuroscience.

Meitzen was recognized for his role as one of the pioneers of the annual Brain Awareness Night at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, which will be held for the fourth time in March 2017. The event features hands-on brain and behavior exhibits, talks from NC State students and a keynote by a prominent neuroscientist.

“The event is a lot of fun to organize and has been really successful,” Meitzen said, noting that the 2016 event attracted more than 300 attendees. In the future, he hopes to expand it to include targeted outreach to middle and high school educators.

The award also cited Meitzen’s work in creating a senior capstone course in the Department of Biological Sciences that focuses on an innovative inquiry-based approach to neuroscience. “This approach encourages active learning and engages students in neuroscience at multiple levels of analysis,” Meitzen said. “Developing and teaching it has been a very rewarding experience as I’ve seen students grow in their understanding.”

Meitzen calls the Next Generation Award “fantastic recognition of our growing neuroscience program at NC State,” noting that he has seen expansion of neuroscience research, outreach, interest and education across the university since he arrived on campus nearly four years ago. “It’s an exciting time to be a neuroscientist at NC State,” he said.