Welcome to Diversifying the Community of Neuroscience (D-CNS), a National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) funded R25 program. As Directors of this program, combined we have multiple decades of experience mentoring the next generation of scientists through multiple research training programs. Far too many graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from historically disadvantaged backgrounds do not emerge as principal investigators of independent research programs. We firmly believe that we all have an inherent right to access opportunities to be successful.
The goal of this program is to provide individuals interested in neuroscience research with the professional tools needed to be successful, so these individuals become the future leaders in the neuroscience field. To achieve this goal, participants at the graduate, postdoctoral, and early-investigator stages of their careers will be trained to develop leadership skills, will be mentored, and provided a support network to guide them to not only “have a seat at the table”, but to have ownership in their neuroscience research endeavor.