Meet the 2020-2021 NOVA Officers
UMB’s Neuroscience Outreach & Volunteer Association (NOVA) is excited for another year of giving back to the Baltimore Community in new and exciting ways. We are pleased to announce the incoming officers for the 2020-2021 academic year. You can learn more about NOVA and our events at our website or by following us on Twitter @NOVAatUMB!
Andreas Wulff, President
Andreas is a fourth year graduate student in the Program in Neuroscience studying the role of synaptic plasticity in depression and antidepressant treatment. This year he wants to increase volunteer engagement by showing the fun and rewarding aspects of volunteer and outreach service.
Garrett Bunce, Vice President
Garrett is a third year PiN student studying how the brain computes information. Garrett’s main role is to organize outreach events in the Baltimore community, one of which is organizing the monthly BINGO event at the Spring Grove Psychiatric Hospital.
Andrea Romanowski, Treasurer
Andrea is a fourth year graduate student in the Molecular Medicine program researching the molecular mechanism of neural circuit formation and how alterations in these pathways can lead to psychiatric disorders. This year in NOVA she wants to encourage the volunteers that it is fun and easy to inspire the next generation of scientists in the community, and to show the kids of Baltimore that they too have the potential to become scientists!
Kristen Montgomery, Outreach Coordinator & BINGO Chair
Kristen is a third year graduate student in the Program in Neuroscience studying the effects of maternal preconception stress on neurodevelopment. This year she hopes to expand outreach activities, increasing the impact of NOVA on the Baltimore community and getting more non-scientists excited about the brain!
Sydney Ashton, Public Relations Officer & Outreach Coordinator
Sydney is a fourth year graduate student in the Program in Neuroscience studying sex differences in the development of reward and social brain circuitry. As NOVA’s Public Relations Officer, she leads the UMB community in our annual Brain Awareness Week (BAW) activities at Baltimore City schools. BAW is a national neuroscience education campaign sponsored by the Dana Foundation. She also organizes our annual Fall Lab Tours for local high school students to get a taste of working in a research laboratory. Through NOVA, Sydney hopes to inspire and support kids of all backgrounds to be excited about science and research.
