PROJECT DiViNe: DIVERSE VOICES IN NEUROSCIENCE: Profiles of Rita Levi-Montalcini, Ricardo Miledi, Simon LeVay, Erich Jarvis, and Steve Ramirez.

In this paper we share the first five of what we hope will be many profiles of neuroscientists from historically underrepresented or marginalized groups. This initial collection of profiles, meant to stake out the general territory for future offerings, takes as its subjects a fairly broad range of individuals from Nobel laureates to early career scientists and educators. The goal of this project is to facilitate the dissemination of materials neuroscience educators can use to highlight the scientific contributions and personal stories of scientists from historically marginalized groups, and has been developed more extensively in the Editorial that accompanies this collection (Frenzel and Harrington, 2021). We believe that by sharing these stories, and highlighting the diversity of those who have and will continue to contribute to the field of neuroscience, we can help to foster a more inclusive discipline for our undergraduate students. Each of these profiles is a testament to the respect these contributors hold for their subjects. We hope that others might see this new feature as an opportunity to share the admiration they have for those who have impacted them as colleagues, mentors, and role models.

Epilepsy and the Action Potential: Using Case Based Instruction and Primary Literature in a Neurobiology Course.

Epilepsy and seizure generation are at the center of this case study narrative. By exploring the nature of genetic mutations in voltage-gated sodium channels students will solidify fundamental concepts involving action potential generation and roles for excitatory and inhibitory neurons in the central nervous system. Students will wrestle with primary data, developing analytical and quantitative skills, and generate evidence-based hypotheses and predictions. As written here, the case is used in an upper-level undergraduate course, but because the case focuses on basic fundamental neuroscience concepts, the narrative could be easily adapted for uses in introductory neuroscience courses or potentially first-year graduate courses. Full text of the case study and the classroom implementation notes are available at cases.at.june@gmail.com.