Florida Atlantic University Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute

09/04/2026

Dr. Aly Paz, assistant to the director of community engagement and programming, recently contributed an article to the Palm Beach County Bar Association's Bar Bulletin. Check out "Keeping Your Brain Fit for Life" on starting on page 14 👉

Joomag digital interactive publication

09/01/2026

We are cooking up an exciting lineup for next year's Brainy Days celebration 🧠🥳

08/28/2026

Congratulations to Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute member, Dr. Ali A. Danesh, for being named a Distinguished Fellow by the Audiology Academy, one of the field's highest professional honors.

Ali A. Danesh, Ph.D., has been named a Distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Audiology, recognizing his exemplary contributions and sustained commitment to advancing audiology.

08/25/2026

Join SNBI in support of the National Alliance on Mental Illness!

📍John Prince Park
📍October 10, 2026
📍Sign up or donate at NamiWalks.org/teams/neurosquad

07/27/2026

MobileMinds program is a finalist for a Palm Beach Illustrated Education Innovation Award 🎉

Voting is open NOW through Aug. 25. You can vote once a day - so there are lots of chances for you to show your support!

💙 Since 2021, MobileMinds has reached more than 27,000 students across 40+ Title I schools, with total reach extending beyond 56,000 through large community events — and more than 60,000 across the broader ASCEND initiative.

🧠 A vote for MobileMinds is a vote for every Palm Beach County child who deserves the chance to discover that a scientist is something they could actually become — and it helps this hometown program reach even more of them 💫

🗳️ Vote now 👉 https://bit.ly/3DiMNvp

07/26/2026

🧠 If you've followed our journey, you know what this means to us — MobileMinds has been named a FINALIST for Palm Beach Illustrated's Education Awards in the Innovation category!

Picture it: a brightly wrapped "brain mobile" pulls up to a Palm Beach County school, and out come real brains to hold, microscopes to peer through, and VR headsets that take kids inside a real neuroscience lab. Born out of our ASCEND initiative and launched in 2021, MobileMinds is South Florida's first mobile neuroscience education program — bringing technology usually reserved for medical training to students who might otherwise never meet a scientist.

Since 2021, we've brought hands-on brain science to 27,000+ students across 40+ Title I schools — part of more than 60,000 people reached through our broader Ascend Neuroscience initiative.

The winner is decided entirely by public vote:
✅ Vote once a day, every day, through August 25
✅ Vote from anywhere — you don't have to be in Florida
✅ It takes less than a minute

👉 Vote here: https://www.palmbeachillustrated.com/education-awards-voting/
Scroll to the Innovation category and select MobileMinds / FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute.

A vote for MobileMinds is a vote for every Palm Beach County child who deserves to discover that a scientist is something they could actually become. 💙 Please share — every share reaches new people, and every daily vote brings us closer!

This year’s award ceremony will be held on September 11, 2026. The ceremony will take begin at 6 PM at The Belgrove Resort & Spa in West Palm Beach. To buy tickets for the 2026 Education Awards, click here. Voting will take place from July 25 through August 25. Learn more about the Educator of [.....

07/07/2026

In a recent article for Times Higher Education, FAU's Dr. Rodrigo Pena shares practical tools for building productive research partnerships that advance the work and can withstand the pressures of shrinking budgets and shifting priorities.

With practical tools, early career researchers can build productive partnerships that advance their work and withstand the pressures of shrinking budgets and shifting priorities

06/25/2026

🐟 What happens when fish evolve in complete darkness for thousands of years?

Deep in the caves of northeastern Mexico lives the blind Mexican cavefish — no eyes, no pigment, and a brain that's been completely rewired by evolution.

A groundbreaking new study reveals just how wild the transformation is: while normal fish grow more active in the dark, these cave-dwellers do the opposite — springing to life in the light. Scientists believe this helps them steer clear of cave entrances and lurking predators. 🧠⚡

By mapping brain activity at the cellular level, researchers uncovered changes in dopamine pathways so significant that neurons that once responded to darkness now respond to light. Evolution didn't just take away their eyes — it flipped their entire sensory world upside down.

And here's where it gets even more fascinating: these findings could unlock new insights into neurological conditions like Parkinson's, ADHD, autism, and schizophrenia.💡

📖 Study published in Science Advances. Tap the 🔗 in the comments for more.

06/15/2026

As director of community engagement at Florida Atlantic’s Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute, Dr. Nicole Baganz works to make brain science accessible and inspiring for all ages.

Read more about her work and her story in the latest issue of Hanley Foundation Recovery Revolution magazine. https://bit.ly/3S9Fvol (Flip to page 25.)

05/22/2026

Last week, Dr. Rodrigo Pena's lab hosted the School for Computational Applications in Neuroscience (aka SCAN) at the Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute.

The immersive two-day workshop drew students from five Florida universities for a unique opportunity to learn and practice leading-edge research techniques in computational neuroscience, AI, quantum computing and more - utilizing technology available through the Computational Neuroscience lab at SNBI.

The workshop emphasized community building around computational neuroscience to encourage scientific exchange in pursuit of new knowledge and discoveries.

Florida Atlantic Research FAU Charles E. Schmidt College of Science