Dr. John Pollock Receives 2020 Science Education Award from the SfN

pollock award

The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is an organization of nearly 36,000 basic scientists and clinicians who study the brain and the nervous system. Recently, McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member John Pollock, PhD, received the SfN 2020 Science Educator Award for his work in promoting stem education and health literacy. Dr. Pollock leads a basic science research effort on the neurobiology of pain.

Dr. Pollock, a professor of biological science at Duquesne University, has a long and illustrious history of promoting STEM education and health literacy primarily supported with funds from Science Education Partnership Awards (SEPA) at the National Institute of General Medical Science (NIGMS) of the NIH, among other federal and foundation grants. As director of the Partnership in Education, Dr. Pollock has created an impressive array of educational resources and activities for museums, schools, and public use, including apps, video and board games, museum exhibits, web resources, and dome shows (projected in a planetarium). This comprehensive, decades-long program is complemented with rigorous evaluation and assessment, which has resulted in seven peer-reviewed papers on STEM/health literacy. Dr. Pollock has also created a children’s television show called Scientastic!, which has been broadcast on public television stations nationwide and won two Emmy® Awards. Other outreach projects led by Dr. Pollock have celebrated Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday and involved a multi-year and city-wide partnership with several museums.

The Science Educator Award is supported by The Dana Foundation, a private philanthropic organization dedicated to advancing understanding about the brain in health and disease through research grants and public outreach.

Congratulations, Dr. Pollock!

Illustration: Society for Neuroscience.