Optometry Students Found Interprofessional Neuroscience Society

The Neuroscience Society of MCPHS, the brainchild of Gursewak Singh, Aaron Favre, G. Swank and Bakari Samin, is geared to be a true interprofessional student organization with members and representation from all of MCPHS's schools. The society's mission is to increase public awareness and understanding of neurological disorders and neuroscience in the MCPHS Interdisciplinary Community (IDC) and the surrounding Worcester community. In governing a chapter of the Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association (NORA), the Neuroscience Society will strive to advance professional knowledge and understanding of neuro-optometric care and promote research in visual science.

The organization hopes to launch in the fall with several high profile speakers and fun educational events for the community. Their goal is to include the full spectrum of healthcare under their umbrella, starting with the rigorous science of research, all the way to the clinical encounter and patient rehabilitation. The group will support the student membership of NORA, which is an interdisciplinary group of professionals dedicated to providing ocular health evaluation and education to patients who have physical or cognitive disabilities as a result of acquired brain injury. The Neuroscience Society will encourage an interdisciplinary team approach among all professionals on campus who provide rehabilitative services to individuals who have suffered a traumatic brain injury.

The founders of the Neuroscience Society are first-year students of the School of Optometry in Worcester with special interest in the field of neuroscience. Their faculty advisor is Maryke Neiberg, OD, FAAO.