about us

Brain Waves Rhode Island aims to

  1. increase public awareness of the progress and benefits of brain research,

  2. educate adults and kids about brain science and brain health,

  3. inspire the next generation of neuroscientists, and

  4. showcase neuroscience research and advocacy in Rhode Island.

Initially launched in 2016 as Brain Week Rhode Island, our organization has grown in audience and scope, but our mission has remained constant: to make brain science accessible to everyone and highlight neuroscience research happening in the Ocean State.

We have served thousands of students through our Brainy Visits school program, and welcomed even more to our annual March brain fairs and year-round community events.

our mission

Kristin Scaplen

Victoria Heimer-McGinn

Brendan McGinn

Alden Bumstead

  • Co-Founder and President

    Victoria Heimer-McGinn is an assistant professor of psychology at Roger Williams University and the president and co-founder of Brain Waves RI (formerly Brain Week RI). She received her bachelor of fine arts as a dance and pre-med major at University of Florida, and earned her PhD in molecular neuroscience at University College Cork in Cork, Ireland. She completed postdoctoral fellowships in behavioral and cognitive neuroscience at Brown University and Providence College respectively, and is a former Fulbright scholar. In 2019, she received the Next Generation Award from the national Society for Neuroscience in recognition of her contributions to public neuroscience education and outreach.

  • Kristin Scaplen is an Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at Bryant University and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at Brown University. She received a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Connecticut and her PhD in Neuroscience from Brown University. At Bryant Dr. Scaplen runs a lab powered by undergraduates that studies how the brain changes in the context of alcohol addiction. Specifically, they use tools only available in the common fruit fly to study precisely how memories for intoxication are encoded and stored because these memories are thought to underlie the intense cravings that individuals experience which significantly increase the risk of relapse. The goal is to understand how alcohol use changes the brain in fruit flies to help unravel the complexity of addiction in humans.

  • Alden Bumstead is a co-founder of Brain Week Rhode Island, originally a project of Cure Alliance for Mental Illness. She has a PhD in Literature from Duke University, and her professional and volunteer experience includes teaching, non-profit consulting and grant-writing, communications and outreach, and serving as Associate Director of Brown University's Data Science Institute. She has family experience with depression, addiction, anxiety, Alzheimer's, and other brain disorders and believes that research to understand the brain is an essential part of improving human health.

  • Treasurer

    This is Brendan’s first year on the board of Brain Waves. He currently works in operations for a Belgian company. His previous role in banking and investing gives him some experience for this role. He is excited to join this fantastic organization that has such a positive impact on the local community.

history

From left to right: Hakon Heimer, Victoria Heimer-McGinn, Alden Bumstead

In 2015, three family members set out to develop Brain Week Rhode Island (BWRI). They were driven by the experience of mental illness in their family and liked to joke that “brains are the family business.” Victoria (a neuroscientist), Hakon (a science writer / advocate / research consultant), and Alden (a PhD in literature) had worked together on Cure Alliance for Mental Illness, a national non-profit that Hakon founded in 2009. 

One summer, while canvassing in RI to advocate for more research on mental illness, they realized not everyone was on board with a federal research agenda. They heard misguided comments: “Addiction is a made up disease,” “Drugs are never the answer,” “Scientists keep changing their minds,” “Stem cells and animals in research shouldn’t be allowed,” and “Did they really spend my tax dollars on that?” It became clear that they first needed to raise awareness about the very basics of brain science. Since they are loyal RI transplants (from Puerto Rico, Sweden, and DC!), they decided to focus on the research produced in our very own state and got to work to create Brain Week Rhode Island.