Skip to main content

Images from the First Ever Department of Neurobiology UN Day Event

On September 25, 2023, the Department of Neurobiology gathered in Silverman Hall for a celebration motivated by United Nations Day. See photos from the event and read excerpts from Chair Indira Raman's speech below! 

  

2023 Department of Neurobiology UN Day

Members of the department chat and enjoy a variety of international finger foods
Members of the department chat and enjoy a variety of international finger foods
six women from the Center for sleep and Circadian Biology (CSCB) sit and stand around a table, smiling
The Center for Sleep and Circadian Biology was well represented at UN Day
Members of the Dombeck and Raman labs sit and stand around a round table enjoying food
From left to right: Zehua, John, Feng, Daniel, and Jason from the Dombeck Lab; Meghana from the Raman Lab; Shiva from the Dombeck Lab
three women stand around a push pin map examining where other people have marked
Department members work to mark a map with places of significance to them
four people, each holding a plate of food, stand and smile for the camera
From left to right: Alex (Lee lab), Richard (Lee lab), Andrea (Bozza lab), and Zhuoling (Bozza lab)
A circle of six people stand having an exciting discussion
Professor Tiffany Schmidt chats with members of her lab
Matthew Johnson and Fran Petty sit in front of a first floor window smiling
Thanks to Matthew Johnson (Associate Dean for Faculty) and Fran Petty (Chief of Staff) from the Dean's Office for attending!
Three women pose standing and smiling for the camera
From left to right: Program Assistant Lyn Johnson, Chair Indira Raman, and Program Assistant Franny McNamara
A group of six trainees stand in bright and airy Silverman lobby, in front of a large window
From left to right: Sheridan (Raman lab), Feng (Dombeck lab), Meghana (Raman lab), Molly (Schmidt lab), Kayla (Schmidt lab), and Jake (Schmidt lab)
Members of the Department of Neurobiology sit and stand around a table, enjoying snacks.
Members of the Department of Neurobiology sit and stand around a table, enjoying snacks.
Three people stand around a cork board map displayed on a table. They are examining which places have been pinned.
A group examines which places of significance are marked by fellow department members
Three people pin their places of significance. Department members had the option to pin places they were born, lived, or had roots.
Three people pin places of significance on the department map. Department members had the option to pin places they were born, lived, or had roots.
Professor Emeritus David Ferster sits with WCAS Dean's Chief of Staff Fran Petty, chatting animatedly in front of a window
Professor Emeritus David Ferster chats with WCAS Dean's Chief of Staff Fran Petty
Professor Indira Raman stands and addresses the room. Six people stand in the foreground of the crowd, looking on intently
Chair of Neurobiology Indira Raman addresses the room
Indira Raman stands in the center of a room holding a paper. She addresses the room and people seated at round tables and standing in the space listen on.
Chair Indira Raman emphasizes that science has the special power of bringing people together in a common quest for information
Chair Indira Raman addresses the attendees of UN Day
Chair Indira Raman addresses the attendees of UN Day
A wide shot shows the attendees of UN Day listening to Indira Raman as she addresses the group
Chair Indira Raman addresses the attendees of UN Day
Half of the department members in a crowd enthusiastically raise their hands from different countries raise their hands when asked who is from another country.
Department members from different countries raise their hands when asked who is from another country.
Daniel Bennett stands in front of a crowd, who looks on as he speaks
Daniel Bennett explains the significance of Jamaican Patties, which he suggested for our international menu
Sarah Kim stands among the crowd, near a round table, as she explains the significance of Korean Rice Cakes
Sarah Kim talks about Korean Rice Cakes, which were one of our international finger foods
Four people stand in a group having a conversation in front of a glass window leading to a staircase
Hojoon Lee talks to Tiffany Schmidt and members of her lab.
People stand in a line looping through two tables filled with food
People fill their plates with finger foods suggested by different people in the department.
Attendees make their way through the buffet line
Attendees make their way through the buffet line
Two images on a light purple background. On the left, a platter of croissants in the foreground with a platter of chocolate rogalach and a platter of pumpkin sulki in the background. Two students serve themselves. On the right a table with students serving themselves. In the foreground, an opera cake with a shiny chocolate ganache. In the background, lemon meringue tarts and baram dduk.
Some of the French patisserie suggested by Michaël Elbaz. We had an Opera Cake and a variety of croissants, among other treats.
A long shot of the table with orange, bean filled pumpkin sulki in the foreground and perfectly rolled chocolate rogalach in the background.
Pumpkin Sulki, from 80 Million Rice Cake, in the foreground. Chocolate Rogalach, from North Shore Kosher Bakery, in the background. Eun Ju Song suggested 80 Million Rice Cake and Alex Pekerman suggested North Shore Kosher Bakery.
a plate of financiers in the foreground and a pile of assorted croissants on a plate in the background
A plate of financiers and a plate of assorted croissants from La Boulangerie
A tray with a pile of yellow and orange, bean filled pumpkin sulki Korean rice cakes
Pumpkin sulki from 80 Million Rice Cake
A tray holds a spiral of white and green rice cakes filled with sweet bean paste
Baram dduk from 80 Million Rice Cake
Two lemon meringue tarts on a table, each with perfectly piped and bruleed meringue
Lemon Meringue tarts from La Boulangerie
Four boxes of beef and vegetarian patties sit on a table
Boxes of beef and vegetarian patties, suggested by Daniel Bennett
Two images on a light purple background. On the left, a closed aluminum container sits on a table next to a tray of baguettes. On the right, the aluminum container is now open, displaying a half full tray of pastéis de natas, a small, yellow, eggy tart with a perfectly caramelized top
Still warm Pastéis de Nata from Nando's Peri Peri, before and after we got into them. Suggested by Miguel Simões.
A aluminum food container sits on a wooden table next to another aluminum food container in a "thank you plastic bag" and a container of fresh pita bread
Unpacking the delicious Kashk-e Bademjan and Mast-o Khiar from Reza's Restaurant; suggested by Heydar Davoudi

Words from the Chair

Purple quote on light purple background reads "All of us here do science or support the scientific endeavor. And so it’s nice to recognize that, in essence, science is a quest to understand the natural world. And for eons, scientists all over the planet have observed nature and sought to figure out its mysteries. And that desire to know has no cultural boundaries."
Purple quote on light purple background reads "There is lasting evidence of millennia-old astronomical observations from places we now refer to as Mexico, Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, China, Greece, and Scotland, just to name a few. And to me the most interesting part is that the results of those ancient people converge: scientists can replicate each other’s data! There really are common and verifiable physical truths that exist for everyone."
Purple quote on light purple background reads "In its best guise, that’s what science is—something that unites people in a common quest for an ultimate understanding of nature. And that’s what we are celebrating today."
Purple quote on light purple background reads "When I was walking down the hall about a year ago, it occurred to me that I was just behind a lab group of six people from five countries, all chatting about science and lunch. And that kind of cultural convergence seems perfectly normal around here. Not everyone has that privilege. It made me realize again what a treat it is to work with people from all over the world."
Purple quote on light purple background reads "Scientists travel all over the planet—to teach and learn from others, make new discoveries together, and communicate them across space and time. Our department is composed of many such people. How many people here hail from countries other than America? And how many people originating in this country have done science elsewhere? That’s quite amazing, isn’t it? In this way, you are the ambassadors of knowledge; all of us are the physical representation of the transnationality of science, which weaves a cloth that, instead of tearing the world apart, actually helps hold the world together. "