Victoria Heimer-McGinn is the co-founder and president of Brain Waves Rhode Island. The organization will hold its annual Brain Fairs in Pawtucket and at Brown University on March 15 and March 22. The event is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Heimer-McGinn spoke with Providence Business News about this year’s festivities.
PBN: How much of an impact has Brain Waves had over the past decade in educating the community about brain health? How much more of an understanding do people now have about brain health thanks to this event?
HEIMER-MCGINN: We hope everyone will come away from a Brain Waves Rhode Island event having learned something about themselves and others. In 2019, we started formally evaluating our Brain Fairs. Our surveys show that people find the brain fairs educational and inspiring; they also show that we are reaching a more ethnically and socioeconomically diverse audience each year.
Notably, a higher percentage of the audience for both the Brown University and Pawtucket Brain Fairs are now people who have little or no familiarity with brain science. This is great news because they are our target audience. If we can demystify the brain for someone, inspire someone else to think about brain science as a career, and provide a third person with a community resource to help them, we’ve been successful.
PBN: How much has Brain Waves grown over the last 10 years?
HEIMER-MCGINN: Ten years ago, we were called Brain Week and we quite literally had a week of activities focused on educating the public on the brain and brain health. In that week, we conducted school visits, hosted brain fairs and other related events. Since then, we have significantly increased our reach at the fairs and have expanded our school visits to a yearlong program.
We have also expanded our collaborations with volunteers from local Rhode Island-based colleges and universities, which has allowed us to meet people throughout the state where they are – in local schools, libraries and other community organizations.
We now hold not one but two Brain Fairs – one at Brown and one in Pawtucket – reaching more than 1,500 people through those events. BWRI itself is still run by a small group of volunteers, but our partnerships with local colleges and organizations help us to keep increasing our reach throughout the state.
PBN: What about brain health needs to be further explored at Brain Waves events going forward that has not been touched on up to this point?
HEIMER-MCGINN: We aren’t sure there’s much related to brain science and brain health that we haven’t at least touched on in the last 10 years. That being said, neuroscience is a rapidly evolving field, so we love to revisit topics and highlight recent discoveries whenever we get the chance.
This year, we will have a wide range of tables at the fairs that provide community and educational resources and highlight recent research conducted at local institutions. We also hope to spotlight brain tumors through our yearly “power hours,” which are fireside chat-style panels that explore topics from clinical, scientific and personal angles. In the future, we would be excited to revisit topics like the brain-gut axis and the benefits of social living.
PBN: Has mental illness become more of a discussion point during recent Brain Waves events? If so, how?
HEIMER-MCGINN: Mental illness and health have been a focus of Brain Waves RI and Brain Week since its inception. However, there is certainly an increase in interest from the public as the number of individuals suffering from mental illness continues to increase. This is especially true as we navigate through a post-pandemic world.
In the past, we’ve held events focused on depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and others. These events have always been well attended, and we will continue to respond to a growing awareness and acceptance about the biological nature of these diseases and disorders.
PBN: What will this year’s Brain Waves events entail? Will there be special events commemorating the 10th anniversary of the event?
HEIMER-MCGINN: We’re really proud that we’ve been doing this for 10 years, and this year we are, again, putting past lessons into practice to create two great brain fairs and a lot of exciting school visits.
In addition, we are planning to host a second research celebration later in the year. This will serve as a way to bring together all of our long-term collaborators and celebrate our decadelong venture. Watch us on social media for updated details.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on X at @James_Bessette.
