{"id":23098,"date":"2020-06-26T11:51:50","date_gmt":"2020-06-26T15:51:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insagrado.sagrado.edu\/?p=23098"},"modified":"2020-06-26T11:51:51","modified_gmt":"2020-06-26T15:51:51","slug":"sagrado-neuroscience-pre-college-program-kicks-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insagrado.sagrado.edu\/en\/sagrado-neuroscience-pre-college-program-kicks-off\/","title":{"rendered":"Sagrado Neuroscience Pre-college Program Kicks Off"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

35 high school students will reinforce their knowledge in math and science during this pre-college internship.<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Dr. H\u00e9ctor de Jes\u00fas Cort\u00e9s is one of the directors of the Sagrado Neuroscience Pre-college Program. (File photo)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Liz Yanira del Valle<\/strong>
Collaborator<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have the privilege of being the first class in the Sagrado Neuroscience Pre-college Program. Make the most of this opportunity.\u201d With those words, the president of Sagrado Coraz\u00f3n University<\/a>, Gilberto Marxuach Torr\u00f3s, Esq., welcomed the 35 high school students who were selected to be part of this innovative internship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The initiative, sponsored by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology<\/a> (MIT), seeks to have participants strengthen their knowledge of science, technology, engineering, and math, with an emphasis on neuroscience.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the program was originally designed to be offered face-to-face, the pandemic made the educational experience go fully virtual. The first meeting, which was held via the Zoom videoconferencing platform, was also attended by its Puerto Rican directors: Dr. Edmarie Guzm\u00e1n V\u00e9lez, a specialist in Neuropsychology at the Massachusetts General Hospital of the Harvard Medical School, and Dr. H\u00e9ctor De Jes\u00fas Cort\u00e9s, from the MIT Center for Cognitive Sciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dr. H\u00e9ctor de Jes\u00fas Cort\u00e9s and Dr. Edmarie Guzm\u00e1n V\u00e9lez during the first virtual meeting of the internship.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Both scientists, in collaboration with Sagrado\u2019s School of Professional Studies<\/a>, developed the internship for two years, and it will include interactive activities on research methods, professional development, and the college admission process, among others<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Dr. Guzm\u00e1n V\u00e9lez, it was significant that participants came from different geographical points in the Island, public schools specialized in math and science, art, regular classrooms, and private schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis diversity will provide different and unique perspectives, enriching the learning process,\u201d she said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In fact, one of the students, Sof\u00eda F\u00e9lix, said that she attends the Central High School of Visual Arts in San Juan, not exactly known for its math<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGenerally, science clubs are represented by boys. I want us girls to have a space in these areas, too,\u201d said the young woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first lecture, Introduction to Neuroscience I, was given from Boston during the first meeting by Guzm\u00e1n V\u00e9lez and De Jes\u00fas Cort\u00e9s. The two specialists used graphics and videos to discuss the central nervous system and the importance of the brain, neurons, and neurotransmitters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For their part, the future college students asked questions related to memory, concentration, amnesia, the death of neurons, and sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lecture calendar also includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n