ECUADORIAN PARTNERS IN NEUROSCIENCE WIN TRAVEL AWARD TO SOCIETY FOR NEUROSCIENCE 36TH ANNUAL MEETING IN ATLANTA, GA
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NR-14-06 (10/11/06) For more information, please call Sara Harris at (202) 962-4000 or sharris@sfn.org.
ECUADORIAN PARTNERS IN NEUROSCIENCE WIN TRAVEL AWARD TO SOCIETY FOR NEUROSCIENCE 36TH ANNUAL MEETING IN ATLANTA, GA
WASHINGTON, DC, October 11 - Two local educators -- a neuroscientist and a teacher -- are one of 10 pairs of international award recipients recognized for their commitment and innovative approach to bringing neuroscience into the classroom.
Janeth Katheryne Aldas Saltos, a biotechnology teacher at Escuela Superior Politecinica Ejercito, and Dr. Winfired Wojtenek of the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, received a Neuroscientist-Teacher Partner Travel Award to attend Neuroscience 2006, the 36th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, to be held in Atlanta, Ga., October 14-18.
Aldas Saltos worked as a teaching assistant for a neuroscience course taught by Wojtenek. When she began teaching anatomy to 12th graders, she sought his assistance in critiquing her students' presentations.
"I invited Dr. Wojtenek and we monitored the presentations, giving critical input in respect to the content and form of students' presentations," said Aldas Saltos. In addition, the pair gave "feedback on language, argumentation flow, and critical remarks on the content of the presentations."
She "encourages students at ESPE to go into neuroscience during their education in Biotechnology," Wojtenek said of his former student. "For this we have developed together four laboratory courses for her students."
Roughly 30,000 scientists from around the world will attend Neuroscience 2006 to present and discuss the latest advances in neuroscience research. The meeting will feature more than 14,000 presentations covering topics ranging from stem cell research to basic human behavior.
In addition to receiving unlimited access to the meeting's thousands of sessions and forums, the awardees have been invited to attend a number of special events. Aldas Saltos, Wojtenek, and the other award recipients will also be honored at a gathering of the Society's Public Education and Communication Committee, which represents educational advocates from among the Society's membership.
The goal of the award program is to further partnerships between research and educational communities by bringing them together at a premier scientific meeting. "The travel award program is an example of the Society's commitment to explaining basic scientific processes-how research leads to discovery and how discovery leads to treatments, cures and healthy choices at all stages in life," says Society for Neuroscience Public Education Director Colleen McNerney. "This program provides encouragement and visibility to the Society's members to embrace and contribute to this work, demonstrating the value of scientist and teachers working in partnership."
The Society for Neuroscience, with more than 37,500 members, is the largest organization of researchers and clinicians studying the brain and nervous system.
