CO-FOUNDER & PRESIDENT

Victoria Heimer-McGinn is an Associate 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 international Society for Neuroscience in recognition of her contributions to public neuroscience education and outreach. In the lab, Dr V studies cognition in bipolar disease using a pre-clinical mouse model.

VICE-PRESIDENT
Chair, Rising TIDES Program

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.

CO-FOUNDER & SECRETARY
Chair, Nonprofit Operations

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

Brendan currently works in operations for a Belgian company. His previous roles in banking and investing give him experience for this role. He is excited to be part of this fantastic organization that has such a positive impact on the local community.

Co-Chair, Brain Fairs Committee
Vice-Chair, Nonprofit Operations

Meredith is a digital innovation and project management professional with over 20 years of experience driving transformative solutions in many disciplines. Having personal experience living with multiple sclerosis and AuDHD diagnosis as an adult, they bring a unique and compassionate perspective to their role on the board of Brain Waves Rhode Island. A dedicated advocate for accessibility, neurodiversity, and chronic illness support, they leverage their expertise to advance innovative approaches to brain health awareness.

Co-Chair, Brain Fairs Committee

Torrey Truszkowski is the Assistant Director of Research Security and Export Controls at Brown University. She also completed her PhD in neuroscience at Brown, which is when she first worked on brain science outreach activities, especially taking brains and tadpoles out to local K-12 schools to teach kids about the brain and neuroscience research. Torrey also plays the clarinet in Extraordinary Rendition Band and dabbles in many different arts and crafts.

Vice-Chair, BRAINY Visits
Vice-Chair, Rising TIDES Program

Oluwarotimi (Timi) Folorunso is an Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and an Assistant Neuroscientist at McLean Hospital. His research focuses on how developmental changes in synaptic transmission, neural circuits, and networks contribute to adult psychopathology in stress-related psychiatric disorders. He aims to identify critical periods for early therapeutic or behavioral interventions for psychiatric disorders. In addition to his scientific role, he is the founding director of the McLean Mental Health Research Summer Program for undergraduate students and assistant director of Outreach and Community Engagement at Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center.