UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — According to the World Health Organization, more than 3.4 billion people worldwide live with some kind of neurological or psychiatric disorder like depression, addiction, Alzheimer’s disease or epilepsy. From March 16 to 22, the neuroscience research community at Penn State is joining "Brain Awareness Week," a global public health movement started by the Dana Foundation in 1996 to bring attention to science and public health issues concerning the human brain.
Brain Awareness Week is a global campaign every March to foster public enthusiasm and support for brain science. In 2025, participants including hospitals, schools, colleges and universities, research facilities, nonprofits, professional associations, governments and more from 59 countries contributed to Brain Awareness Week.
"Neurobiology and brain science touches every part of our lives, across our entire lives, from how we learn and remember to how we treat conditions like addiction, depression and Alzheimer’s disease,” said Nikki Crowley, associate professor of biology, Huck Chair in Neural Engineering, and director of the Penn State Neuroscience Institute (PSNI) at University Park. “Brain Awareness Week is an opportunity for the Penn State Neuroscience Institute to connect our research with the broader community, share why it matters for public health, and inspire the next generation of scientists. Support from Penn State alumni and friends makes this outreach and discovery possible, helping us translate neuroscience breakthroughs into real-world impact."
Penn State’s Eberly College of Science, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences and PSNI will be collaborating to share informative videos, host events with local residents, and promote fundraising campaigns with matching funds promised by a Penn State alumna.
A series of daily educational videos answering common brain questions will feature Crowley and Patrick Drew, professor of engineering science and mechanics and associate director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences. The videos will be available on YouTube, with excerpts posted to Huck, Eberly and PSNI social media channels on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.
On Tuesday, March 17, residents of the Village at Penn State, a local senior living community, will be given a tour of the Huck’s High-Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging Core Facility in Chandlee Laboratory and listen to a talk from Laurel Seemiller, a postdoctoral researcher who earned her doctorate from Penn State in molecular, cellular and integrative biosciences. On Thursday, March 19, Crowley and Santhosh Girirajan — T. Ming Chu Professor of Genomics and head of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology — will visit the Village for a Q&A session.
Along with the social campaign and local events, Penn State alumna Kay Mooney, who received her bachelor's degree in mathematics from the Eberly College of Science in 1989, has promised two $5,000 fundraising match campaigns. Mooney, a longtime healthcare executive and public speaker, said she will match every dollar 1:1 up to $5,000 and contribute an additional $5,000 if the campaign meets its goal of 50 donors. The funds raised will support the activities of the Neuroscience Institute.
"Kay Mooney, a graduate of my home college, is one of brightest people I’ve had the privilege of meeting," said Crowley. "We’ve had many conversations about brain health and the need for investments in neuroscience research, and I’m so honored that she was the first gift during our fundraising campaign."
- Create research funds for undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows.
- Fund neuroscience events, including scientific meetings and community building activities.
- Support Nittany Neuro, Penn State's undergraduate neuroscience club.
- Support community outreach and engagement.
The campaign comes on heels of two newly launched undergraduate majors in the field — Neurobiology and Systems Neuroscience programs that will further enhance undergraduate student research experience and learning opportunities. In PSNI, more than 350 undergraduate students are working in neuroscience-focused research laboratories across campus, according to Crowley.
“Our students are fascinated by the brain, including how little we understand about its workings and its roles in disease and behavior, and they are increasingly interested in obtaining specialized training in neurobiology,” said Elizabeth McGraw, professor and head of the Department of Biology, which launched the undergraduate neurobiology degree. “Along with this increase in desire from undergraduate students to learn neuroscience, this new degree aligns with the societal need to prepare students for a growing field of research. Our new degree in neurobiology provides a key steppingstone for our students toward becoming a neuroscience researcher or preparing for various careers in health and medicine.”
Gifts to these campaigns advance the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s impact for families, patients and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.