Women in Bio Panel – “The Intersection of Art and Science”

As many of you might know, I have spent the last few months on an unplanned “sabbatical”.  When I stopped working, many people have said “now you will have more time for art”.  Little did they know.  Searching for a new opportunity turned out to take up more time and effort than a full-time job.  Surprisingly, I have barely had a chance to sit down at my craft table and enjoy some beading.  But now I actually have a looming deadline…

Last December, I found out about and joined a great networking community called “Women in Bio” (WIB).  Being my usual skeptical self, I was pleasantly surprised by the wonderful, warm, and welcoming community that I have encountered.  Since then, I have been regularly attending their monthly events.

In addition to seeing this as a networking opportunity for career development, I also wanted to test if it would be a good forum for getting the word out about NeuroBead.  In early spring, I approached one of their co-chairs and began talking about my artistic side hustle.  Wow, was I surprised by the response I received!  It turned out that the WIB steering committee just met a day earlier and discussed topics for the upcoming months.  They were a bit tired of the constant barrage of financial and career-oriented topics and wanted to inject some more fun into these events.  And topic of art actually came up!

Long story short, I was put in charge of assembling a panel of female artists with scientifically inspired artwork.  While finding the artists appeared to be the main challenge at first, the whole endeavor turned out to be much more involved than I expected.  And the WIB committee played a major role in making it more fun and stress-free.  They deserve a big shout out!

I was quite amazed by how many artists focus on the field of neuroscience.  While I have always been entranced by the cellular structure and function of neurons, many artists explored the deeper concepts of behavior and cognition.  That is one of the most amazing and unique qualities of this field of research.  It ranges from the most basic molecular reactions, all the way to conscious thought and decision-based actions.

And so, I am excited to announce the official invitation to this wonderful event in the heart of New York City:  “The Intersection of Art and Science”.    The evening will begin with a SciArt panel discussion, followed by a reception and a gallery-style exhibit of panelists’ artwork.

The event will be held on July 26th at a beautiful venue – Pride Global.  If you are in the area, please stop by – I would love to meet you.  You can purchase your ticket(s) here.